NYU Shanghai

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Overview

The NYU Shanghai academic experience is characterized by rigor, a global perspective, and a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. Several distinct features define the NYU Shanghai approach and make it unique:

A Truly Innovative Core Curriculum

As our world evolves, education needs to evolve to meet the needs of 21st-century students. The NYU Shanghai core curriculum is defined by a global orientation. Students explore social and cultural foundations through courses that span cultures and contexts, both Chinese and international. Writing and language courses develop students’ communication skills in both English and Chinese. Mathematics and science are a part of every student’s education, as are courses which introduce or strengthen a student’s understanding of algorithmic thinking.

Playing to Our Strengths

NYU Shanghai has carefully developed a set of majors and specializations that capitalize not just on the world-class strength of NYU faculty, departments, and programs, but also on the limitless possibilities that Shanghai provides.

Liberal Arts

Ever since Cicero, the Roman statesman, invented the phrase “artes liberales,” the liberal arts and sciences have been the touchstone of excellence in education for all individuals, regardless of their professional aspirations. This is because these studies liberate an individual from narrowly vocational concerns and have been shown to free the mind to be creative. Today, this educational approach focuses on direct and critical engagement with the great ideas of the past and the present, on the development of the essential skills of analysis and communication, and on in-depth knowledge of one or more disciplines. A shared background in the liberal arts and sciences also has the power to transform a diverse group of students into a real community organized around the life of the mind.

Our aim is to give NYU Shanghai students a strong, globally-oriented foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. This curriculum will help students develop the ability to think analytically, read critically, and write effectively. It will also cultivate their creativity in solving problems, their tolerance for ambiguity, and their respect for diversity of opinion and the exchange of ideas. Finally, through the core curriculum, the majors, and international experiences in the NYU global network, students will learn to recognize themselves as part of a global community. The crucial role that China plays in that global community will be emphasized throughout the curriculum.

About NYU Shanghai

NYU Shanghai is China’s first Sino-US research university and the third degree-granting campus of the NYU Global Network. We were founded in 2012 by New York University and East China Normal University with the support of the city of Shanghai and the district of Pudong.

NYU Shanghai seeks to cultivate globally-minded graduates through innovative teaching, world-class research, and a commitment to public service. 

Our student body currently consists of nearly 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students, half of whom are from China. Students from the United States and some 70 other countries represent the other half. Our faculty of renowned scholars, innovators, and educators are recruited from the world’s best research universities.

Vision

NYU Shanghai exemplifies the highest ideals of contemporary higher education by uniting the intellectual resources of New York University’s global network with the multidimensional greatness of China. It guides students toward academic and moral excellence, preparing them for leadership in all walks of life, and it contributes to the endless quest for new insights into the human condition and the natural world.

Values

NYU Shanghai operates in accord with the values of curiosity, rigor, integrity, respect, harmony, responsibility, and deep engagement with all humanity.

Mission

NYU Shanghai aspires to offer outstanding teaching, research, and public service.

In teaching, NYU Shanghai aspires to prepare its students for lives of discovery, satisfaction and contribution. They will study with superb teachers who nurture their capacity for original, rigorous, and critical thinking, and with diverse and intellectually gifted classmates. They will pursue a liberal education in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and mathematics. They will immerse themselves in English, the language of international communication. They will master the skills of cross-cultural effectiveness in a community where half are from China and half are from other lands. They will reflect upon the role that great cities play in human progress, and upon the interdependent relationship between China and the rest of the world.

In research, NYU Shanghai aspires to produce original, rigorous, and important insights across a broad set of academic domains. Such insights do more than extend existing knowledge in predictable ways; they provide fresh understanding that is fully consistent with our observations and at the same time promise to have a significant influence on the thinking of others.

In public service, NYU Shanghai aspires to promote healthy development within the many communities it inhabits. It strives to be a responsible actor in the individual lives of students, teachers, and staff; in the local neighborhoods that surround its campus; in the district of Pudong, the city of Shanghai, and the nation of China; in New York University; in the interdependent society of humankind; and in a fully global ecosystem.

Research at NYU Shanghai 

NYU Shanghai continues in the great tradition of universities that combine world-class research with exceptional teaching. Research Institutes are established in the following areas: Center for Applied Social and Economic Research, Center for Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning, NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai, Center for Business Education and Research, NYU-ECNU Center for Computational Chemistry at NYU Shanghai, Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Center for Global Asia at NYU Shanghai, Center for Global Health Equity, NYU-ECNU Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU Shanghai, NYU-ECNU Institute of Physics at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Urban Design and Urban Science, and Volatility Institute at NYU Shanghai. . Both graduate and undergraduate students at NYU Shanghai will have the opportunity to participate in research opportunities. For more information, consult the Research at NYU Shanghai website.

Academic Program 

Three unique features define the NYU Shanghai approach and set it apart from most other undergraduate programs:

  • A core curriculum for the 21st century, with globally-oriented as well as China-focused social and cultural courses, writing and language courses which develop students’ communication skills in both English and Chinese, and courses which introduce or strengthen a student’s understanding of mathematics, science, and algorithmic thinking;  

  • A carefully selected set of majors (or specializations) that capitalize on the world-class strengths of NYU’s research faculty, departments, and programs, as well as on the limitless opportunities that Shanghai presents; 

  • Access to the NYU global network through an unparalleled array of study-abroad opportunities, which are available at NYU sites around the world and which are easily integrated into students’ programs of study.

Partners

East China Normal University

ECNU is a high-level normal university founded in October 1951. The university is made up of 19 full-time schools and colleges, two unconventional (nontraditional distance learning and continuing education) colleges and five advanced research institutes, with 58 departments offering 70 undergraduate programs. It has over 4,000 faculty and staff and more than 28,000 students.

Shanghai Municipal Education Commission

The Shanghai Municipal Education Commission (SMEC) is responsible for determining the local policies and direction of the educational system in Shanghai.

Pudong New Area Government 

Since the beginning of its development in 1990 when plans were first announced, Pudong has become a major economic development zone and has emerged as China’s financial and commercial hub. 

Where We Are

Qiantan New Bund Campus

NYU Shanghai’s new 114,000-square-meter campus is located in Pudong’s Qiantan neighborhood, also called The New Bund. Composed of four interlocked structures set around an academic quadrangle, the award-winning campus—designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and the Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research—serves as not only an academic base for the NYU Shanghai community but also a cultural hub for the Qiantan district. 

The nine-story campus was designed to express the university’s cosmopolitan spirit, integrating multiple architectural and cultural traditions; its courtyard integrates the Western ‘cloister’-inspired quadrangle and the Chinese Scholars’ Garden. Some facilities include a 5,000 square-meter library, 4,000-square-meter athletics space including a fitness center and two gymnasiums, a colloquium space, a state of the art recital hall, a 600-person auditorium, the NYU Shanghai Institute of Contemporary Arts with 600 square meters of exhibition space, a multi-level open space canteen that can seat several hundred diners, and classroom spaces that accommodate a range of students—from dozens to hundreds—with advanced digital equipment to meet the needs of online, offline and mixed-mode teaching. 

NYU Shanghai’s new 114,000-square-meter campus is located in Pudong’s Qiantan neighborhood, also called The New Bund. Composed of four interlocked structures set around an academic quadrangle, the award-winning campus—designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox and the Arcplus Institute of Shanghai Architectural Design & Research—serves as not only an academic base for the NYU Shanghai community but also a cultural hub for the Qiantan district. 

The nine-story campus was designed to express the university’s cosmopolitan spirit, integrating multiple architectural and cultural traditions; its courtyard integrates the Western ‘cloister’-inspired quadrangle and the Chinese Scholars’ Garden. Some facilities include a 5,000 square-meter library, 4,000-square-meter athletics space including a fitness center and two gymnasiums, a colloquium space, a state of the art recital hall, a 600-person auditorium, thble NYU Shanghai Institute of Contemporary Arts with 600 square meters of exhibition space, a multi-level open space canteen that can seat several hundred diners, and classroom spaces that accommodate a range of students—from dozens to hundreds—with advanced digital equipment to meet the needs of online, offline and mixed-mode teaching. 

Residence Halls 

NYU Shanghai students live in newly constructed apartment towers in the Houtan Area, located 2.3km from the Qiantan New Bund campus, a 10-minute drive or 15-20 minute bike ride away. The room types are designed for apartment-style living where students have their own private bathroom, kitchen, and living area. Students can select between single or double occupancy in suites or single, double, and triple occupancy studios. The neighborhood features a community center with food and gym offerings, green space, and a vibrant community. 

In the Residence Halls, students are supported by a Resident Assistant (RA) or peer mentor. By living alongside fellow students and RAs, students form intimate living and learning communities that promote a holistic education and an exchange of ideas to continue and flourish beyond the classroom.