In 1985, Eugene Lang, one of America’s most celebrated educational philanthropists, endowed a brand new undergraduate institution in the middle of downtown Manhattan. Since then, the mission of the college named for him has been to foster the highest aims of social justice, political responsibility, and cultural awareness.

The college offers unique courses in the social sciences, humanities, and the arts. Eugene Lang College fosters independence, originality, and a sense of spirit in learning. The College strives to create and sustain an educational environment in which every aspect of the academic community reflects the multicultural city and the international world in which we live, work and learn.

Eugene Lang College offers a distinctive liberal arts education with an interdisciplinary focus designed for engaged and independent-minded students. The College is a vital intellectual community which aims to foster in its students a critical self-consciousness about the process and purpose of knowing. Students at Lang College are encouraged to participate in the creation and direction of their education.

Academic study at Lang: a commitment to innovation, a conviction that knowledge should address problems, and a determination to stretch boundaries—in thinking, in research, and in the world. The founders called it practical idealism. Lang's areas of study emphasize approaches you won’t find elsewhere. At Lang you will unsettle the familiar and become comfortable exploring unfamiliar terrain.

Classes are challenging and demanding and are taught in small classes (20 students maximum) with an emphasis on reading primary texts, and the use of writing and revision as a way of learning. These hallmarks of the Lang educational program mean that students work hard and feel responsible for active participation in their classes. Most classes are conducted in seminar format. Seminars permit the most direct engagement of students with the material and the opportunity for close relationships with faculty.

As a Lang student, you don’t simply learn to analyze problems; you learn how to create sustainable solutions. Rather than saddle you with numerous required courses in a single academic major, the college encourages you to explore highly interdisciplinary paths of study. That way, you can pursue connections among the humanities, arts, social sciences, and natural sciences. You choose from—and often crisscross—twelve paths: the arts; education studies; history; literature; cultural studies and media; philosophy; psychology; religious studies; science, technology, and society; social inquiry; urban studies; and writing.

The 'Social Inquiry' provides students with a broad overview of modern social theory and approaches, addressing themes common across disciplines in the social sciences—especially sociology, politics, economics, and anthropology. The focus is distinctly historical and comparative, with a focus on Europe, North America, Latin America, and Afric and the important philosophical issues that underpin the social sciences: democracy, equality, justice, globalization, social order, and individual liberty.

'The 'Urban Studies' concentration brings a multi-disciplinary focus to bear on the history, development, politics and problems of contemporary urban life. Students may develop individual paths in areas such as urban geography, urban history, urban culture, urban policy and urban development. New York City, with all its problems, excitement, and diverse populations, serves as an educational laboratory and resource. Urban Studies examine the 21st century’s greatest challenges — globalization, urbanism, social justice, and sustainability.

Whatever path a Lang student chooses, no matter what the concentration, it will involve issues and perspectives of different peoples and different cultures, including those historically underrepresented in academic study. Eugene Lang has school-wide efforts (including hiring practices) to promote sensitivity and understanding about racial, religious and gender differences.