CUNY Cultural Corps
CUNY Cultural Corps is a CUNY sub-program providing students paid placements and workforce experience in NYC arts and cultural institutions, operating within a 26-college public university system serving predominantly first-generation, low-income, and immigrant New Yorkers tuition-free.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1847
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What CUNY Cultural Corps does
The entity named in the request, "CUNY Cultural Corps," is a sub-program within The City University of New York (CUNY), the public university system of New York City founded in 1847 and owned by the State of New York. CUNY Cultural Corps provides students with paid placements and work experience in NYC arts and cultural institutions, operating against the backdrop of a 26-college system that spans seven two-year community colleges, eleven four-year senior colleges, and eight graduate/professional schools across all five boroughs.
The broader CUNY system serves a target demographic of first-generation, low-income, and immigrant New Yorkers: 60% of undergraduates are first in their families to attend college, 50% come from households earning under $30,000 annually, and 72% of in-state undergraduates attend tuition-free. The system offers 2,800+ academic programs and credentials, draws $600M+ annually in faculty research grants, and contributes $33.2B in annual added value to the New York State economy with 82% of alumni remaining in NYC after graduation. Auxiliary workforce programs such as CUNY Beyond, the Made in NY Media Academy, LifeSci NYC, and the Cultural Corps integrate paid internships and employer pathways into academic programs.
CUNY operates on a hybrid revenue model combining state and city appropriations, federal and private research grants, donations (including CUNY Tuesday and alumni giving), and tuition fees differentiated by residency. In-state undergraduates pay zero tuition with financial aid covering full cost, while 77% of students graduate with zero debt. Distribution is direct-to-student through 26 colleges plus a centralized CUNY application, supplemented by online (CUNY Online) and continuing/professional education channels. Marketing leverages CUNY's own media properties (CUNY TV, CUNYverse), paid digital channels, NYC public school partnerships, and significant earned media exposure.
CUNY Cultural Corps firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CUNY Cultural Corps
- Legal name
- The City University of New York
- Website
- https://www1.cuny.edu
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1847
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CUNY Cultural Corps is a CUNY sub-program providing students paid placements and workforce experience in NYC arts and cultural institutions, operating within a 26-college public university system serving predominantly first-generation, low-income, and immigrant New Yorkers tuition-free.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CUNY Cultural Corps industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Arts Workforce Development Programs
- NAICS
- Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Fine Arts Schools (61161), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (712)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions (THAJADAK)
Keywords
Where CUNY Cultural Corps is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
CUNY Cultural Corps business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Tuition and Fees: CUNY charges tuition and fees to students, with different rates for in-state and out-of-state students. In-state undergrads attend tuition-free (72%), with financial aid covering costs for eligible students.
- State and City Government Funding: CUNY receives substantial state and city appropriations to support operations, with recent FY27 NYC Budget providing $15 million for community colleges and annual state budget allocations.
- Federal Grants and Research Funding: CUNY faculty win over $600 million in grants annually, including federal research funding from NSF, NIH, and other agencies. Recent $18.1M NSF award for AI-powered materials lab.
- Donations and Philanthropy: CUNY receives donations through various campaigns including CUNY Tuesday, alumni giving, and private foundation support.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | In-state undergraduate tuition |
| Subscription | Annual | Out-of-state and graduate tuition |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
CUNY Cultural Corps product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CUNY Cultural Corps is a paid workforce development program that places CUNY students at New York City cultural institutions to earn wages and gain hands-on work experience in the arts and culture sector. The program connects student participants with host cultural organizations, providing real-world professional experience in arts, cultural, and related fields.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- CUNY Cultural Corps: A program providing opportunities for students to earn money and gain work experience in arts and culture sectors.
- CUNY Beyond
- CUNYverse
- CUNY TV
- CUNY Reading Corps
- CUNY Immigrant Ambassador Program
Products and services
- CUNY Cultural Corps
Quantifiable outcome
- 77% of students graduate with $0 debt
- +6 more outcomes
Companies that use CUNY Cultural Corps
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
CUNY Cultural Corps technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
CUNY Cultural Corps partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NYC Mayor's Office of Media and EntertainmentcorePartnership with CUNY continuing education divisions to offer the Made in NY Media Academy workforce development initiative providing free training in audio production, graphic arts, digital content creation, and emerging technologies for New Yorkers.
- NYC Small Business ServicescorePartner in Made in NY Media Academy initiative providing workforce development in media and entertainment industries through CUNY continuing education divisions.
- Governor HochulcoreState investment through NY Career Connect Initiative providing $6.8 million in FY27 State Budget to expand CUNY Beyond career success program to five additional campuses.
- Food Bank for New York CitycoreCollaborates with Healthy CUNY and CUNY Central Office of Student Affairs to operate 19-20 campus food pantries providing food assistance to students across all campuses.
- LifeSci NYCminorNYC's paid internship program allowing CUNY undergraduate and graduate students to gain training and experience in life sciences through placements from start-ups to large hospitals.
- NYC Department of BuildingsminorCUNY faculty and students collaborate on climate and sustainability initiatives. Panelist Holly Savoia serves as director of sustainability enforcement, connecting students to career pathways in climate sector.
- Cultural InstitutionsminorCUNY Cultural Corps program provides students paid opportunities to earn money and gain work experience in arts and culture through partnerships with NYC cultural institutions.
Scale indicators15 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
CUNY Cultural Corps competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- Studio Museum in Harlem: The Studio Museum is an NYC cultural institution that could partner with CUNY Cultural Corps to host arts interns; it represents the type of cultural institution peer that CUNY Cultural Corps places students into and collaborates with on workforce programming.
- CUNY TV (Internal Peer/Media Asset): CUNY TV is CUNY's own Emmy-nominated public television station that produces arts, culture, and educational programming. It is an internal asset of the parent institution that creates media content overlapping with the cultural mission of CUNY Cultural Corps.
Broad incumbents
- University of California System: The UC system is a larger, more research-intensive public university system with 10 campuses, sharing the public-mission and California-state funding model with CUNY but operating at a higher tier of academic selectivity and research output.
- Temple University: Temple is a large public urban-serving university in Philadelphia with comparable workforce development and arts/culture programs, serving first-generation and diverse student populations similar to CUNY's mission-driven model.
Direct peers
- City Colleges of Chicago: City Colleges of Chicago is a seven-college community college district serving Chicago with a comparable urban-accessible public higher education model, similar first-generation and low-income student focus, and city-funded tuition structure paralleling CUNY's community college network.
- The New School: The New School is a private NYC university with a strong arts, design, and social sciences focus (Parsons School of Design). It competes directly with CUNY's cultural and creative arts programs for arts-focused NYC students but operates as a private institution.
- State University of New York (SUNY): SUNY is the other major public university system in New York State, operating 64 campuses. It is a direct peer to CUNY given its parallel mission as a public university system serving New York students with comparable tuition structures, workforce development programs, and government funding model.
- California State University: Cal State is the largest public university system in the U.S., operating 23 campuses with a similar mission of providing accessible, affordable higher education to diverse student populations—parallel to CUNY's urban-accessible model with workforce development focus.
- Los Angeles Community College District: LACCD operates nine community colleges serving the Los Angeles area with a workforce development focus and similar mission of providing accessible higher education to underserved urban populations—directly comparable to CUNY's seven two-year community colleges.
Regional players
- New York University (NYU): NYU is a major private NYC university competing for the same NYC-area student talent pool as CUNY, particularly in arts education (Tisch School of the Arts). It is a comparable regional player in NYC arts and culture higher education but operates on a private, tuition-driven model.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CUNY Cultural Corps social profiles
Digital presenceCUNY Cultural Corps financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CUNY Cultural Corps leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
CUNY Cultural Corps subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries26 records
CUNY Cultural Corps funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CUNY Cultural Corps M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CUNY Cultural Corps
What does CUNY Cultural Corps do?
CUNY Cultural Corps is a paid workforce development program that places CUNY students at New York City cultural institutions to earn wages and gain hands-on work experience in the arts and culture sector. The program connects student participants with host cultural organizations, providing real-world professional experience in arts, cultural, and related fields.
Is CUNY Cultural Corps a public or private company?
CUNY Cultural Corps is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was CUNY Cultural Corps founded?
CUNY Cultural Corps was founded in 1847. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is CUNY Cultural Corps based?
CUNY Cultural Corps is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does CUNY Cultural Corps make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Tuition and Fees are the primary driver. The others are state and City Government Funding, federal Grants and Research Funding and donations and Philanthropy.
Who are CUNY Cultural Corps's main competitors?
Others on record are Studio Museum in Harlem and CUNY TV (Internal Peer/Media Asset). Broad incumbents are University of California System and Temple University. Direct peers are City Colleges of Chicago, The New School, State University of New York (SUNY), California State University and Los Angeles Community College District. New York University (NYU) is listed as a regional player.
Does CUNY Cultural Corps have an API?
No public API is recorded for CUNY Cultural Corps.
What industry is CUNY Cultural Corps in?
CUNY Cultural Corps's product category is Arts Workforce Development Programs. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAHAD, Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations, with a secondary code of THAJADAK, Indigenous & Community Cultural Institutions. Its NAICS code is 6115.