NYU Shanghai Launches New Partnership with NYU Wagner’s PhD in Public Administration Program

NYU Shanghai is partnering with the NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service to launch a new research and study abroad opportunity for those pursuing a PhD program in Public Administration. The new program will bring the university’s total number of PhD offerings to eleven. NYU Wagner is now accepting applications for the inaugural class arriving in the Fall of 2022.

Students with a special interest in urban planning and policy should be especially attracted by this new opportunity, said NYU Shanghai Assistant Professor of Urban Science and Policy Guan Chenghe, who will be a supervisor in the program. “Urban digitalization has become an irresistible trend around the world for its significant impact on accelerating economic growth, improving urban governance, promoting sustainable urban growth, and facilitating many aspects of our lives,” Guan said. “In our NYU Shanghai Urban Lab, students will undertake a multidisciplinary exploration of this digital urban transformation through urban studies, data science, urban planning, urban ecology, urban geography, urban economics, and real estate development, using advanced technology, such as big data and artificial intelligence.” 

“China is now at the forefront of urban digitalization. I hope we can tackle China’s new urban challenges from a global perspective and share our experience in building digital smart cities to the world.”

Like many of NYU Shanghai’s Master’s and PhD offerings, the PhD program in Public Administration will take advantage of the academic resources and research communities within NYU’s global network. Admitted students will pursue their coursework at NYU Wagner in New York for 1-2 years before relocating permanently to Shanghai for research under the supervision of NYU Shanghai faculty. Summer terms will ordinarily be spent in Shanghai as well, including during their first two years. All PhD candidates will earn NYU doctoral degrees upon graduation.

NYU Wagner is among the best in the United States, especially in Urban Policy where the school ranks first in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Admitted students will have many opportunities to study and conduct research with some of the world’s top faculty in the field. 

In Shanghai, students will be able to participate in the research of the NYU Shanghai Urban Lab, Center for Applied Social and Economic Research (CASER), and the Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and access the abundant resources at the Center for Global Asia.

“Research into the intelligent design of cities is being carried out by faculty across NYU Shanghai. Our emerging interdisciplinary strength in this area made establishing a doctoral program in partnership with NYU Wagner perfectly apt. Students in the program will look at how urban centers like Shanghai and around the world are being shaped in today's era from a scientific and policy perspective, all while gaining a unique global, two-campus experience that only a university like NYU could offer,” said Eric H. Mao, the Associate Dean of Graduate and Advanced Education. 

All admitted students will be fully-funded under the NYU Shanghai Doctoral Fellowship, which covers all tuition and fees, international health insurance, travel funds, and an annual stipend. Since Fall 2015, nearly 50 students have been admitted to NYU Shanghai PhD programs.

For more information, visit the PhD in Public Administration webpage. Read the Application requirements to find out if you qualify, and submit your application through the NYU Wagner Application portal. The application deadline for Fall 2022 admission is November 29, 2021. For further questions and inquiries, please email shanghai.phd@nyu.edu.