What the Campus Has to Offer

Situated in the heart of Brooklyn, Brooklyn College is one of the most welcoming and exciting destinations in the entire borough. We are both a key component of the urban energy of New York City and a serene oasis from it.

First-time visitors are surprised by the beauty of our campus, and many of them say it looks like a bucolic New England college, with its stately elm trees, inviting lawns, Georgian-style buildings, and profusion of spring flowers and brilliant fall foliage. Once they’ve reminded themselves that all this improbable grandeur is right in the middle of New York’s most populous borough, they’re even more impressed by our superb facilities.

Our library is the most impressive in the entire CUNY system, a resource utilized by the entire college community. You’ll be able to find everything you need here, but if you can’t for any reason, our helpful and knowledgeable librarians will assist you in getting it.

Computer labs are situated around campus—in the West End Building, the Student Center, and the library. For those of you who are on campus in the evening or prefer to conduct your academic work at night, you don’t have to worry about the labs’ operating hours: The Library Café, a full-service computing facility, is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Our science labs delve into the study of everything from aquatic research to nuclear theory. Our Magner Career Center helps you get a jump on the competition when you start searching for a job. And our performing arts venues showcase both professional and student performances all year. We even have our own radio station and television studio!

In between your classes, you’ll have plenty of time—and numerous places—to relax. Our tranquil lily pond (with resident turtles and koi fish) and green quads are perfect spots to enjoy the outdoors in any season. Our Student Center—the hub of student government and recreation—is a popular place to meet up with friends, shoot some pool, or just watch some TV. Athletic opportunities abound, too: Even if you’re not on any of our sports teams, you can still play tennis on our courts, dive into our swimming pool, shoot some hoops on our basketball courts, or work out in the fitness center.

Come and see for yourself how much we have to offer by registering for a tour of the campus.

Where to eat

At Brooklyn College, you’ll find various unique dining options both on and off campus. Our on-campus options include food trucks, counter kiosks, a food pantry, and a Starbucks in the Library Café that offers everything from tacos to waffles. Off-campus, you are steps away from local food and beverage offerings, such as fast food, Caribbean food, a Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, healthy gourmet eats, and sit-down restaurants like Dallas BBQ and Applebees.

To get a quick snack, we have vending machines located in several buildings across campus. Catering is available for receptions and other special events.

Each of our dining areas offers free wireless access.

Spaces

Since Brooklyn College opened its Midwood campus in 1937, we have grown to include more than 10 buildings. Below are some of the highlights of what you’ll find on our 35 acres.

Alexander and Brenda Tanger Hillel at Brooklyn College

Located just across the street from campus, on Campus Road, Hillel is the center for Jewish student activities. Inside you’ll find a kosher cafeteria, recreational facilities, a chapel, and the offices of the student newspaper Hatikvah.

Boylan Hall

Named for the college’s first president, William A. Boylan, Boylan Hall houses many administrative offices, including those of the president, provost, some of the academic deans, and the vice president for student affairs. The Center for Academic Advisement and Student Success, the Learning Center, the Honors Academy, the Diana Rogovin Davidow Speech Language Hearing Center, several academic departments, classrooms, and art studios are also found here. On the lower level you’ll find a variety of dining options.

Ingersoll Hall and Ingersoll Hall Extension

In these two science buildings on the south side of the Central Quadrangle, you’ll find classrooms and laboratories, a nuclear physics laboratory, solid-state research facilities, and the Aquatic Research and Environmental Assessment Center, which sent fish into outer space in 1998.

James Hall

The School of Education, psychology laboratories, and several social science departments are housed in James Hall. You’ll also find the Magner Career Center, the Personal Counseling Office, the Veteran and Military Programs Office, and the Health Programs / Immunization Requirements Office.

La Guardia Hall

La Guardia Hall, named for late New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia, is the core of the Brooklyn College Library, the most technologically advanced in the CUNY system. The library owns one million print volumes, provides access to 669,000 electronic books and journals, and is staffed by professional and very knowledgeable librarians.

Leonard & Claire Tow Center for the Performing Arts

The newest building on campus offers the college’s performing arts programs an outstanding set of venues. The center houses rehearsal and performance space, set design and construction workshops, a double-height theater seating 225, a grand lobby and arcade, and classroom, meeting, and reception rooms. The building is fully ADA accessible (including technology in the Performance Hall for audio and visual impairments). It is the first LEED-certified, sustainable building on the campus incorporating low water-use toilets, recycled materials, and highly efficient HVAC and lighting systems.

Newman Catholic Center

Located a few blocks off campus, at 2401 Glenwood Road and East 24th Street, the Newman Center offers seminars, discussion groups, and religious services. It contains a lounge, a library, and a chapel.

Quadrangles

The East Quadrangle and the West Quadrangle are open spaces that invite you to relax, socialize, study, and occasionally attend an outdoor class.

Roosevelt Hall and Roosevelt Hall Extension

The Health Clinic, the Center for Student Disability Services, and offices for the student newspapers can all be found in these two buildings on the west side of campus.

Student Center

The hub for much of the cocurricular life on campus, the Student Center houses the student government offices, lounges, and game rooms. There’s also plenty of space for meetings, lectures, film screenings, dances, and parties.

West End Building

Adjacent to the tennis courts and athletic field, the West End Building houses the ITS Public Computing Labs, the Office of Student Testing, the Department of Film, and student club rooms.

West Quad Center

The West Quad Center houses many of the administrative offices you’ll need on a regular basis. Through the Enrollment Services Center, you’ll have access to the offices of the registrar, the bursar, financial aid, scholarships, and admissions. In addition to dance studios, the center is the home of our athletic and recreational facilities, including a swimming pool, fitness center, and basketball, racquetball, and volleyball courts.

Whitehead Hall

One of the largest and best-equipped college television centers on the East Coast is housed in Whitehead Hall. You’ll also find sculpture studios, classrooms for the social sciences, our student-run radio station, and the Morton and Angela Topfer Library Café, a 24/7 facility with more than 80 computer workstations, all with Internet access, as well as a convenient snack bar.

Whitman Hall

Our main performance venue provides a full schedule of music, theater, and dance productions presented by the college’s departments and by world-renowned artists and companies.