Motto | Think Wide Open |
---|---|
Established | 1967 |
Endowment | $63.9 million (2014) |
President | Thomas J.Schwarz |
Provost | Barry Pearson |
Academic staff
|
300 |
Students | 4,188 |
Location | Purchase, NY, United States |
Campus | Suburban, 550 acres (2 km²) |
Colors | Athletic: Blue and Orange; Traditional: Heliotrope and Puce |
Mascot | Panther |
Website | www.purchase.edu |
University rankings | |
---|---|
National | |
ARWU | N/A |
Forbes | N/A |
Global | |
ARWU | N/A |
QS | N/A |
Times | N/A |
Liberal arts colleges | |
U.S. News & World Report | 171 |
Washington Monthly | 240 |
State University of New York at Purchase also known as Purchase College, State University of New York is a public four-year college located in Purchase, New York, United States. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1967 as "the cultural gem of the SUNY system," Purchase College claims to offer "a unique education that combines programs in the liberal arts with conservatory programs in the arts in ways that emphasize inquiry, mastery of skills, and creativity." Purchase College was ranked 9 in U.S. News & World Report's 2016 listing of top public liberal arts colleges. The college was listed as one of Kiplinger's 100 Best Public College Values in 2016. It was also listed in that publication's 2014 list of Best Values in Small Colleges. The Princeton Review included Purchase College in its 2015 list of The Best 379 Colleges.
Purchase College confers the following degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), Bachelor of Music (MusB), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Fine Arts (MFA), and Master of Music (MM). As a requirement for the BA and BS degree, students undertake a senior project in which they devote two semesters to an in-depth, original, and creative study under the close supervision of a faculty mentor. Similarly, the BFA and MusB studies culminate in a senior exhibition, film, or recital. Master's degree programs culminate in a thesis and the MFA and MM culminate in an exhibition, recital, or related presentation.
The land that would become Purchase College was first settled by the Thomas family in 1734. John Thomas served as an assemblyman in colonial New York from 1743-1776. He served as a judge for the Court of Common Pleas in Westchester and a Muster-Master. Judge Thomas was an early supporter of American independence. Robert Bolton wrote in History of Westchester County that Thomas was "a warm Whig" who gave the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in New York at the White Plains courthouse on July 11, 1776. On March 22, 1777, Thomas was imprisoned by the British and died on May 2, 1777.