Marist College is a private institution in New York’s Hudson Valley, established in 1929.

A liberal arts institution, Marist is located in the town of Poughkeepsie, next to the city of the same name, 75 miles upstream from New York City, of which there are direct trains too. The college’s 150-acre campus is three miles south of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Museum and family home and 70 south of state capital Albany.

Founded on land belonging to the Marist family, the college’s first graduates were four Marist brothers. It has run chartered four-year courses since 1946. A selective institution, Marist has been coeducational since the 1960s. More than 50 programmes are available at the undergraduate and postgraduate level, and its online courses have received special praise. Approximately a third of its students are on postgraduate or adult courses.

The college has a flagship accord with technology giant IBM, who facilitate many research projects and work experience programmes, but it also offers a range of internships in Manhattan in art, fashion and media.

Marist has an additional campus is in the Italian city of Florence. A partnership with the Lorenzo de Medici School, a stone’s throw from Florence’s main station, has opened up various study abroad opportunities in the historic Tuscan city, where classes are taught in English across a range of disciplines.

Alumni include Bill O’Reilly, the conservative political commentator and broadcast journalist, and Rik Smits, the Dutch-born 7’4” basketball star who, along with Reggie Miller, helped the Indiana Pacers to multiple 1990s Eastern Conference Finals after his performances for the Marist Red Foxes caused him to be picked second in the 1988 NBA draft.