Utica, New York - Education

Education

Utica's sole remaining public high school is Thomas R. Proctor High School, as its original public high school (Utica Free Academy, founded in 1814) shut down in 1990. Utica is also home to Notre Dame High School, a small parochial high school, founded in 1959 by the Xaverian Brothers.

Higher Education choices in Utica include: Utica College, State University of New York Institute of Technology, Mohawk Valley Community College, and Utica School of Commerce. Nearby colleges include Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, Herkimer County Community College in Herkimer, New York, and Colgate University in Hamilton, New York.

Utica is the home of Utica College, founded in 1946, as a four-year college affiliated with Syracuse University. While Utica College became fully independent from Syracuse University in 1995, its undergraduates still receive Syracuse degrees. Utica College was originally an urban campus in the Oneida Square area of the city. In 1961, it relocated to a modern 128-acre (0.52 km2) campus on the west side of Utica. Currently a new science wing and additional buildings are being added to the campus.

Utica is also the home of Mohawk Valley Community College, which was founded in 1946 as the New York State Center of Applied Arts and Sciences at Utica, and was the first community college established in New York State. MVCC found its true raison d'etre during the 1950s as a training facility for unemployed textile workers looking to operate technical equipment at a new General Electric plant. The college became a fully accredited institution in 1960, and has gradually expanded its campus along Utica's Culver Avenue.

State University of New York Institute of Technology is located along the Utica and Marcy New York border, though it was first established in 1969 on Utica's westside. A four-year institution, SUNY-IT offers a variety of technology based majors and master's degree programs.

Empire State College was founded in 1971 and is one of thirteen SUNY colleges of arts and sciences. Empire State College consists of eight centers with the Central New York Center being in Syracuse. Each center has different units providing educational services for those communities. The Utica Unit serves Oneida, Herkimer, Madison, and Otsego counties.