Critical Conversations: bridging pathways forward to greater understanding and creative solutions.

Research &
Partnerships

How can we adapt our ways of making for a world in need of change? How can we involve our community more deeply? How will our impact be measured? Questions like these drive us. At Pratt, our research drives new creative futures that can pave the way for a more equitable, just, and sustainable world. In the process, our faculty, staff, and students lead research that deepens what we know about our world and the ways we engage within it.

Strategic Partnerships

For us, research is about the impact, support and engagement of community. Our strategic partnerships enable us to realize this goal through large-scale projects like the creation of our new Research Yard with CUNY City Tech at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and DesignWorks High School, a new public school for design and social justice with Bank Street College of Education. Our newest strategic partnership is as a founding core partner in the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island.

 

LEARN MORE ABOUT PARTNERSHIPS
large workroom, with white ceiling and floor, with offices in the background, and students talking in the foreground, one student sitting on the floor
large warehouse building in background, street and trees in foreground

Annual Research Open House

At Pratt, we define research broadly and inclusively. Our annual open house is a showcase of the breadth and depth of the boundary-pushing work that our faculty, staff, and students are doing.

Explore some of this year’s projects online
rhizomatic artwork comprised of a collage
This rhizomatic self-study offers new methods of addressing the psychodynamic, embodied, and family systems aspects of eating disorder etiology by implementing a metaphoric demolition and reconstruction of the interior self via creation of a three-dimensional, transformable collage book that enacts ego death and rebirth and evolves throughout the therapeutic journey.
woman holding pot, in gallery
Rather than reaching learning objective benchmarks, Trust-Events in the Art of Pedagogy explored how educators may approach curricular design with greater sensitivity to students’ growth and needs by creating trust-events that form the foundation of a healthy student-teacher relationship

Pratt Center for Community Development

In partnership with community-based groups, small businesses, and the public sector, the Pratt Center for Community Development aims to improve quality of life, create economic opportunity, and advance sustainable development in New York City.

Learn more about PCCD

Center for Climate Adaptation

Pratt’s newest Center, launched in February 2024, is the Center for Climate Adaptation. This emerged from research on the built and natural environment which we began on Governors Island and we now lead as a founding co-partner of the NY Climate Exchange. 

LEARN MORE ABOUT CCA
Students gathered in a library, seated around a table, with one student standing-- working with a professor seated across the table
Students participate in a community planning project facilitated by the Pratt Center for Community Development.
teacher speaking with students

Spatial Analysis & Visualization Initiative (SAVI)

SAVI is a leader in geographic mapping, information visualization and design to support urban community change.

Learn more about SAVI
rendering of map and UI

Center for K-12 Research

Pratt’s Center for Art, Design, and Community Engagement K-12 expands access to art and design education by creating meaningful exchanges between Pratt student and faculty, and local schools and community-based organizations. Discover the latest programs and initiatives.

Learn more about the Center for K–12 Research
woman reading to student

Research Accelerators

Our Pratt Research Accelerators, housed in the Research Yard turn early ideas into real world impact. We provide a rich environment for research projects to grow, advancing them into startups, school centers, provost centers, and more.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE RESEARCH YARD

Faculty Resources

Our team is here to help you further your research. Whether you’re working toward a funding opportunity or need project approval, we have a range of resources available.

Read more
A photo depicting a studio space with exposed brick and rafters on the ceiling, with a sliding metal door on one wall, the opposite wall is made of smooth drywall, with about 20 photographs with captions under them, some with writing on the pictures
The Pratt Creative Xchange (PCX) gave students the opportunity to build a space where they can explore the process of creation in order to inspire future innovation and understand how design influences a community.
A student and professor speaking in a fabric workshop, with many threads and swatches on the wall behind them
Local artists and designers delved into the history of industrial economy while simultaneously teaching internship participants some of the material processes and techniques mentioned throughout.