This collection primarily consists of photographs of New School students, faculty, administrators, buildings, class sessions, student life, and events. While the photographs span the period between 1933 and 1984, most of the photographs are concentrated between the 1940s and the 1970s.

The Parsons School of Design Centenary Oral History Project consists of recorded sound interviews with twelve individuals as well as two audio monologues by the project's manager, Martica Sawin. The interviews, recorded in 1994, cover the history of different academic departments and design disciplines over the course of the twentieth century as experienced by former and then-current instructors and administrators. Recordings are all in English.