Public, Ethically Diverse Education at CUNY Brooklyn
Brooklyn College appears in our ranking of 50 Great Affordable Colleges in the Northeast.
Split into five schools with 82 percent retention, Brooklyn College maintains a 17:1 student-faculty ratio for delivering 83 bachelor’s, 73 master’s, and 19 certificate programs plus Ph.D. courses via the CUNY Graduate Center. For example, the Earth & Environmental Science B.S. follows a 120-credit STEM curriculum with hands-on labs at the Urban Soils Institute and Jamaica Bay’s Resilience Institute. Featuring a 78 percent edTPA pass rate, the 128-credit Childhood Education Teacher B.A. builds Taskstream portfolios for teaching Grades 1-6 with 16-week internships, such as The Anderson School. Since Fall 2016, the Cinema Arts M.F.A. has utilized the Barry R. Feirstein School and Steiner Studios, including four DaVinci Resolve Suites, for New York’s first 66-credit, three-year film master’s. Chaired by Dr. Kathleen Axen in Ingersoll Hall, the Nutrition M.S. covers a 48-credit, ACEND-accredited major with 1,200 hours of practicum for RDN certification.
Other Brooklyn opportunities include the Judaic Studies B.A., Finance B.B.A., Information Science B.S., Classics B.A., Sociology B.A., Chemistry M.S., Mathematics M.A., and Spanish M.A.
About Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College became New York City’s first coed liberal arts institution publicly funded for $0 tuition in 1930. Two years later, William A. Boylan relocated it from Borough Hall to a 35-acre, Georgian-style Midwood campus designed by Randolph Evans. In 1935, a Division of Graduate Studies was added. In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the final foundation stone for its construction project. By 1953, the 500-seat George Gershwin Theatre famous for President Bill Clinton’s later AmeriCorps announcement opened. In 1960, the Presidential Scholars Program began with $4,000 Honors Awards. Brooklyn College joined today’s 24-campus CUNY system of public schools in 1961. Within one decade, enrollment soared above 30,000 due to open admissions for NYC high school graduates. In 1981, the Core Studies curriculum was devised. Fast forward to 2016 and Brooklyn College finalized its five-school structure with the Koppelman School of Business. Budgeting $122.2 million, CUNY Brooklyn now serves 18,151 Bulldogs from 139 countries online and on-site in 13 buildings with 150+ clubs like Project Sunshine.
The U.S. News & World Report ranked CUNY Brooklyn the 74th best Northern college, 19th top public university, and 12th best undergrad teaching school. On Niche, Brooklyn boasts America’s 65th best film program, 125th top studio art major, 165th hardest admission, and 195th best anthropology courses. Times Higher Education placed Brooklyn College 443rd overall. Money magazine named Brooklyn the 144th best value with $48,200 mean starting pay. Forbes picked CUNY Brooklyn 333rd nationally with the 114th best public education. The Chronicle of Higher Education included Brooklyn in its top 10 for social mobility. Flavorwire noticed Brooklyn College for the third best Creative Writing M.F.A. College Factual recognized Brooklyn for the country’s 64th most diversity, 31st best accounting value, and 32nd most popular dietetics program. Washington Monthly also found the 10th best graduation rate at CUNY Brooklyn.
Brooklyn College Accreditation Details
On June 23, 2016, the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) accepted a Year Seven Evaluation Report from Brooklyn College to keep the Level III accreditation valid through Summer 2019 under its 10th president, Dr. Michelle Anderson, who earned the Susan Rosenberg Zalk Award. Headquartered 97 miles down Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, this elite eight-territory East Coast accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and New York State Education Department (NYSED). The Academic Affairs Office also reports the following degree accreditations:
- Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
- National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
- American Chemical Society
- Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
- American Speech-Language Hearing Association
- Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics
- Council on Education for Public Health
Brooklyn College Application Requirements
Beginning at Brooklyn College is classified “moderately difficult” by Peterson’s because only 7,726 of the 20,608 Fall 2017 applicants were triumphant for 37 percent acceptance. First-year Bulldogs need a licensed high school diploma or GED results above 580/800. Bachelor’s prep should include four units each of English and Social Studies. A minimum secondary average of 81 is required. Freshmen must score at least 1000 on the SAT or 1080 on the SATN. ACT scores of 19-21 are equivalent. Undergrad transfers need 12+ non-remedial college credits at a 2.2 GPA or higher. Associate holders from other CUNY campuses are held to a 2.0 GPA. Foreign learners prove English skills with a 61 TOEFL iBT or 6.0 IELTS mark. Successful Graduate School entrants generally exceed a 3.0 GPA during four baccalaureate years. The Speech-Language Pathology M.S. lists median GRE scores of 156 Verbal, 154 Quantitative, and 4.25 Analytical Writing. The Nutrition M.S. needs “B-” or better grades in eight prerequisites, including Chemistry and Biostatistics.
Brooklyn College has undergrad deadlines of February 1st for Fall and September 15th for Spring. The Macaulay Honors College only seeks students until December 1st yearly. Graduate School entrants follow program-specific dates. For instance, the Global Business M.S. considers candidates until December 15th and June 25th. Special Education M.S.Ed. teachers apply until April 15th while Experimental Psychology M.A. cohorts only have until March 1st. Accordingly, complete the $65 ($125 if graduate) application online. Official transcripts are mailed to 2900 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, NY 11210 unless from CUNY members. If taken, testing reports go to ACT code 2950 or SAT/GRE code 2046. Supporting documents include the two reference letters, typed purpose statement, recent résumé, artwork portfolio, creative manuscript, and immunization form. Learn more at (718) 951-5001 or [email protected].
Tuition and Financial Aid
For 2018-19, Brooklyn College has charged New York residents $295 per credit or $3,365 each undergrad semester full-time. Non-resident bachelor’s majors pay $600 per credit. Each term incurs the $113 activity fee, $125 technology fee, and $15 CUNY consolidated services fee. The American Language Academy costs $1,195 each ESL semester. Living at the Residence Hall on Kenilworth Place adds $1,000 each month. Brooklyn budgets $1,364 for books and $5,430 for miscellaneous needs yearly. Annual bachelor’s attendance averages $27,552 in-state and $34,942 out-of-state. Graduate programs generally bill New Yorkers $455 and non-residents $830 per credit. The Barry R. Feirstein School has full-time tuition of $10,123 to $14,698 each semester though.
According to the NCES College Navigator, the Office of Financial Aid in West Quad Center gets 61 percent of Brooklyn Bulldogs enrolled in median assistance of $7,407 for $64.58 million total. Available CUNY funds include the Regina Figueroa Memorial Scholarship, Jeannette Watson Fellowship, Women’s Forum of New York Scholarship, Stanley Michaels Health Careers Scholarship, Jonas Salk Scholarship, Becas Scholarship, Guttman Transfer Scholarship, Thomas Tam Scholarship, and Joseph Murphy Diversity Scholarship. Since 1979, the Belle Zeller Scholarship Trust has gifted $2,500 twice yearly to undergrads passing 3.75 GPAs. The Brooklyn College Alumni Association has a February 13th deadline for master’s scholarships. New York State’s Excelsior Scholarship makes CUNY tuition free for gross income below $110,000. Other in-state awards like the Tuition Assistance Program, Part-Time Scholarship, Academic Excellence Scholarship, and Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship count. FAFSA forms coded 002687 judge Federal Pell Grant, SEOG Grant, Work-Study, and Direct Loan eligibility. The Teaching Assistant Program also comes with term stipends for M.A./M.S. majors.
Search through 175 programs in 64 academic departments at the Brooklyn College website.