Is NYU or Brown better for a career in publishing?

NYU is the more practical choice for a career in book publishing, particularly for editorial or marketing roles. Its Greenwich Village location puts you near the major U.S. trade-publishing ecosystem, where internships, part-time jobs, author events, and informational interviews are more accessible during the academic year. For an industry in which early experience and professional relationships matter, being able to intern locally rather than only during summers is a meaningful advantage.

NYU students can pursue publishing-adjacent coursework and communities through areas such as creative writing, English, journalism, marketing, and media, culture, and communication. The city also makes it realistic to attend readings, book launches, literary festivals, and events hosted by publishers, bookstores, and literary organizations. An aspiring editorial assistant could build a portfolio through student publications while seeking semester internships; someone leaning toward marketing could pair communications or business-oriented study with campaign, social-media, or events experience.

Brown offers an excellent humanities education and substantial flexibility through its open curriculum. That freedom can be valuable for a student who wants to combine literary study with writing, visual arts, public policy, or entrepreneurship, and Brown’s literary culture can support strong critical-reading and writing skills. However, Providence does not offer the same day-to-day proximity to publishing offices as New York City, so Brown students will more often need to pursue publishing internships in summers or arrange travel and remote networking.

For publishing, the undergraduate major matters less than graduating with strong writing and editing samples, relevant internships, campus-publication experience, and contacts who can recommend you. Brown can absolutely lead to publishing, especially for a student who would thrive more there academically and socially. But NYU provides a notably easier path to accumulating the specific industry experience that entry-level editorial and marketing hiring tends to value.