NYU Shanghai to Delay Opening and Move Many Classes Online

Updated January 28, 2020

In response to the rapidly-evolving situation with regard to the novel coronavirus,  Chancellor Yu Lizhong, Vice Chancellor Jeff Lehman, and Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen announced January 28 plans launch digital instruction for Spring Semester so that all students can make progress toward their degrees remotely. Students may also explore the option of studying away at other sites within the NYU Global Network, visa issues and space permitting.

As announced earlier, NYU Shanghai will launch digital instruction on February 17. For those students in Shanghai who wish to return home until the beginning of the spring semester, the university is prepared to provide financial assistance.

The NYU Shanghai research and instructional technology services team are currently working with faculty members to move their courses to digital instruction, in time for a February 17 launch. While some classes (for example, laboratory classes) cannot be taken online, the university is confident that it will be able to ensure that all our students can earn a full semester’s worth of credits this semester and continue to make timely progress towards their degrees. Further information regarding classes will be sent to students next week.

NYU Shanghai students who wish to attempt to study at another location in the NYU Global Network, where classes have already started, may contact shanghai.advising@nyu.edu no later than Thursday, January 30, at 12 noon in Shanghai (11:00 pm Wednesday in New York) to explore the feasibility of this option. Study away students should contact NYU's Office of Global Programs (global.admissions@nyu.edu). The university discourages this option, however, since visa issues, dormitory space, and course oversubscription may prove serious obstacles.

In order to complete the spring semester on time, the university will be adjusting its calendar by not taking a break during the week of March 23 and by holding classes on 5 weekend days in March and April.

“We are enormously grateful to all of our students, to our faculty, and to our administrative staff for showing creativity and resilience in the face of these new challenges,” wrote Chancellors Yu and Lehman, and Provost Joanna Waley-Cohen. “We appreciate how unsettling it is to have to keep adapting, and we appreciate your willingness to bear with us. We have no doubt that further challenges lie ahead, but we are confident in our community’s ability to handle them all.”

“Our objectives are to keep all our community members healthy and to deliver a true NYU Shanghai education to our students, to the best of our abilities,” they added.

The University continues to monitor the situation closely, particularly the information being disseminated by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, and the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau. University officials are also in consultation with medical professionals from Sino-United Health and the NYU Student Health Center.

The University is working vigorously to keep community members informed about the virus and protective hygiene. The Academic Building and residence halls will remain closed to the general public for the duration. All persons entering these buildings will undergo body temperature checks. If their temperatures are found to be abnormal, they will be transferred for further examination.

Although the Wuhan coronavirus originated in animals, it can be passed from person to person. One of the most common mechanisms for transmission is for germs exhaled by an infected person to land on another person’s hands, for that person then to touch their own face, and for that person thereafter to inhale the germs. Because of how the coronavirus virus is communicated, people are urged to wear face masks in public places, to wash their hands frequently (or use hand sanitizer), and to try to avoid touching their faces. 

NYU Shanghai is providing daily updates on the epidemic here. For the more information about the virus and recommendations on how to reduce the risk of contracting and spreading the coronavirus infection, as well as additional resources on prevention and self-care, please visit the following websites:

​WHO Q&A on Coronaviruses (English)

WHO Q&A on Coronaviruses (Chinese)

WHO Director General Statement

CDC Novel Coronavirus in China

CDC 2019 Novel Coronavirus Wuhan Situation Summary

Updated academic calendar, Spring 2020:

Monday 17 February       Digital instruction begins / 1st 7-week classes

Friday 21 February          Add-Drop deadline - 1st 7-week classes

Friday 28 February          Add-Drop deadline - spring full term

Saturday 29 February     1st legislative day - classes on Monday schedule

Saturday 7 March            2nd legislative day - classes on Tuesday schedule

Friday 13 March              Course withdrawal & pass/fail option deadline - 1st 7-week classes

Saturday 14 March         3rd legislative day - classes on Wednesday schedule

Friday 3 April                   Last day of 1st 7-seven week classes

Saturday 4 April              Qing Ming Holiday

Monday 6 April               Second 7-week classes begin

Friday 10 April                 Midterm grades deadline

Friday 10 April                 Add-Drop deadline - 2nd 7-week classes

Saturday 11 April            4th legislative day - Thursday schedule

Saturday 18 April            5th legislative day - Friday schedule

April 20 - 24                     Registration for fall 2020 semester

Friday 24 April                 Course withdrawal & pass/fail option deadline - spring full term

Thursday 30 April           Course withdrawal & pass/fail option deadline - 2nd 7-week classes

For the full schedule, please refer to the Academic Calendar.