About

The BAFA program is a five-year dual degree program that culminates in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from Eugene Lang College and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree from either Parsons The New School for Design or The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music. Of the 180 total credits required for the dual degree, 90 credits are earned in the liberal arts and 90 credits are earned in studio-based courses.

Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts

Eugene Lang College is a small liberal arts school within a leading urban university–where you design your own path of study. Creative, open-minded, and independent undergraduates from across the country and around the world study here with an accomplished international faculty in small, intensive, seminar-style classes, intern at some the world’s leading organizations, and immerse themselves in New York’s cultural and civic life.

Parsons School of Design

Parsons is a creative community that puts the learning experience first—helping you become an engaged citizen and an outstanding artist, designer, scholar, or entrepreneur. More than 700 full-time and part-time faculty teach at Parsons, all of them successful professionals. Parsons’ rigorous programs and distinguished faculty embrace innovation, pioneer new uses of technology, and instill a global perspective on design in students.

The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music

Jazz and Contemporary Music gives you everything you need to learn your craft. With 75 of the city’s leading musicians as your mentors, you acquire the expertise traditionally associated with conservatory training and learn to combine it with the creative spirit and vigor of jazz. Your stage is New York City—one of the most active jazz and contemporary music centers of the world.

The New School

Lang, Parsons, and Jazz are part of The New School, a leading New York City university with some of the nation’s most respected programs in design, liberal arts, the performing arts, and social and political thought. Artists, scholars, and students from around the world attend The New School to earn bachelors and graduate degrees, complete certificate programs, or take continuing education classes. When The New School was founded in 1919, its mission was to create a place where intellectual and artistic freedoms thrived. New School students participate in programs that nurture academic excellence, technical mastery, and engaged world citizenship.

Discover a five-year dual-degree program in the heart of New York City

Most students in The New School's BA/BFA (called “BAFA” for short) program were active in the arts and excelled academically in high school. As college approached, they faced a choice: focus on their art or get a liberal arts education. Instead of picking one, BAFA students are pursuing both. And you can, too.

Through this unique program, you earn a Bachelor of Arts degree from Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from either Parsons The New School for Design or The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

The faculty is first-rate. The students are open-minded, independent, and aware. And it all happens in Greenwich Village—one of New York City’s greatest neighborhoods.

What makes the program special?

The BAFA dual-degree program at The New School is a highly unusual cross-disciplinary program in which your education is tailored to your interests. Through the BAFA program, you can fully explore two areas of interest throughout your studies—in classes and studios conveniently located on one campus.

Where do I go from here?

Some graduates of the BAFA program move directly into careers in art, design, or music. Others pursue graduate study in a studio discipline at the MFA or MArch level. Still others choose master's- and doctoral-level programs in the humanities or social sciences. The choice is yours and the options are endless.