It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools.

[7] Hunter College originates from the 19th-century movement for normal school training which swept across the United States.

Hunter descends from the Female Normal and High School, established in New York City in 1870.

The school, which was housed in an armory and saddle store at Broadway and East Fourth Street in Manhattan, was open to all qualified women, irrespective of race, religion or ethnic background.

[12] After the park in Lenox Hill was canceled, the plots were leased to institutions like Hunter College.

This led to the separation of the school into two "camps": the "Normals", who pursued a four-year course of study to become licensed teachers, and the "Academics", who sought non-teaching professions and the Bachelor of Arts degree.

At the same time, the college was experiencing a period of great expansion as increasing student enrollments necessitated more space.

The college reacted by establishing branches in the boroughs of Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

During the Second World War, Hunter leased the Bronx Campus buildings to the United States Navy who used the facilities to train 95,000 women volunteers for military service as WAVES and SPARS.

[19] The Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College opened at that location in fall 2010 as an academic center hosting prominent speakers.

Many African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Puerto Ricans, and students from the developing world made their presence felt at Hunter, and even after the end of "open admissions" still comprise a large part of the school's student body.

The New York City Subway's 68th Street–Hunter College station (6 and <6>​ trains) on the IRT Lexington Avenue Line is directly underneath, and serves the entire campus.

These labs accommodate post-docs, PhD students from the CUNY Graduate School, and undergraduate researchers.

[23] College sports and recreational programs are served by the Hunter Sportsplex, located below the West Building.

[25] The Brookdale Campus is the site of the Hunter dormitory, which is home to over 600 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as a limited number of nurses employed at Bellevue Hospital.

In October 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced that the Brookdale Campus would be replaced by the CUNY Science Park and Research Campus (SPARC), with construction set to begin in 2026.

[27] The institution owns and operates property outside of its main campuses, including the MFA Building at 205 Hudson, Roosevelt House, Baker Theatre Building, Silberman School of Social Work, and the Hunter College Campus Schools.

[31] The Leon & Toby Cooperman Library entrance is located on the third-floor walkway level of the East Building.

The Cooperman Library has individual and group study rooms, special facilities for students with disabilities, networked computer classrooms and labs for word processing and internet access.

The SWUPHL Faculty provide drop-in and by-appointment reference services, research consultations, classroom and individual instruction.

University Scholars benefit from a full tuition scholarship (up to the value of in-state tuition only as of Fall 2013, effectively restricting it to NY state residents), personalized advising, early registration, access to internships, and study abroad opportunities.

[36] The Thomas Hunter Honors Program offers topical interdisciplinary seminars and academic concentrations designed to meet students’ individual interests.

The program is open to outstanding students pursuing a BA and is orchestrated under the supervision of an Honors Council.

There are clubs based on specific interests, such as "Russian Club", which offers a look at Russian life and culture and "InterVarsity Christian Fellowship" an organization whose vision is to "transform students and faculty, renew the campus, and develop world changers.

[43] Hunter is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and competes at the Division III level.