Bronx Community College will be part of a new partnership between the City University of New York and Amazon, which allows the company’s current hourly employees to attend college to further their career opportunities.
As of January, through Amazon’s Career Choice program, the company is providing an annual benefit covering tuition and select fees for all qualifying hourly employees accepted into Bronx Community College.
Starting with an initial focus on associate and bachelor’s degrees, the initiative is open to any major of study at eight CUNY colleges in all five New York City boroughs. CUNY’s partnership, the first for Amazon in New York State, is part of a national commitment by Amazon to provide educational and upskilling opportunities to more than 750,000 hourly employees at four national and more than 140 local universities and colleges.
Through this collaboration, New York City-based Amazon workers will have access to more than 500 associate and bachelor’s CUNY degree programs – including more than 40 programs at Bronx Community College — offered online or in-person, including in-demand fields such as technology, healthcare, and green energy.
“We applaud Amazon’s commitment to our students,” said Bronx Community College President Thomas Isekenegbe. “The plan to cover tuition costs for our more than 40 Associate degree programs will change the landscape for our community. BCC students will build upon their skills with increased opportunities for their careers and employment, all with the possibility for a better future.”
In addition to Bronx Community College, the other CUNY colleges participating in the program include: Borough of Manhattan Community College, the City College of New York, the College of Staten Island, the CUNY School of Professional Studies, Kingsborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College and Queens College.
“We cannot be a prosperous city without the collaboration of private partners to help create efficient educational and career pipelines,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “This is what I call ‘Get Stuff Done’ and I’m grateful Amazon is working with the city to launch this joint educational partnership. Thanks to the collaboration between CUNY’s Career Success Initiatives and Amazon’s Career Choice, thousands of New Yorkers will gain access to an Associate or Bachelor’s degree and training to further their careers.”
