NYU Shanghai is the third degree-granting campus in NYU’s global network, joining NYU in New York and NYU Abu Dhabi. It is a world-class, comprehensive liberal arts and sciences research university in the heart of Shanghai, and unlike any other university in the world.
Since 1831, NYU has proudly been in and of the city of New York, unencumbered by gates, intimately woven into the identity and landscape of one of the great idea capitals of the world. In the heart of Greenwich Village, the NYU community has flourished, gaining as much from the city as it has contributed.
Just as NYU is proudly in and of the city of New York, NYU is also proudly in and of the city of Shanghai, another great idea capital and a magnet for the best of intellect, culture, and inquiry from all over the world. But Shanghai is like no other place: a city of the future, it also has its own history and traditions, which are a vital part of its fabric. With its diverse resources—the educational foundation of NYU and the vibrancy and relevance of Shanghai—NYU Shanghai is where your classroom education intersects with a life’s education.
The NYU Shanghai 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
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 East China Normal University; in New York University; in the interdependent society of humankind; and in a fully global ecosystem.
Research at NYU Shanghai
NYU Shanghai will continue in the great tradition of universities that combine worldclass research with exceptional teaching. Research centers will be focused on Mathematics, Computational Chemistry, Neuroscience, and Social Development. Both graduate and undergraduate students at NYU Shanghai will have the opportunity to participate in research opportunities.
The NYU Shanghai academic experience is characterized by rigor, a global perspective, and a strong foundation in the liberal arts and sciences. Three 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 integration. Students explore our social and cultural foundations through courses that are global in scope, with writing instruction woven in throughout, rather than delivered in discrete, unrelated courses. Mathematics and science are a part of every student’s education, and those who specialize in the sciences will begin their studies with an innovative foundational course that brings together the basic sciences.
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.
Global in Nature
As a member of NYU’s global network, you literally have the world at your fingertips; why not reach out and incorporate it into your coursework? The study-away opportunities available to you as an NYU Shanghai student are unparalleled in higher education and are easily integrated into your program of study.
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 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. The NYU Shanghai academic building and residence halls are being built along Century Avenue in Pudong, a location as central to Shanghai as Fifth Ave is to Manhattan.
Academic Building
The brand new NYU Shanghai academic building located on Century Avenue in Pudong, it is surrounded by bustling activity, a lively community, and some of the most iconic buildings in the world—all right in the heart of a thriving economy and Shanghai’s commercial center.
Fifteen stories tall, with two additional levels underground, the academic building contains 55,000 square meters (550,000 square feet) of usable space. It includes an expansive library, which will house an extensive physical and electronic collection with access to NYU’s global library resources; a 300-seat auditorium; a 150-person colloquium space; a theater, music, and arts hall; and kitchen and dining facilities. Also generously equipped with classrooms capable of accommodating varying class sizes, dedicated floors for teaching and practical laboratories for various sciences, intimate study spaces, and faculty and administrative offices, the building functions as a campus unto itself and as the center of a thriving academic community. Wireless IT services and a robust IT infrastructure ensure that the building, and by extension, the students and faculty, remain fully connected to the NYU global network.
Residence Hall
In fall 2014, NYU Shanghai students will move into residence halls that will be as wired, integrated, and diverse as the classrooms and as the city itself. By living alongside fellow students and Residential Advisors, students will form intimate communities and the walls of the classroom will be broken down, allowing for education and an exchange of ideas to continue and flourish, unfettered by class schedules.
Location
At NYU Shanghai, students receive the support, engage in the activities, and participate in the community that they would expect from any other university in the world—except they’ll have China as their canvas.
Just minutes away from the Century Avenue academic building, students will find a fully equipped athletics center that all NYU Shanghai students can use.
Beyond the walls of the residence hall are neighborhoods begging to be explored: the dazzling lights of the Bund, the winding labyrinthine passages of Taikang Lu, and the picturesque solitude of the Lujiazui Boardwalk are just some of the places students can while away an afternoon, eat xiaolongbao, and take in the sights and sounds.
And beyond the city limits of Shanghai, the country of China is available: the Great Wall, the Lingyin Temple, the Forbidden City, the Chengdu Panda Reserve, and more. China is, after all, a country with a vast, varying geography and demography, and a history no longer confined to just the pages of a book, but completely within reach of all NYU Shanghai students.