Colleges and universities

New York's statewide public university system is the State University of New York (SUNY). With a total enrollment of 413,000 students and 1.1 million continuing education students spanning 64 campuses across the state, SUNY is the largest public university system in the United States.

The City University of New York (CUNY) is the public university system of New York City and is independent of the SUNY system. It is the largest urban university in the United States, with 11 senior colleges, 6 community colleges, a doctorate-granting graduate school, a journalism school, a law school and the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. More than 450,000 degree-credit, adult, continuing and professional education students are enrolled at campuses located in all five New York City boroughs.

New York is also home to such notable private universities as Columbia University, New York University, and the Rochester Institute of Technology and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. New York has hundreds of other private colleges and universities, including many religious and special-purpose institutions. The state's land-grant university is Cornell University, a private university.

New York is the nation’s largest importer of college students, according to statistics which show that among freshmen who leave their home states to attend college, more come to New York than any other state, including California.