144 West 14 Street
New York, NY 10011

Pratt Institute in New York City was founded by Charles Pratt, the poor son of a carpenter, who lived on one dollar a week while attending Wesleyan University for three winters in the middle of the 19th century. Although he earned wealth working in the oil field, eventually owning a business that merged with Standard Oil, Pratt never completed his higher education. He always dreamed of founding a college where students could learn to work with their hands.

Over 120 years ago, Pratt saw his dream become a reality when 12 students began their education at the Brooklyn campus of the Pratt Institute. Only four years after he saw his dream come true, Charles Pratt died, leaving the early administration to his sons.

Today, the Pratt Institute has three campuses, including the Brooklyn campus, a campus in Manhattan and Pratt at Munson-Williams-Proctor in Utica, New York. Pratt Institute combines theory with creative application and sets them with grounding in the liberal arts and sciences. Pratt Institute offers over 30 undergraduate and graduate programs at its three locations. Pratt Institute is home to four schools of study, which are architecture, art and design, information and library science and liberal arts and sciences. Included in the degree programs are architecture, art therapy, environmental systems management, critical and visual studies, Graphic Design, film/video, photography and writing.

The Pratt Library is a point of pride for Pratt Institute. A beautiful 19th-century architecturally inspired building; the library boasts over 200,000 volumes of printed material, over 600 periodical subscriptions and access to over 120,000 archives, rare books and electronic media. The mission of the library is to support learning in the disciplines of art, architecture, design, liberal arts, sciences and allied fields.

Quick Facts:

In 2008, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded two Pratt Institute professors Guggenheim Fellowships. The professors were two of only 190 fellowships awarded annually.

Pratt Institute's founder, Charles Pratt was an early leader and philanthropist in Brooklyn. Pratt contributed to many of Brooklyn's major institutions, including the Adelphi Academy and the building of Emmanuel Baptist Church.

The motto at Pratt Institute is "Be True to Your Work And Your Work Will be True to You."

In the East Building on the Brooklyn campus, visitors and students can see the oldest continuously-operating, privately-owned, steam-powered electrical generating plant in the country. Visitors can also pull the lever and on the whistle from the U.S.S. Normandy, try out riverboat and train whistles and speak with the chief engineer about steam energy.

This school profile has been compiled and updated by The CollegeBound Network. The school is not affiliated with The CollegeBound Network and shall not be considered a sponsor of this program.