NYU Shanghai Granted Final Approval from China’s Ministry of Education

OCTOBER 15, 2012 – SHANGHAI – NYU Shanghai, a pathbreaking research university jointly established by New York University and East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai, announced its final approval from China’s Ministry of Education (MOE) today.

As the newest degree-granting campus in NYU’s global network and the first American university with independent legal status to be approved by China’s government, NYU Shanghai will offer a select group of the world’s most talented students the opportunity to study with award-winning professors and to spend up to three semesters abroad at one of NYU’s other sites, located in the world’s greatest cities. 

John Sexton, President of NYU, said “The final approval from China’s MOE marks a significant milestone for NYU and NYU Shanghai.  How universities prepare their students for an era marked by globalization will be one of the great questions confronting higher education over the coming decades.  For our part, at NYU, we believe the way forward is to embrace the world, to provide new opportunities for our faculty to pursue their research and our students to be educated, and to build a network that enables people of talent from different cultures and nationalities to be part of one university community. NYU Shanghai is the latest of NYU’s degree-granting portal campuses, which – together with our 11 other global sites -- form a new architecture for a 21st century university. Both we and our ECNU partners are determined to see NYU Shanghai become a world-class university in its own right, one profoundly strengthened by its connection with NYU’s global network.”

Qun Chen, President of ECNU, said “ECNU has been working with NYU’s study abroad program since 2006. The founding of NYU Shanghai will further strengthen our ties with NYU. Through our shared efforts and values, we believe that NYU Shanghai will bring its vision of building a world-class university with a global network and training future leaders into reality.”

At the heart of NYU Shanghai’s academic core will be a strong liberal arts and sciences tradition, characterized by a low student/teacher ratio; vibrant and robust classroom discussion; an intellectual environment that encourages the free exchange of ideas, critical thinking and analysis; individualized attention; and ample opportunities for undergraduate research.  The innovative curriculum exposes students to the full range of intellectual disciplines and prepares them to be leaders in a world where the most difficult challenges will be resolved by teams of people from different cultures, working together side by side.

Jeffrey S. Lehman, the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of NYU Shanghai, said, “NYU Shanghai students will be challenged as they have never been challenged before.  Our faculty members will push every student to be active, to take intellectual risks, and to innovate.  And our students will propel each other forward, stimulating and supporting one another within a community of shared transnational excellence.”

NYU Shanghai will begin teaching its first class of students in Fall 2013; it will move the following year to a brand new campus that is being built in Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial and commercial hub. 

To continue strengthening the quality of its undergraduate curriculum, NYU Shanghai will launch research centers in Shanghai that will focus on Applied Mathematics, Neuroscience, Computational chemistry and Social Policy, among other disciplines, where distinguished scholars will be able to conduct research in addition to teaching undergraduates.

About NYU Shanghai

NYU Shanghai is the third and newest degree-granting campus in NYU’s global network. It is a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences research university granting NYU degrees in China’s commercial center. The undergraduate student population will ultimately be in the range of 1,600 to 2,400, with smaller classes to start, and its students will come from China and around the world, with 51% Chinese and 49% international. NYU Shanghai students will have access to NYU’s global network and will spend at least one semester studying at one of the many sites in NYU’s global network.

Admission to NYU Shanghai is extremely competitive and combines the best of the Chinese and US educational systems, taking into account test scores as well as a wide range of other factors. NYU Shanghai has been classified as a Tier 1 university in the GaoKao system.