Although it was originally intended to serve as the College of Police Science for members of the New York City Police Department, the college has always welcomed civilian students and offers a wide range of courses in the traditional arts, sciences, and humanities as well as those in related professional disciplines. Most of the college's students are residents of New York City and of surrounding communities in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
All students commute to their classes directly from their homes or from their places of employment.
To accommodate the rotating schedules of its large in-service population, the college offers a flexible undergraduate class schedule in which identical daytime and evening classes are often taught by the same professor. John Jay College occupies two buildings on the West Side of Manhattan at 59th Street and 10th Avenue, John Jay Square. One of the buildings was recently renovated and houses new classrooms, a theater, the country's leading criminal justice library, administrative offices, and an extensive athletics facility. Nearby, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the New York theater district, Carnegie Hall, and numerous other cultural facilities provide a rich source of information as well as entertainment. The college's location not only makes access to major criminal justice agencies convenient, but also offers all the aspects and resources of one of the most fascinating cities in the world as background for its programs.