CUNY SPS Partners with Amazon to Offer the Company’s New York Hourly Employees Tuition Benefits So They Can Pursue Online Bachelor’s Degrees

CUNY School of Professional Studies is one of eight CUNY Colleges in the Amazon Partnership

This new collaboration is part of CUNY’s Career Success Initiative to help New Yorkers launch and advance their careers in partnership with employers

Career Choice is part of Amazon’s Upskilling 2025 pledge – a $1.2 billion commitment to upskill more than 300,000 Amazon employees by 2025

The CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) is part of a new partnership between the City University of New York and Amazon which allows the company’s hourly employees to attend college to further their career opportunities. Starting in January 2022, through Amazon’s Career Choice program, the company will provide an annual benefit covering tuition and select fees for all qualifying hourly employees accepted into CUNY SPS.

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.

“This important partnership is a powerful example of how the private sector can join forces with the City University of New York to advance workers’ education, promote economic mobility, and help rebuild New York City’s post-pandemic economy all at the same time,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “We thank Amazon for its commitment to higher education for its employees and look forward to working with them while expanding CUNY’s role as one of the nation’s premier engines of economic opportunity.”

“Our collaboration with Amazon will empower their employees to take advantage of CUNY SPS’s top-rated online degree programs and achieve their educational goals,” said CUNY SPS Interim Dean Jorge Silva-Puras. “At CUNY SPS, our mission is to help working adults to finish their college degree and advance in their studies, and we are pleased to now extend this opportunity to the Amazon workforce. In particular, the online offerings at CUNY SPS will enable Amazon employees to take classes on their own time and schedule so that they can conveniently fit their coursework in with their job and family responsibilities. We welcome our Amazon cohort and can’t wait to see what they will achieve.”

Through this collaboration, New York City-based Amazon workers will have access to 14 online degree programs at CUNY SPS, including in-demand fields such as business, technology, and healthcare. This initial cohort of CUNY colleges represent a footprint in each borough to provide locations in physical proximity to Amazon operations. While CUNY SPS’s degree programs are offered online, allowing employees to study anywhere and at any time, the School’s campus is located near the Manhattan Amazon facility so that workers there may conveniently meet with faculty or advisors.

“At Amazon, we’re committed to empowering our employees by providing them access to the education and training they need to grow their careers, whether that’s with us or elsewhere,” said Carley Graham Garcia, Head of Community Affairs at Amazon in New York. “We’re thrilled today to be partnering with CUNY on our Career Choice program to give our employees access to pursue the education path that fits their passions. Whether employees are looking to finish their Bachelor’s degree at CUNY or build on their foundational skills of English proficiency or GED preparation with our national partners, we’re prepared to meet our employees wherever they are on their educational journey.”

The other CUNY colleges participating in the program include: Bronx Community College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, the City College of New York, the College of Staten Island, Kingsborough Community College, LaGuardia Community College, and Queens College.

Career training is just one of the industry-leading benefits that Amazon offers to its team. In addition, Amazon pays employees an average starting wage of $18 per hour, which is more than double the federal minimum wage, and provides comprehensive health benefits, paid time off, up to 20 weeks fully paid parental leave, and additional benefits for employees and their families.

Since launching in 2012, Career Choice has helped provide education for more than 50,000 employees. As of this announcement, Amazon’s Career Choice program works with more than 180 education providers across the U.S., which along with colleges and universities includes partners providing industry certifications, English language proficiency, high school completion programs, and college preparatory courses. Career Choice is one of nine free skills training and education programs that Amazon offers to its employees as part of its Upskilling 2025 pledge.

To learn more about Career Choice, visit: https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice

To learn more about Amazon’s $1.2 billion investment to upskill 300,000 employees in the next four years, visit: http://aboutamazon.com/upskilling2025

Jobs are available across New York. Interested candidates can see all open positions at https://hiring.amazon.com/.

To learn more about CUNY Career Success Initiatives, please visit: https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/workforce/

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Amazon strives to be Earth’s Most Customer-Centric Company, Earth’s Best Employer, and Earth’s Safest Place to Work. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Career Choice, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, Alexa, Just Walk Out technology, Amazon Studios, and The Climate Pledge are some of the things pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

About the CUNY School of Professional Studies

As New York’s leader in online education since 2006, the CUNY School of Professional Studies (CUNY SPS) offers the most online bachelor’s and master’s degree options at the City University of New York, and serves as the University’s only undergraduate all-transfer college. With 24 degrees and numerous other non-degree and grant-funded workplace learning programs, CUNY SPS meets the needs of adults who wish to finish a bachelor’s degree, progress from an associate’s degree, earn a master’s degree or certificate in a specialized field, and advance in the workplace or change careers. Consistently ranked highly by U.S. News & World Report for its online offerings, and noted for its soaring growth and enrollment, CUNY SPS has emerged as a nationwide leader in online education. The School’s renowned and affordable online programs—which offer in-state tuition to all students regardless of where they live—ensure that busy working adults may fulfill their educational goals on their own time and schedule.

Press Contact
Andrea Fagon
Director of Marketing and Communications
andrea.fagon@cuny.edu