


CUNY New York City College of Technology, commonly called City Tech, began in 1946 as the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences. Its original emphasis on applied education remains visible in its technology, health, design, and professional programs.
The institution became New York City Community College in 1953 and joined the City University of New York in 1964. It later took the name New York City Technical College before adopting its current name in 2002. The name changes reflect a shift from a community-college identity toward an institution offering both associate and bachelor's degrees.
City Tech's development in Downtown Brooklyn has included the addition of an academic complex on Jay Street. For prospective students, its history helps explain an important distinction: City Tech is a CUNY college with a substantial range of career-oriented bachelor's programs, not solely a two-year technical school.
City Tech organizes its academic programs into the School of Arts and Sciences, the School of Professional Studies, and the School of Technology and Design. It offers associate and bachelor's degrees; students should check the credential attached to a particular major rather than assume every field is offered at both levels.
The School of Technology and Design includes fields such as architectural technology, construction engineering technology, computer systems, and communication design. Professional Studies includes areas such as nursing, dental hygiene, hospitality management, and legal studies. Arts and Sciences departments provide degree programs as well as mathematics, science, English, and other coursework used across majors.
Program requirements can be more specific than general college admission requirements. A health program, for example, may have prerequisite courses, clinical requirements, or a separate progression process. Applicants should compare the current City Tech catalog's degree maps and department requirements before choosing a major.
City Tech is an urban, primarily commuter college in Downtown Brooklyn, New York. Its buildings are concentrated around Jay Street, near Brooklyn's Civic Center and MetroTech area.
Subway and bus connections make the campus accessible from multiple parts of New York City. That access can matter to students combining classes with jobs or family responsibilities, but travel time will depend heavily on where a student lives and whether required classes, labs, or clinical placements meet at different locations.
The setting also puts students near courts, hospitals, businesses, cultural institutions, and other potential internship sites. Proximity alone does not secure a placement; students in career-focused majors should ask their departments where required experiences take place and how placements are arranged.
City Tech describes its educational purpose as combining access to public higher education with applied learning and preparation for professional and technical work. Its mission also encompasses general education and advancement into bachelor's study, rather than training for a single occupation.
That purpose is reflected in the mix of associate and bachelor's degrees and in programs that join classroom study with laboratories, studios, or clinical work. The college is a public CUNY institution, not a religiously affiliated school. Its stated goals are useful context for evaluating its programs, but applicants should assess the curriculum, scheduling, support, and outcomes of the specific degree they want.
Name of the institution
CUNY New York City College of TechnologyLevel of institution
Four or more yearsControl of institution
PublicSetting type
City: LargeInstitutional Category
Degree - granting, primarily baccalaureate or aboveInstitution size category
10,000 - 19,999School type
Four-year collegeMain student body
CoeducationalCalendar system
SemestersFoundation year
1946CUNY New York City College of Technology is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation confirms that the school meets quality standards and is required for students to receive federal financial aid.
Certificate of less than 1 year
Certificate of at least 1 year, but less than 2 years
Associate's degree
Certificate of at least 2 years, but less than 4 years
Bachelor's degreeData last updated on November 2, 2026
Data sources: IPEDS 2024-25, Peterson 2026, College Scorecard 10/2026, Clery 2024 (2023-24), OpenAlex 2026
Figures on this profile come from federal and third-party datasets in the editions listed above and are refreshed periodically, so they may differ from what the institution currently reports. Confirm costs, deadlines and requirements with the school before making decisions.