<Tr> <Th> Affiliations </Th> <Td> AICAD NASAD </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> www.newschool.edu/parsons/ </Td> </Tr> <P> Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City . It is one of the five colleges of The New School . The school is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious art and design schools in the world and ranks consistently as the top art and design school in the United States . </P> <P> The school was founded in 1896 by William Merritt Chase in search of individualistic artistic expression . It was the first of its kind in the country to offer programs in fashion design, advertising, interior design, and graphic design . The school offers numerous undergraduate and graduate programs, ranging from architectural design, curatorial studies, to textiles and design and urban ecologies . </P>

Is parsons and the new school the same