All BFA, BBA, and BS students entering as freshmen will share a common first-year experience, taking many of the same required courses. Students will be able to shape their path of study within those requirements by selecting from available options.
THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU MEET WITH YOUR ADVISOR
- Learn about what makes the Parsons first-year program unique and become familiar with the choices you'll have using the First-Year Course Planner as well as information found on the First-Year Study page. You can also use the University Course Catalog to find descriptions of courses offered by all divisions of The New School, including your first-year Parsons courses.
- Think about these questions to help you build a schedule:
- At what time of day are you most alert and ready to learn?
- What other commitments will you have next semester (jobs, internships, family responsibilities)?
- What subjects do you want to explore?
- If you are a freshman transfer student or have taken courses in high school for college credit (e.g., AP or IB), take a look at the Transfer Credit Evaluation that was sent to you by the Office of Admission. Make a point of discussing it with your academic advisor and bring any relevant information to your advising meeting.
THINGS TO DO AFTER YOU REGISTER
- Check your schedule after you register:
- Log into MyNewSchool
- Select the "Student" tab
- Select "View Your Class Schedule and Locations"
- Select the correct term from the drop-down menu
- See the big picture, using DegreeWorks, a tool for monitoring your degree progress. DegreeWorks will show you all the courses required to complete your degree. You can find out more about how to use this tool in the DegreeWorks tutorial. DegreeWorks is available on the Student tab of MyNewSchool.
- Learn more about the Student Success Network and the ways it can connect you to your faculty, your academic advisor, and campus services.
- Continue to check your New School email account for information on tuition billing and payment.
LAPTOP REQUIREMENT
As artists and designers, you will be working in increasingly digital environments. Our curriculum addresses this by making digital literacy a foundational component of first-year coursework, and we have introduced a laptop requirement to ensure that all students share a consistent learning experience as they develop this skill set. Incoming students will need a laptop that meets the following minimum requirements:
- 2.5 GHz quad-core processor
- 64-bit operating system: Mac OS X 10.7 or Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
- 12- to 15-inch screen
- 8 GB RAM
- 500 GB hard drive or flash storage
- Graphics: GPU card with 1 GB of VRAM
- Ethernet, wireless, and Bluetooth connectivity
- Integrated HD webcam
- Media card reader
If you are interested in purchasing an Apple laptop, be sure to visit The New School’s Apple Store for Education, which provides a discount on Apple products. Other technology discounts available through The New School can be found on this Information Technology page.
Software
All first-year students will receive a subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, which is provided by the university at no additional cost; the subscription includes access to all programs necessary for your courses. You will be required to use the Creative Cloud version of Adobe programs for your coursework, and your instructors will use Creative Cloud software in the classroom. The software subscription will be available when you arrive on campus, so please do not sign up for membership in advance.
It is also recommended that students have Microsoft Office installed on their laptops. You do not need to have the newest version. If you already have Microsoft Office installed on your laptop, you can to continue using the version you have. If you need to purchase it, the Office 365 University version is available to you as a New School student at a discounted price.
CORE MATERIALS
Make sure you're prepared for the first day of class by purchasing the required tools and supplies on the First-Year Core Materials List. Most of these items are included in the core materials kit, which is available at a substantial discount through our partnership with Blick Art Materials. The cost of the kit provided by Blick is $149.99, and you can purchase one when you arrive on campus. (Please note that you are responsible for purchasing the external hard drive on the core materials list; it is not included in the kit.)
