In 1961, MMC was granted an absolute charter as an independent four-year college by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.

[4] Since 1961, Marymount Manhattan has been an independent, private college open to all creeds, while noting its foundation by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.

Unaware that the college did not claim to be a Catholic school, the Cardinal Newman Society protested the college's announcement of its decision to invite then-Senator Hillary Clinton to deliver a commencement address and to confer an honorary doctoral degree upon her, due to Clinton's longtime public support for abortion rights.

In 2001, the college opened the 55th Street Residence Hall, one of the tallest dorms in the United States,[7] with 32 floors of student housing in a 46-story building.

[11] In July 2015, Kerry Walk was unanimously selected by the Trustees of Marymount Manhattan College as the school's eighth president.