Facilities

The NYU Abu Dhabi Library 

Service to scholars is the primary mission of the NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Library. We provide resources and technologies needed for research and teaching and offer assistance in their use. Members of the NYUAD community have access to our extensive physical and electronic resources, including: 

• over 90,000 physical books 
• over 7,000 DVDs 
• over 400,000 ejournals 
• nearly 1500 databases 
• over 4 million ebooks 
• numerous Macs and PCs equipped with a robust suite of hardware and software. 

The NYUAD Library is fully connected to NYU Libraries eresources in New York, providing seamless access for our global scholars. These electronic resources are accessible within the Library and remotely from anywhere in the world. Additionally, NYUAD students, faculty and staff may request items from NYU Libraries’ (NY) collection of over 4 million items, or from other library collections worldwide. 

The NYUAD Library is home to specialized departments that enable innovative forms of scholarly inquiry and teaching, including our Archives and Special Collections department, which contains unique primary source materials that support the teaching and research needs of students and faculty, and promote scholarship and interest in the history of the UAE, the Gulf, the Arabian Peninsula, and the wider region. Students and faculty can get specialized assistance with their research needs by working with our dedicated team of academic librarians, who can help you learn about the resources and research strategies available for your field of study.​ The Library is also home to the university’s Center for Writing, the Academic Resource Center, the Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning and the Faculty Hub. 

Comfortable reading areas, Mac and PC computing stations equipped with a wide variety of software and small and large group study rooms create a productive atmosphere for research. The dedicated Quiet Study Room on the Mezzanine level provides plenty of space for students to focus on their research in a relaxed environment. Research assistance is available via phone, email, chat, and in-person allowing for nearly 24/7 research assistance. The Library follows the NYUAD University Academic Calendar for in-person operational days.

Visit us at https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/library.html.

Center for Research Computing

Research Computing consists of the infrastructure, applications, expert staff, policies, and other resources required to support computational and data-intensive activities related to research.

The New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Center for Research Computing serves New York University Abu Dhabi’s researchers, faculty and students by providing them with High Performance Computing (HPC) and Research computing services and support to enable them to conduct world-class and innovative computational research and education.

In alignment with NYU Abu Dhabi’s vision of becoming one of the world’s great research universities we will push the boundaries of computational research and become a world class Center for Research Computing.

Laboratories Operation and Maintenance

The Laboratories Operation and Maintenance Department (Lab Ops) functions as a real-time business continuity unit that anticipates needs and problems in advance, puts resources in place within the limits of the resources provided by the university, and responds in real-time to ensure that laboratory activities are enabled.

Lab Ops acts as advocates on behalf of the faculty, researchers and students in matters that are operational in nature but are intertwined with the academic mission. Lab Ops provides support for research and teaching to all of NYUAD labs and divisions.

NYUAD Campus

The campus of NYU Abu Dhabi is located on Saadiyat Island, a natural island that lies a short distance from the main island of Abu Dhabi and is now under development. The Cultural District of Saadiyat Island will feature three major museums: the Zayed National Museum, the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi. Other districts will take advantage of the island’s spectacular beaches and mangrove lagoons. NYU Abu Dhabi is located in the Al Marina District, which will eventually have a prominent marina and downtown feel. 

Occupying a total area of approximately 15.4 hectares (38 acres) of land, the university occupies two sites: the main site with the university buildings, and the north site, where the outdoor athletic facilities are located. The campus design allows the natural environment to be experienced year-round. It is dense, walkable, and responsive to the climate, with shaded walkways and landscaped courtyards, plazas, and gardens for social interaction. The design also fosters the integration of living and learning, with residences, classrooms, and faculty offices organized in mixed-use buildings, not separated in distinct areas. 

The campus, designed by Rafael Vinoly Architects, is organized by its split-level, pedestrian-only circulation system. At ground level, shaded colonnades, pools of water, and landscaped sitting areas flank the main east-west spine of the campus. Three plazas along this main street form gathering places, and other campus streets connect the plazas to the surrounding area. The plazas each have a major center of campus life: the Experimental Research Building on the West Plaza, the Arts Center on the East Plaza, and the Campus Center on the Central Plaza. A dining hall stands at the east end of the main street. 

On the south side of the campus are academic buildings, with ground-floor classrooms and faculty and administrative offices on the first floor. In the middle of the buildings are outdoor courtyards with trees and informal seating for a break between classes. The sloping walls that surround the courtyards form dramatic glass cones. Stunning sculptural objects, the glass cones bring light into the academic buildings, offer views of the upper residential level, and reveal the campus’s unique split-level circulation system. 

Two stories above ground level, the “High Line” provides access to the residences and informal, green spaces. Having students, faculty, and staff living on campus facilitates interaction, a key to the educational experience at NYU Abu Dhabi. Faculty and senior staff reside in apartments with views over the campus, to downtown Abu Dhabi, and across Saadiyat Island to the Arabian Gulf. The student residences are organized around courtyards with gardens and areas to relax outdoors. In the middle of the courtyards, the glass cones emerge and afford views from the High Line down to the ground level, visually connecting the living and learning spaces. The beautifully landscaped High Line weaves through intimate residential courtyards and across rooftops where dramatic vistas of the campus and the city unfold. The High Line is more than a pathway; a social space where neighbors chat and stroll, children play, students jog and hang out, it reinforces the spirit of community and friendliness that characterizes NYU Abu Dhabi. 

Shading systems achieved through urban design, the close proximity of structures, architectural features such as the colonnades, and the integration of landscape materials facilitate the University’s goal of year-round use of outdoor spaces. Measures to generate 75 percent of household hot water and 10 percent of power from renewable energy sources help the University achieve its sustainability goals.

The layout of the campus promotes interaction between the disciplines. The facilities include a wide variety of instructional spaces, including experimental laboratories, new media labs, film production facilities, music practice rooms, and classrooms with sophisticated technological infrastructure. The flexible labs in the Experimental Research Building support a range of advanced research projects. The Arts Center has four theaters and a variety of teaching and production spaces, including art studios for painting, drawing, sculpture, and animation, media labs, editing suites, and film shooting stages. The Campus Center combines the Library, Student Center, Health and Wellness Center, and a performance gymnasium with a 50-meter pool, running track, ball courts, climbing wall, squash and racquetball courts, and fitness center. The indoor athletic facilities are complemented by outdoor fields, track and tennis courts. 

An open campus, NYU Abu Dhabi welcomes members of the public—to lectures and conferences at the NYUAD Institute Conference Center; exhibitions at the Art Gallery; athletic activities at the Sports Center; and performances at the Arts Center. The campus also has a Bookstore and variety of cafes and dining facilities. 

Welcome Center in Abu Dhabi

The NYU Abu Dhabi Welcome Center is the first point of contact for visitors at the Saadiyat Campus. Located at the main entrance, the Welcome Center provides visitors with information about all aspects of the university, including admissions, the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute, and human resources. The Welcome Center is also the meeting place for those attending an information session, joining a campus tour, seeking print literature about the university, or meeting with a member of the NYUAD faculty or staff. Prospective students and their parents are encouraged to come to the Welcome Center to schedule a visit with an admissions counselor.

Writing Center

NYU Abu Dhabi provides students with resources to support their development as communicators, scholars, and global citizens able to articulate their ideas to a 21st century international audience. 

The Writing Center is central to this support. The Writing Center is a co-curricular initiative designed both to assist students with writing across the curriculum and to implement the Writing Program’s pedagogy. It is crucially positioned to serve the needs of writers working across a range of disciplines, genres, and rhetorical conventions. 

Located in the Library, the NYUAD Writing Center offers one-on-one consultations with a team of Writing Instructors and peer tutors. The Writing Center believes that every writer needs a reader, so Writing Center consultations are designed to aide and develop the writer’s project at any stage of the process— from brainstorming to fine- tuning, from developing a motive and a thesis to integrating sources ethically. The Writing Center offers support for writing, oral expression, and English Language Learning issues. As the hub for a culture of writing on campus, throughout the year the Writing Center hosts workshops, writing boot camps, and events leading up to finals and capstones. 

Members of the Writing Center team, as experienced readers and writers, can consult on all types of writing assignments, papers, and projects, and help students develop strategies for revising, improving specific writing skills, or better understanding a student’s own writing process. Students can make walk-in appointments or schedule them via the Writing Center website under the student portal. Students from any field or discipline are welcomed to visit the Writing Center at https://nyuad.mywconline.com.

NYU Abu Dhabi Institute

The Institute sponsors and coordinates major academic conferences, research workshops, lectures, film series, and collaborates with the Art Gallery for exhibitions. 

Through a comprehensive range of activities, the Institute forms an intellectual and programmatic link between NYU New York and NYU Abu Dhabi, and bridges and creates knowledge communities across the globe. 

Scholarly and Public Programs: The NYUAD Institute hosts public programs directed both to local audiences and to the worldwide academic and research communities of Abu Dhabi and New York. It is fast becoming a center of intellectual life bringing together faculty and students from institutions of higher learning throughout the region and inviting leaders of business, policy, and the interested public. 

With locations in New York and Abu Dhabi, the NYUAD Institute forms an immediate intellectual and programmatic link between NYU’s main campus in New York and Abu Dhabi, bringing the plenitude of NYU’s renowned graduate and professional schools to the Gulf region. Themes of workshops and lectures organized by the NYUAD Institute have focused on, for example, the Coral Reefs of the Gulf; Nabati Poetry; the History of Science and the Arab world; Recent Developments in Genomics; Issues in Social Migration; Cultural Heritage; Electronic Music in the Middle East—and many other topics across a variety of academic disciplines and the arts. For more information on NYUAD Institute, including the schedule of programs and information about past programs, please visit the Institute’s website at nyuad.nyu.edu/institute.

NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute

A key element of NYU Abu Dhabi is a robust research environment, one that broadly represents the disciplinary areas in the under-graduate college, nurtures the development of graduate programs, and supports research of the highest quality on topics of importance and relevance to Abu Dhabi and to our world today. The NYUAD Research Institute provides research funding at a significant level and with exceptional continuity of support. Among the projects supported by the NYUAD Research Institute are studies in, Genomics and biosciences (Center for Genomics and Systems Biology); medical and health research (Public Health Research Center, Center for Brain and Health, and Research Center for Translational Medical Devices); policy research (Center for Behavioral Institutional Design); environmental and sustainability science (Mubadala Arabian Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences, the Water Research Center, the Center for Stability, Instability, and Turbulence, the Sand Hazards and Opportunities for Resilience, Energy, and Sustainability,  ); urban science (Center for Interacting Urban Networks); technology and engineering (Center for Cyber Security, the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, the Center for Quantum and Topological Systems, the Center for Smart Engineering Materials); space sciences (Center for Astrophysics and Space Science ), and much more. The Library of Arabic Literature translation project, the Humanities Research Fellowships for the Study of the Arab World, and the al Mawrid Arab Center for the Study of Art all aim to build research capacity in areas of the Humanities that are relevant for the study of the Arab world; its rich intellectual, religious, and scientific history; its cultural and artistic heritage; and its interaction with other cultures. All faculty and students at NYU Abu Dhabi are actively encouraged to participate in the intellectual and scholarly opportunities afforded by the NYUAD Research Institute, through programming linked to faculty research interests, courses, and student Capstone Projects. NYUAD students are able to work in pioneering labs and research centers. 

Academic Resource Center (The “ARC”) 

The NYUAD John Sexton and Lisa Goldberg Academic Resource Center’s Advising team supports students in meeting their academic goals. Academic Advisors utilize a student-centered approach to help new and continuing students persist through to graduation. 

Academic advising is an essential resource in a globally diverse environment where students come with varied educational backgrounds and experiences. Having access to consistent and reliable information and building their academic planning competencies, ensures that students are equipped with the knowledge and skills to make informed decisions. 

Advisors provide a variety of support, including, but not limited to: 

• Academic planning 
• Navigating degree requirements 
• Choosing a major 
• Understanding academic policies 
• Accessing resources on campus 
• Connecting with faculty and departments 
• Monitoring degree progress 
• Academic problem solving 

Located in C2 Library, students can visit the ARC for in person drop-in hours, book appointments or email advisors at nyuad.arc@nyu.edu. For more information on how to meet with an advisor, visit the ARC webpage at https://students.nyuad.nyu.edu/academics/academic-resources/academic-advising/

Hilary Ballon Center For Teaching and Learning 

NYU Abu Dhabi is committed to excellence in teaching as a key feature of the academic strategy. The Hilary Ballon Center for Teaching and Learning (HBCTL) provides faculty and instructors with resources for inclusive teaching and excellence in course design and delivery. The Center delivers academic development programming, such as workshops, training seminars, and website resources to buttress NYUAD’s global liberal arts curriculum. With an emphasis on inclusive pedagogy that fosters belonging, topics areas of support include course design, assessment design, diversifying the syllabus, and evaluation of teaching practices. Resources are also available to assist in the deliberate grounding of courses in the city of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. 

Located in the NYUAD Library, the physical space of the HBCTL is a place for reflective practice, innovation, and curricular development. One-on-one consultations are available by appointment, and drop ins are always welcome. During the semester the TeachTalkAD series offers structured space to discuss specific areas of teaching and learning. The website nyuad.nyu.edu/hbctl is also a rich resource of teaching-related materials for NYUAD educators.

The Moses Center for Accessibility and Inclusive Culture

NYUAD is committed to providing equal educational opportunity and participation for students with disabilities (Physical, Cognitive and learning). We work with NYU students to determine appropriate and reasonable accommodations that support equal access to a world-class education. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance. Disability-related information is never disclosed without student permission. 

The Moses Center for Accessibility and Inclusive Culture offers the following services: academic, housing, exam accommodations, and facilitation of assistive technology support. To learn more about the services or to apply online, please fill out the accommodations application through the Moses Center Portal. You can schedule a meeting with the Student Persistence and Accessibility (SPA) team to discuss your accessibility inquiries by emailing nyuad.spa@nyu.edu

Athletics and Recreation

In addition to required Physical and Health Education courses, the Department of Athletics catalyzes development of healthy lifestyle habits and cultivates a sense of teamwork, camaraderie, belonging and school spirit through a variety of extra-curricular activities. Dedicated staff and coaches provide quality programming, instruction and mentoring through university sports teams, campus recreation, and a variety of other sports, fitness and physical activities. Our full complement of indoor and outdoor athletics facilities ensure that students can enjoy competitive and recreational sports year-round. Regardless of skill or ability, all students are encouraged to explore their athletic interests, be physically active in support of their wellbeing and participate in the NYUAD Falcons community. 

The Department of Athletics fosters engagement with other athletic programs across the UAE through participation in the UAE University Games, the Abu Dhabi Sports Championships for Universities (ADSC),  the Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League (ADISL) and a range of local community leagues and events. University sports teams are fielded in the following sports: football/soccer, basketball, cricket, volleyball, tennis, track & field, triathlon, Jiu Jitsu, swimming, dragonboat, touch rugby, netball and badminton. 

Our campus recreation offerings play a vital role in the overall campus experience for students through weekly group fitness classes,  NYUAD community sports, exploring the cycle paths of saadiyat through the bike share program and a series of on and off campus events. 

Career Development Center

The Career Development Center (CDC) empowers NYUAD students and alumni to take first steps and next steps along meaningful career paths. A holistic approach to career development challenges students to think beyond a single internship to who they want to be and what they want to accomplish in their professional lives, both during their time at NYU Abu Dhabi and after graduation. From self-assessment, through graduate school and career research, to the application process and finding competitive scholarships, the CDC helps students every step of the way. Whether in one-on-one advising appointments, in workshops or events, the CDC pushes students to define and realize their own success. 

The CDC (https://nyuad.nyu.edu/en/academics/undergraduate/career-development.html) catalyzes student’s professional development through employer events, online resources, one-to-one advising, skills-based workshops, and more. Annual events bring representatives from various companies and graduate schools globally to connect NYUAD students to the world of work and graduate education. In partnership with NYU New York and NYU Shanghai, all NYU students have access to Handshake - an online hub for accessing part and full-time jobs, internships, and other opportunities, both locally and globally. Handshake provides NYUAD students access to subscription- based career resources, such as Going Global, My Big Interview, and Vault Career Insider. By graduation, NYUAD students have had the opportunity to develop strong professional skills and confidence in preparation for their life beyond Saadiyat.

Health Center

Located on the ground floor of the Campus Center, the Health Center provides convenient access to medical care and counseling support to help ensure students stay healthy and are able to fully benefit from their time at NYU Abu Dhabi. Medical services at the Health Center are administered by a highly-qualified staff of physicians and nurses with expertise in college and adolescent health, and include identifying and treating common medical conditions, providing preventive and health education, pre-travel visits and immunization updates, pre-participation sports physicals, and making referrals to medical specialists when necessary. A dietitian is available to deliver individualized nutrition & clinical dietetic support to students. 

The Health Center also offers confidential counseling services that focus on students’ personal wellbeing. The Counseling Team is lead by the Directer of Mental health services who is a full time psychiatrist and leads the clinical psychologists. 

Counseling covers a broad range of issues from adjustment difficulties, anxiety and depression; eating disorders, trauma, substance use, roommate and friendship issues, academic concerns, ADHD and any individualised/personal health need as appropriate.  

Students can contact the Health Center at +971 (0) 2-628-8100 during regular working hours. The Health Center is open Monday to Thursday from 9 am to 5 pm and Friday 9am-12pm (closed for prayer break) then 2:20 -5pm for appointments or walk-in visits during the academic year. 

After hours and on weekends, students can access medical and mental health advice by contacting the Nurse Advice Line 02 628 8100 for medical concerns or Wellness Exchange 02 628 5555, available 24/7 for mental health concerns. Non-urgent concerns or appointment requests can be sent to nyuad.healthcenter@nyu.edu.