What is a Community College

A community college typically offers two-year associate’s degrees that prepare students for direct entry into the workforce or for transfer to a four-year institution (university). Tompkins Cortland Community College offers more than 40 degree programs, and our students regularly transfer to four-year institutions in New York, around the country, and the world.

Tompkins Cortland Community College is one of 30 community colleges and 64 campuses in the State University of New York system. Located in Dryden, New York, the college serves more than three thousand students in credit programs and another three thousand in non-credit workshops and customized training.

After completing an associate’s degree, international students can apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT), which will allow them to work in the United States in the field that they studied, or students can transfer to a university to complete a bachelor’s degree. In many cases, the credits completed at TC3 will transfer to their university to help them complete their bachelor’s degree faster.