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SLU / CUNY School of Labor & Urban Studies
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Est. 2018
Public university, private purpose

Education
forworking
people,
by working people.

The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies educates working adults and cultivates the next generation of labor leaders, policy thinkers, and community organizers. Join a community of renowned scholars and movement builders in the heart of Midtown Manhattan.

Start your application Explore programs
§ CUNY / 25 W 43rd St, 19th Fl / NYC 10036
SLU exterior architectural community shot
No. 01 / View
Midtown Manhattan · 25 West 43rd Street
Organizing student Inneshia Hart
No. 02
Professor Penny Lewis portrait
No. 03
◆ FOR WORKING PEOPLE ◆ EST. 2018 ◆ NEW YORK CITY
Only at SLU CUNY
Educate. Organize. Mobilize. Study labor. Shape the city. Build the movement. Read the world.
§ Section One / Academics

Three departments,
one shared purpose.

Undergraduate, graduate, certificate, and non-degree pathways for working adults, returning students, and first-time scholars.
Dept. 01 / Labor Studies
Union semester student

Labor Studies

Understand the past, present, and future of work. Study unions, movements, and policy with scholars who built the field.

  • Undergraduate B.A.
  • Graduate M.A.
  • Union Semester Internship
  • Certificates
Dept. 02 / Urban Studies
Urban studies cityscape

Urban Studies

Read the city as a living text. Examine housing, transit, race, power, and the communities that build New York every day.

  • Undergraduate B.A.
  • Graduate M.A.
  • Community Semester
  • Urban Academy
Dept. 03 / Worker Ed.
Historical archival educational image

Worker Education

Open-door pathways for adults returning to college. Bridge programs, teacher pathways, and summer intensives rooted in the labor movement.

  • Bridge to College
  • LEAP to Teacher
  • CUNY Days
  • Corporate Research
§ Section Two / About SLU

Four pillars, one school built for working New York.

Evolved from the Joseph S. Murphy Institute, which served working adults for nearly 35 years before becoming CUNY's newest senior college in 2018.

Historical Murphy Institute archives
Yesterday / Murphy Institute, est. 1984
Modern SLU students and campus
Today / SLU at CUNY, est. 2018

01 / Labor Studies

Understand the past, present, and future of work.

02 / Urban Studies

Read the city as a living text.

03 / Workforce Dev.

Prepare workers for the next economy.

04 / Community Service

Civic engagement as core curriculum.

Access to education, diversity at every level, social justice, and equality for all.
— Mission, CUNY SLU
§ Section Three / Voices

The people who make SLU, SLU.

Students and faculty in their own words. Read the full conversations in our Spring 2026 journal.

Portrait of Inneshia Hart, student and organizer
Student Profile
No. 01
Inneshia Hart
B.A. Labor Studies / SEIU 1199 Organizer
I am a home health aide and a union organizer. For eleven years I have worked for SEIU 1199. SLU let me keep doing the work that matters and earn the degree I always wanted.
Professor Penny Lewis portrait

Professor Penny Lewis on teaching, organizing, and the long arc of CUNY

From the faculty lounge

→
Assemblymember Catherine Nolan portrait

Remembering Assemblymember Catherine Nolan

Honoring a champion

→
In memoriam. Assemblymember Catherine Nolan — a steadfast champion for workers, public education, and labor. Helped secure the first state investment in labor education.
1957 — 2026 Friend of the school
§ Section Four / Public Engagement

The conversation doesn't stop
at the classroom door.

Events, podcasts, conferences, and the New Labor Forum journal — open to the public, filed from 43rd Street.

Urban partnerships group discussion
Quarterly / Print + Digital

New Labor Forum

The flagship journal for ideas and debates in the labor movement, published three times a year.

→ Read Journal
Recording podcast interview setup
Podcast / Video

City Works TV / Podcast

Conversations with organizers, scholars, and policy thinkers shaping New York and the nation.

→ Listen / Watch
Year-round / Hybrid

Conferences & Programming

From Strategic Corporate Research to IPLCE and CELD, we convene the field.

→ Attend Events
0%
of undergraduates graduate debt-free
0%
of post-baccalaureate students graduate debt-free
0
years of Murphy Institute heritage

Education is Power. Get Yours at CUNY SLU.

§ Section Five / Dispatch

News, events,
and conversations.

Organizing College Athletes discussion panel poster artwork
April 17, 2026 / 6:00 PM / In person

Organizing College Athletes: prospects for winning labor rights.

A panel discussion on the historic unionization efforts sweeping college sports, featuring NLRB representatives, student-athlete organizers, and SLU labor historians. Open to the public.

Register to attend
View all dispatch entries

Apply now.
Join the movement.

Secure your spot for the upcoming semester. Our admissions team works with you personally, and most decisions arrive within three weeks. Bring your work experience. Bring your questions. We will meet you where you are.

Start application ↗ Talk to admissions
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