Although New York City isn’t a college town, you might recognize the name Hudson University as Bill Cosby’s alma mater in The Cosby Show and as the site of numerous murders and risqué college parties on Law & Order.
You may have even searched for Hudson University in New York, which lead you to this article.
Well, this article provides all available information to help you answer the question “Hudson University in New York: fact or fiction?”
Keep reading to find out.
Hudson University In New York: Fact
Early in the 17th century, Henry Hudson, an English explorer, arrived to explore the waterways surrounding what is now known as New York City.
Among other things, he discovered a sizable river flowing north to south while looking for a northeast route to India.
The Hudson River, named after Henry Hudson, is the body of water that currently serves as the border between New York City and New Jersey.
When his troops rebelled and set him adrift while looking for a Northwest Passage, Hudson later died.
One of the most well-known rivers in the nation has his name, but there is no known Hudson University.
It’s difficult to say when the fictitious Hudson University first appeared in the public, but one of the earliest references to it may be found in a 1969 Batman comic published by DC Comics.
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Hudson University In New York: Fiction
The fictional university; Hudson University can be found in American comic books produced by DC Comics.
In Law & Order and its spin-offs, as well as less frequently in many other television shows and motion pictures, Hudson University is also used to refer to a fictional university.
The university is typically portrayed as being in or close to New York City, which is located next to the Hudson River.
Hudson university can be found in various comics, television, and movies, as shown below:
Television And Movies
1. Without a Trace
In season 5, episode 11 of Without A Trace, Ted wants to play basketball at Hudson University.
2. Blindspot
In Season 1, Episode 19, of the NBC show Blindspot, there is a shooting case at Hudson University.
3. Blue Bloods
In Season 2, Episode 14, when three demonstrators were detained for assaulting a police officer, and in Season 4, Episode 19, when an English professor was discovered dead, the CBS program Blue Bloods both addressed Hudson University.
Additionally, it was addressed in Episode 13 of Season 1 and Episode 8 of Season 5 of this series.
4. The Secret Life of the American Teenager
The Hudson University in New York is depicted in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, which is set in Valley Glen, California, and to which two of its key protagonists, Amy Juergens and Ben Boykewich, have been accepted.
5. Unforgettable
Hudson University was featured on the CBS drama Unforgettable in the episodes “Day of the Jackie,” “Till Death,” and once more in “Breathing Space,” with scenes taking place in the campus bookshop and dean’s office.
6. The Flash
The Hudson University facility where the F.I.R.E.S.T.O.R.M. project was developed was shown in The Flash episode “Revenge of the Rogues”.
It also made an appearance in the episode “All Star Team Up,” where Lindsay Kang, an engineering professor, was killed there by robotic bees that Brie Larvan was in control of.
The “All Doll’d Up” episode also made use of the made-up university.
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7. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow
In the 2016 television episode “Freaks and Geeks” of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, the Waverider team visits Hudson University in search of the ancient cup.
8. Murder, She Wrote
As Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote Season 8, Angela Lansbury travels to New York to instruct a criminology course at the made-up Hudson University.
A different professor challenges Jessica to a competition to see who can solve a succession of crimes occurring on the Hudson University campus in episode 2 of Season 8’s “Night Fears”.
9. Beauty & The Beast
Hudson University is a made-up location in this television series where J.T. Forbes is a professor of biochemistry.
In Season 1, Episode 5, J.T. sees the school’s logo and was removing electronic equipment from the school grounds.
10. The Mysteries of Laura
The college that the suspect in the case attends in The Mysteries of Laura, Season 2, Episode 8, “The Mystery of the Ghost in the Machine” is Hudson University.
The school’s colors, Blue and Gold, can be seen in the background of a computer screen photo of the suspect’s dorm room, according to Detective Laura Diamond.
11. Elementary
The victim dropped out of Hudson University’s law school in episode 13 of Season 5.
12. 13 Reasons Why
Flashbacks in the well-known Netflix series suggest that Hannah Baker, a student who commits suicide, considered Hudson University as a prospective college option in episode 8 of season 1.
13. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Episode 2 of season 3 features Kimmy touring potential colleges and she cites Hudson University as a potential option as she searches through her collection of pamphlets.
The pamphlet uses stock photos of crime scenes to illustrate the allegedly high crime rate at the hypothetical school.
14. SEAL Team
A graduate student who claims to be a teacher at Hudson University mentions the institution in a pub during episode 2 of season 1.
Unlike other shows, it is supposed to be based loosely on the College of William & Mary and be situated in Williamsburg, Virginia, rather than New York.
Because when not on operations, members of the SEAL Team on the television show reside and work in the nearby city of Virginia Beach.
15. Quantico
Uranium is taken from a nuclear lab on the campus of Hudson University in season 3 episode 5.
16. Shooter
The senior leaders of the ATLAS organization meet during a funeral being held at Hudson University in episode 5 of season 3 of the Netflix series.
17. The Night Of
The main character of the HBO series, Naz Khan, tells a policeman in the first episode that he attends Hudson University.
18. The King of Staten Island
The main character Scott, who is starting his studies at Hudson University, goes across campus with his younger sister Claire in the movie.
19. Yellowstone
A Hudson University diploma can be seen hanging on the wall of the Office of the Governor in season 2, episode 3, and season 3, episode 1.
20. Castle
The fictional Hudson University is used in the Nathan Fillion-starring ABC television series Castle episodes “The Mistress Always Spanks Twice” and “A Deadly Game”, in which the police run into Ukrainian exchange students who have obtained fake identification.
In the episode “Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind”, the school makes a second appearance as the site of an altitude chamber.
The school was named the workplace of the episode’s victims in the episodes “Head Case” and “Dial M for Mayor”.
It is mentioned as the school of the victim in “The Fast and the Furriest”, an evolutionary biology major who died while purportedly pursuing Bigfoot.
A Hudson University physics student was the target of an assassin in the movie “Time Will Tell”, who may or may not have been from the future.
Castle visited Hudson University as a guest lecturer to investigate the horrific murder of a student in the episode “PhDead”.
A student from Hudson University is mentioned in the episode “In Plane Sight” as having connections to ISIS, being on the No Fly List, and being accused of killing an air marshal.
21. The Cosby Show
The medical school Cliff Huxtable attended is represented by Hudson University in the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, as described in Season 1, Ep. 6 Breaking with Tradition.
22. Degrassi: The Next Generation
The Canadian teenage drama Degrassi: The Next Generation makes use of Hudson University. Jimmy Brooks, one of the main protagonists, is accepted into the university’s pre-law program.
23. Bull
A high school student who had an affair with his English teacher is praised by his parents in episode 11 of season 1 for being a great son and student and for receiving a full ride at Hudson University.
A Hudson University student who had accused a star athlete of rape three years earlier is on trial for the star athlete’s murder in episode 3 of Season 1.
Episode 4 also referred to Hudson University as the location of a clinical trial study connected to a pharmaceutical patent trial.
In episode 14 of season 4, a heart surgeon is detained when it is claimed that his father gave the Hudson University admissions office $125,000.
24. An American Pickle
In the film, the lead character Herschel Greenbaum debates Race, Gender, and Religion with Kim Ecklund, a professor of humanism at Hudson University.
25. Law & Order
In cases involving college students and professors, detectives have frequently visited Hudson University’s campus in search of suspects and witnesses.
A fictional “Hudson Innocence Project” was featured in a Season 20 episode titled “Innocence”, which was based on the actual Innocence Project at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.
One episode featured Hudson University on a map of New York City, where the actual Yeshiva University is situated.
Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter became the first Law & Order prosecutor to have attended a fictitious law school when that same episode revealed that he was a graduate of Hudson’s law school.
Another episode listed 504 Riverside Drive as the address, which is distant from Yeshiva and close to the International House of New York in Morningside Heights.
The Hudson University Law School’s address is indicated as 62 Centre Street in the Season 8 episode “Tabloid”, which places it exactly next to the New York County Courthouse, the site of many of the cases featured in the episode.
Maureen and Kathleen Stabler, daughters of Detective Elliot Stabler, attend Hudson University in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
The university’s seal can be seen in the background of a scene in the season 12 episode “Gray”, indicating that it was founded in 1876.
Olivia Benson makes an inside joke about Hudson’s high crime rate in the season 16 episode “Devastating Story”, telling her son Noah that he is never to attend.
Comics
In the DC Universe, Hudson University is a made-up place. Hudson University’s equivalent location in the real world is never made clear, like many other made-up places in the comics.
According to Mayfair Games’ The Atlas of the DC Universe, it is situated in the made-up New Carthage, New York.
Dick Grayson/Robin, Professor Martin Stein, Crystal Frost, Louise Lincoln, and Duela Dent are notable ex-students of Hudson University.
Amy Winston’s father was an English professor at Hudson.
A young Clark Kent is portrayed debating whether to accept an offer to attend Hudson University in New Adventures of Superboy (1984), but he ultimately decides against it and chooses Metropolis University in Metropolis instead.
Not Hudson University In New York
Husson College is different from Hudson University, although Hudson University’s numerous appearances on popular TV shows and movies are what make it most well-known.
Some claim that the decision to set the college-focused episodes in a fake college was made to avoid portraying criminal activities at a real college or university as inaccurately as possible by the show’s makers.
In movies and shows, Hudson University’s physical appearance is a composite of numerous other colleges.
Some of the well-known filming locations for Hudson University are:
- Manhattan University
- Columbia College
- Hunter University
- New York City College
- Pratt University
FAQ
Is NYU a real University?
Founded in 1831, New York University is the largest private university in the United States. The University has degree-granting campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai and operates 11 global academic centers and research programs in more than 25 countries
Is Hudson University Private?
Hudson College was founded in 1881 as a private liberal arts institution located in Toronto, Canada.
Are the Ivy League schools?
The eight institutions are Brown University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Yale University.
Why is NYU so popular now?
Due to some of the most fascinating classes you never knew were offered in college, NYU attracts a talented variety of teachers, guest lecturers, and visiting professors due to its reputation, convenient location, and intelligent students.
What is the hardest college to get into?
Harvard University Harvard is currently the hardest institution to get into, with a record-low acceptance rate of just 3.19% for the class of 2016. This rate represents acceptance into Harvard College, the undergraduate program at an Ivy League university.
What are NYU students called?
Nobody addresses kids at the school by its official nickname, in contrast to other institutions around the nation. Probably due to the Violets’ official moniker. To those in the neighborhood, an NYU student is just an NYU student.
Is law and order really filmed in New York?
When discussing television series that are based in and shot in New York, it’s difficult to leave out the Law & Order series. The franchise has been a mainstay in New York ever since its introduction back in 1990.
Where does Hudson River begin and end?
The Hudson river starts high in the Adirondack Mountains at Lake Tear of the Clouds. The river travels 315 miles throughout its course, near the Atlantic Ocean, and it concludes in New York City.
Why is MIT not Ivy League?
Duke, MIT, and Stanford aren’t Ivy League universities only because they didn’t have strong athletic programs when the Ivy League was established. These three colleges offer comparable employment opportunities and educational standards to Ivy League institutions, and they easily rank among the top 15 best colleges in the country.
What is the cheapest Ivy League school?
The University of Pennsylvania, with average undergraduate tuition of $61,170 per year, is the least expensive Ivy League institution. Tuition, general fees, clinical fees, and technology fees are all included in these college expenses.
Conclusion
Hudson University, a fictional university was filmed at various locations including Columbia University, Barnard College, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn College, College of Mount Saint Vincent, Hunter College, and Lehman College.
New York University, City College of New York, Queens College, Union Theological Seminary, General Theological Seminary, Pace University, Fordham University, and LIU Post have also been used for filming.
