Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York

Why Choose Queensborough?

Queensborough Community College, a college of The City University of New York, was established in 1960, as a public, two-year degree granting institution of higher education. More than 15,000 students are currently enrolled in an Associate degree or Certificate program at Queensborough, which is located on 37 suburban acres in Bayside, Queens. Queensborough Community College offers the Associate in Arts (A.A.), the Associate in Science (A.S.) and the Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) degrees. Another 9,000 students are enrolled in Queensborough’s Continuing Education programs.

Students come to the College from throughout the New York City area to the beautiful campus in Queens, the most diverse borough in New York City. The college’s student body reflects that diversity with students originating from more than 135 countries and 46% speaking a language other than English at home. The ethnicity of the student body is almost evenly split among African Americans, Asians, Caucasians and Latinos.

Queensborough serves as a portal of opportunity for students --- over 60% transfer to four-year colleges or universities, and others obtain the necessary skills for career advancement. Queensborough students quickly discover that they are part of a community of professors and peers who believe in fostering a culture of academic excellence while being nurtured as an individual in a supportive atmosphere.

To improve retention and graduation rates, as of fall, 2009 all first-time, full-time students were enrolled in the College’s Freshman Academies. The six Freshman Academies are Science, Technology, Engineering and Math; Liberal Arts; Visual and Performing Arts; Education; Health Related Sciences; and Business. Each Academy includes high impact learning strategies that have been identified through research studies, such as learning communities; writing intensive instruction; e-portfolios; service learning; and freshman seminars, which include cornerstone courses. Perhaps most importantly, Queensborough students – most of whom are commuter students who juggle school, work and family responsibilities – get to know each other and their faculty within their respective cohorts. They congregate in assigned physical spaces that provide them with a “home” on this commuter campus. These relationships foster confidence that helps students overcome fears that they will not be able to succeed and provide them with a support team when they struggle.

Queensborough is committed to ensuring that all students receive an education that is equivalent in quality to that offered at any private college.

Queensborough Community College, as one of the eleven hundred community colleges across the country, is building its reputation as a national leader in the field of research in community college pedagogy and its academic programs are renowned across the city and state and, in several cases, nationwide.

Nearly 60% of Queensborough’s faculty hold doctoral degrees and, as such, are encouraged to undertake research in community college pedagogy, as well as the traditional discipline-based research, to build a “learning culture” for themselves and their students. Faculty are encouraged to use their classrooms to experiment with new approaches to improving learning within their academic disciplines, and are assisted by an in-house resource for faculty called the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning that focuses on research and publications on effective community college pedagogy.

The College is also dedicated to providing cultural and artistic opportunities to students and the community through its Performing Arts Center, Art Gallery and the Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives --- all of which are used as learning laboratories for Queensborough students and are integrated into the college’s curriculum.

“I firmly believe that all of our students deserve the same individualized attention that is provided for those who attend private institutions. Extending our academic and support services through the Learning Academies will ensure that all of our students will benefit from the advantages of a focused academic approach, and graduate with the education and confidence they need to succeed in their lives.” – Dr. Eduardo J. Martí, President