Brooklyn civic leaders joined NYU President John Sexton, NYU Dean of Engineering Katepalli R. Sreenivasan, and NYU Provost David McLaughlin today to celebrate the merger of NYU-Poly with NYU. NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering now becomes NYU’s newest school and will have an increased presence in Downtown Brooklyn.

Engineering Returns to NYU

Brooklyn Leaders Celebrate as NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering
Becomes NYU’s Newest School

Among the leaders invited to join the event are U.S. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, State Senators Martin Golden and Velmanette Montgomery; Assembly Members Joan Millman, Peter Abbate, Jr., Joseph Lentol, Maritza Davila, Walter Mosely, Felix Ortiz, and Nick Perry; Council Members Stephen Levin, Mathieu Eugene, Inez Barron, and Darlene Mealy; Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President Carlo Scissura; and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed.

New York University completed its merger with the Polytechnic Institute of NYU on January 1st, 2014, officially bringing the discipline of engineering back to the University for the first time in four decades. With the merger, the institute is now known as NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering.

Originally founded in 1854 as the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, the school has been operating as NYU-Poly for the past five years and is the nation’s second oldest private engineering school. With the merger, the School of Engineering’s 4,890 students (including 2,150 undergraduates) and more than 160 full-time faculty members officially become part of the NYU community.

“This merger strengthens NYU by re-establishing our capabilities in applied science, technology, and engineering; creating new interdisciplinary opportunities for learning and research; and enhancing the ability of our faculty and students to pursue cutting-edge technology in their academic endeavors,” President Sexton said. “The merger also reinforces NYU’s presence in Brooklyn, where the School of Engineering serves as a foundation for growing programs such as the Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP), the Media and Games Network (MAGNET), and our incubator sites to create many new exciting possibilities for research and learning across the University.”

“For NYU-Poly, the merger means a connection to a major research university with an extensive basic science research agenda and great strength in the social sciences, humanities, and professions,” Dean Sreenivasan said. “Broadly speaking, the integration of technological depth with business, medical, and social science fields will produce better educated engineers who can engage themselves in devising technical solutions of complex problems with better awareness of their consequences in a larger societal context.”

The merger brings engineering back to NYU for the first time since the closing of its Heights Campus in the Bronx in 1973. NYU created a formal affiliation with the Polytechnic University in 2008 as the first step toward a formal merger. The affiliation has generated significant benefits for both institutions. At the former NYU-Poly, applications more than doubled, SAT scores for first-year students rose dramatically, research grants increased by 30%, and the graduation rate increased by 15%. And the affiliation enabled NYU to make major faculty hires and enhance its presence in Brooklyn, including winning the designation of the Bloomberg administration’s applied science competition with the creation of CUSP.

In October, 2012, the Board of Trustees of NYU and NYU-Poly both voted to take the necessary steps to complete the merger. The New York State Board of Regents, the state’s supervising educational authority, approved the merger in June, 2013. The Middle States Commission on Higher Education, the educational accreditation organization, approved the merger in July and the U.S. Department of Education granted its official recognition shortly thereafter.

“We’re extremely proud to have an institution the caliber of NYU merging with Poly, a school with a rich history and deep roots in Brooklyn, officially expanding its presence here in Downtown Brooklyn, joining the other ten other universities and colleges in the area,” said Borough President Adams. “With more than 60,000 students hailing from these schools, Downtown Brooklyn is truly New York City’s college town and it is exciting to now have NYU as a part of our growing educational landscape.”

“Poly, with its broad reach into engineering, its nationally ranked game innovation lab, and its renowned and highly productive incubators, is at the center point of the efforts to revitalize and reinvent the economy of Brooklyn, New York City, and New York State” Said Senator Martin Golden. Golden, chair of the NYS Senate select Committee on Science, Technology, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship, has been a strong supporter of Poly and of NYU. “Incubators are creating companies, jobs, and opportunities, and the game lab students are participating in an economic sector that is growing at the rate of ten per cent per year. The merger with NYU will strengthen these important efforts and increase opportunity for students and the people of this area.”

“This is another great day for Brooklyn as we welcome NYU’s 14th school thus far. I would like to thank NYU and the School of Engineering for maintaining their commitment to the borough,” said New York State Assembly Member Joan Millman. “The Downtown Brooklyn campus allows the engineering program to remain competitive while serving as a huge asset to the booming Brooklyn Tech Triangle. The Tech Triangle is home to the largest cluster of tech activity outside Manhattan. For years to come, the businesses in the Tech Triangle will be provided with a locally based and highly skilled workforce prepared for careers in the engineering industry. I see this as one of the greatest aspects of today’s announcement.”

“I couldn’t be more thrilled about the opening of the NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering in Downtown Brooklyn,” said NYC Council Member Stephen Levin. “The NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering will offer a top-rate engineering education to Brooklyn residents and will be instrumental in further making Brooklyn a hub of tech innovation.”

“Everyone knows that Brooklyn, aside from being the ‘Borough of Churches,’ is also a growing college town,” said Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carlo A. Scissura. “Brooklynites are proud that an international institution such as NYU and Poly, a Brooklyn school with a great tradition, are joining forces. Brooklyn is a mecca for colleges and this school will draw students to our borough from all over New York City and the world.”

“This is a great time to be in Downtown Brooklyn which has become New York City’s college town with 60,000 students and 11 institutions including the prestigious network of NYU,” said Downtown Brooklyn Partnership President Tucker Reed. “NYU Polytechnic School of Engineering is in the heart of the growing Brooklyn Tech Triangle and further contributes to the area being a magnet for innovation and tech-sector minds and companies.”


New York University, founded in 1831, is one of the world’s foremost research universities and a member of the selective Association of American Universities. The first Global Network University, it has degree-granting university campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai; 11 other global academic sites; and sends more students to study abroad than any other U.S. college or university. Through its numerous schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music and studio arts, public administration, social work, engineering, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.

Press Contact

Phil Lentz
Phil Lentz
(212) 998-6833