When your script calls for stately brick buildings, athletic fields, classrooms, auditoriums, or a classic quad, Westchester County is home to a rich variety of higher education institutions with over two dozen campuses and satellite locations. They offer a wide array of looks including urban brick plazas with modern art and Gothic revival castles. 

While their primary focus is on education — including several programs to train up-and-coming filmmakers — Westchester’s college campuses offer versatility and proximity to New York City, making them easy choices for productions. 

Pace University

Iona University

Iona University’s 45-acre New Rochelle, in the NYC film zone, features manicured walkways and traditional college looks, with several 100+ year old buildings dotting the landscape. The college president’s home appeared in several scenes of Steven Spielberg’s  “The Post,” and since then, Iona has hosted several additional productions for filming and base camp, including “FBI: Most Wanted” (CBS), “The White House Plumbers” (HBO), “Have You Seen This Man” (ABC) and the independent film, “The Day The Music Died/American Pie.” 

Film productions are attracted to Iona’s architecture, space for parking, and facilities for trailers and crews,” according to Kimberly Winston, manager of conference services. “My background is hospitality and we approach our work with the industry with that spirit,” she notes. “We hear from productions that we are easy to work with, and that’s because our focus is on being flexible and providing good service.”  

Purchase College

Campuses offer flexible space for creative crews. For example, a clearing at Purchase College was transformed into a Vietnam era Army base for “The Post.” The school’s Performing Arts Center was used for a concert scene in “Marry Me,” a 2022 feature film starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson. The former College of New Rochelle has served as a hospital, jail, and various residences for “City on a Hill” (Showtime). 

Sometimes, a campus represents another campus: Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville represented Bard College in scenes for the Neflix feature, “The Meyerowitz Stories.” 

Libraries can become cigar bars, administrative buildings may be transformed into FBI headquarters, and science buildings can stand in for forensic labs. The opportunities are endless, and Westchester’s campuses want to help film crews make them happen, says Keisha Martin, director of conference planning at Purchase College. “We welcome filming with open arms.”

SUNY Westchester Community College 

SUNY WCC's 218-acre campus boasts a mix of modern and historic architecture, from the sleek Gateway Center to the grandeur of Hartford Hall, a 1932 Historic Preservation Site. With brick buildings, green spaces, high-tech labs, athletic fields and proximity to New York City, it's a convenient choice for filmmakers seeking an array of looks in one location.

The college has a history of hosting film and television productions, according to Alexandra Giusto, college and community partnership developer. "We provide a welcoming environment for crews and offer flexible scheduling options. We are happy to work with productions to adapt our facilities, including classrooms, auditoriums, and administrative buildings, to suit the needs of different projects. It’s not just a pretty campus, it’s a creative playground where education and entertainment collide in the most exciting ways."

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