The City University of New York (CUNY) system is the public university system of New York City. CUNY consists of 11 senior colleges, 7 community colleges, 1 honors college and 7 postgraduate institutions. , CUNY is the United States' largest urban public university, with an enrollment of over 274,000 students.

CUNY and the State University of New York (SUNY) are different university systems, despite the fact that both are public institutions that receive funding from the state of New York. The 64 SUNY and 25 CUNY campus institutions are part of University of the State of New York (USNY). USNY is the governmental umbrella organization for most education-related institutions and many education-related personnel (both public and private) in the state of New York, and which includes, as a component, the New York State Education Department.

All of these schools are accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, in addition to other program-specific accreditations held by individual campuses, such as Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs.

History CUNY's history dates back to the formation of the Free Academy in 1847 by Townsend Harris. The school was fashioned as "a Free Academy for the purpose of extending the benefits of education gratuitously to persons who have been pupils in the common schools of the … city and county of New York". The Free Academy later became the City College of New York, the oldest institution among the CUNY colleges. From this grew a system of seven senior colleges, four hybrid schools, six community colleges, as well as graduate schools and professional programs. CUNY was established in 1961 as the umbrella institution encompassing the municipal colleges and a new graduate school.

Over the years, the configuration of the institutions of CUNY has changed. The current College of Staten Island, the largest CUNY school by land area, is the result of a merger between Richmond College (upper-division college founded in 1965) and Staten Island Community College (lower-division college founded in 1955). Lehman College was formerly a branch campus of Hunter College that was known as Hunter-in-the-Bronx.

The City College is the oldest institution of CUNY, having been founded in 1847. Established in 2018, the School of Labor and Urban Studies is the newest addition to the university.

Institutions Image Name Borough Founded Type Enrollment (Fall 2025) Athletics Male/Female % References Notes Baruch College Manhattan Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) Manhattan Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) Graduate Center Manhattan Graduate N/A Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy Manhattan Graduate N/A Guttman Community College Manhattan Junior N/A Hunter College Manhattan Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) John Jay College of Criminal Justice Manhattan Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) Originally known as the College of Police Science. Macaulay Honors College Manhattan Senior N/A Borough of Manhattan Community College Manhattan Junior CUNYAC (NJCAA) Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Manhattan Graduate N/A School of Labor and Urban Studies Manhattan Graduate N/A Originally the Murphy Institute, established at Queens College in 1984 and moved to the School of Professional Studies in 2005. School of Medicine Manhattan Graduate N/A School of Professional Studies Manhattan Graduate N/A Bronx Community College Junior CUNYAC (NJCAA) Hostos Community College Junior CUNYAC (NJCAA) Lehman College Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) Formerly the Bronx branch of Hunter College. Brooklyn College Brooklyn Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) College of Technology Brooklyn Senior N/A Kingsborough Community College Brooklyn Junior CUNYAC (NJCAA) Medgar Evers College Brooklyn Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III) College of Staten Island Staten Island Senior ECC (NCAA Division II) Result of a merger of Richmond College (1965) and Staten Island Community College (1955). LaGuardia Community College Queens Junior CUNYAC (NJCAA) Queens College Queens Senior ECC (NCAA Division II) Queensborough Community College Queens Junior CUNYAC (NJCAA) Transferred to CUNY from the SUNY system in 1965. School of Law Queens Graduate N/A York College Queens Senior CUNYAC (NCAA Division III)

Notes Each college's founding year is linked to the category of all schools founded in that year Enrollment and Gender ratio data not provided for these units.

References

External links

CUNY website