New York City Program
Live, work, and learn in one of the world’s premier cities of commerce and culture with other Hamilton students who are eager to expand their understanding of others and the world.
Hamilton in New York City, established in 2001, combines an internship, academic experience, and experiential learning opportunities that encompass a wide range of perspectives on New York as a classroom.
To apply log into Via with you Hamilton SSO and complete your profile on Via and then search for New York City.
Current & Upcoming Programs
Director: Nigel Westmaas, Professor of Africana Studies
College 395 — Global Blackness in the City
This course explores the multifaceted nature of race and ethnicity, emphasizing New York City's pivotal role as a crucible for global black identities. It unravels interdisciplinary themes that interlace historical migrations, cultural exchanges, and socio-economic disparities with contemporary issues of racial and ethnic identity, thereby framing an intricate portrait of global blackness within the urban tapestry of New York. This exploration offers a nuanced academic and experiential lens on the dynamics of global race relations, with a special focus on the experiences of people of African descent in urban contexts.
College 396 – Independent Study
An opportunity for focused, self-directed research on topics related to Global Blackness in New York City. Students work closely with the faculty director to explore themes such as migration, identity, activism, or cultural history in greater depth. Independent study can include student fieldwork in documented historical research on African American economic life in New York City, linking past institution-building efforts to present-day questions of equity, access to capital, and community wealth.
College 397 – Internship
Hands-on professional experience with organizations engaged in community work, cultural preservation, advocacy, or social justice. Students connect academic study to real-world practice while engaging directly with New York’s diverse Black communities. Students gain hands-on experience with organizations engaged in community development, cultural preservation, economic justice, and empowerment, with a specific focus on the history of African American economic life in New York City. The internship centers on historic and contemporary black business districts and institutions, including Harlem and its commercial history and practices; black-owned banks and mutual aid societies; the rise of black entrepreneurship during the Great Migration; and the long-term effects of redlining and housing discrimination in city districts.
College 398 – Experiential Blackness in the City
An experiential course offering a global perspective on the history and lived realities of Blackness in New York City. Through site visits and community engagement, students gain deeper insight into the city’s cultural landmarks, historical narratives, and contemporary movements. Visits may include institutions such as the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, where students engage with archival materials on African American and Caribbean intellectual life; and the Weeksville Heritage Center, which preserves one of the nation’s earliest free Black communities.
Director: Wei Zhan
Open to all majors. Class of 2028 and 2029. Prerequisite: ECON 100
College 398 may count toward the Economics concentration or minor.
New York City is home to nonprofit organizations, social entrepreneurs, philanthropic institutions, public agencies, and businesses seeking to address local and global social problems. Collectively, these organizations form a significant part of the city’s economy as employers, funders, and providers of services in areas such as education, health, housing, poverty alleviation, workforce development, and the arts. In this program, we will study nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and impact investing. New York City will serve as both subject and classroom: students will connect economic analysis with their internships and learn directly from organizations, practitioners, neighborhoods, and communities.
College 398: Economics of the Social Sector
How do nonprofits, public, and for-profit organizations differ in their objectives, incentives, financing, and accountability? When are nonprofit organizations well suited to providing goods and services, and what constraints do they face? This course uses economic analysis to examine the organizations and institutions that seek to address social problems. Topics include the economic rationale for nonprofit organizations; philanthropy and charitable giving; social enterprise; corporate social responsibility; and impact investing; public-private-nonprofit partnerships; and the measurement of social impact.
College 395: Seminar in the Global City
This seminar connects the economic ideas examined in College 398 with readings about cities and with the work of organizations and communities across New York City. Through conversations with nonprofit leaders, public officials, social entrepreneurs, business leaders, and community advocates, as well as site visits and neighborhood-based learning, students will examine how organizations respond to social challenges in practice.
College 396: Independent Study
The tutorial culminates in a substantial paper that integrates the student’s internship experience with an academic perspective, course concepts, and independent research.
College 397: Internship
A supervised internship with a firm, nonprofit organization, public agency, philanthropic institution, or advocacy group appropriate to the theme of the New York City program. Typical work schedule is four days a week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
Director: Russell Marcus. Open to all majors. Class of 2029 and 2030. Counts for 3 Education Minor and 1 Philosophy Elective.
Spring 2028 Program Description
Education, as the transmission of culture and knowledge, is a core societal function, essential to democracy and compulsory in the United States. Students seeking careers in education are well-served to reflect on core principles in education and how they are, and are not, applied.
Over a million students attend any of a variety of schools in New York City: large public schools; tony private schools; schools rooted in educational philosophies (e.g. Montessori); religious schools; thematic charter schools; home schools, unschools, after-schools, and more. Student experiences vary widely, reflecting economic diversity and myriad social forces. There is no better place than NYC to experience and reflect on the impressive opportunities of well-functioning schools, the frustrating challenges of lower-functioning schools, and the wide variety of options facing students and their families.
Good teaching begins in empathy, an ability to understand students’ contexts and needs. New teachers typically rely mainly on their own experiences to frame their work. Education and the City will help aspiring educators or those who just want to reflect on their own educational journey to aquire an inclusive understanding of the range of educational contexts, norms, practices, and theories. How does education support student empowerment and help to train society’s next generation of leaders? How can it be used as an instrument of social conformity, perpetuating structural injustices?
The Program is open to students of any concentration, with no prerequisites, though participating students will be well served with some experience in either Philosophy or Education Studies. The main requirements are an open mind, a growth mindset, and a desire to learn about the vast and complex state of education in the United States today.
College 398: Theory and Practice of Education (cross-listed edu 398)
A study of philosophy of education designed to help students to frame and understand central themes and questions in educational theory and policy. We will study, experience, and reflect on the aims of education, the nature of teaching and learning, and various pedagogical methods and theories. Core texts include Plato’s Republic, Carter Woodson’s The Mis-Education of the Negro; and a selection of contemporary readings and other media.
College 396: Independent Study (cross-listed PHIL 396)
An opportunity for independent, self-directed reflection on the challenges and opportunities facing students and educators in New York City. Drawing both from students’ personal experiences with their internships and our shared experiential course (College 398), students will develop their own insights into the theory and practice of education through a standard reflective essay or creative project of their own design.
College 397: Internship (cross-listed EDU 397 if school-based internship)
Hands-on experience in schools. Internships in public and private schools, at different levels K–12, will allow students opportunities to acquire first-hand knowledge of the wonders and challenges of education in a city with both nearly unlimited resources and crushing poverty. Students will reflect on their experiences both independently and together. An excellent opportunity for students who hope to teach
College 395: Education and the City (cross-listed edu 395)
An exploration of education beyond the school walls. In addition to its standard day schools, New York City is home to a wide variety of educational initiatives offered in evenings and weekends. We will explore the ways that libraries, museums, and other institutions support childhood and adult learning. We will also visit schools and other educational institutions and invite teachers and administrators to talk with us about their philosophies, challenges, and successes.
Housing & On-site Support
One West, a landmark building located on the corner of West Street and Battery Park Place, features apartments with views to Battery Park, New York Harbor, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Financial District of Manhattan. A faculty member serves as an on-site program director and teaches the seminars, leads a variety of experiential learning field trips, and serves as the central resource for students as they navigate life in New York City.
Internships
New York City Program students spend four days a week as interns in a firm or organization for one credit. Thanks to Hamilton alumni, parents, and other supporters, there is a growing list of sponsors for Hamilton’s New York City Program students.
Alumni Networking
Hamilton has a large contingent of alumni located in and around the Big Apple, and they take every opportunity to get to know students in the program. Want to partner with the NYC Program to host an intern? Get in touch with us.
Experiences & Excursions
Contact
Contact Name
Robert Knight
Faculty Director and Professor of Art
