Students choose to study—and study away—at the Shanghai campus for countless reasons. This video highlights a few of NYU Shanghai’s many resources and opportunities, and also provides a look at the new campus.
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Month: November 2024
Student–Artists Thrive in Berlin
Take a peek at the work of students who took advantage of Berlin’s flourishing arts scene while studying away at NYU Berlin.
Each year, many students at NYU Berlin unleash their most creative selves. “Berlin has a really long history of serving as home to artists and artistic creation, stretching all the way back to the 17th century,” says Jennifer Porto, arts coordinator at NYU Berlin. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the city blossomed as “an unparalleled canvas for artistic expression,” where artists could work without financial strain. And even though it’s not as inexpensive as it once was, “Berlin is still known as a place that fosters and fuels creativity,” Porto adds.
Every student at NYU Berlin has the chance to exhibit their talents while there—whether through an open studio, a performance, or a showing. “Many of our students also investigate other opportunities, and we’ve had students perform in clubs, appear on local radio stations, or even create their own events,” Porto explains “I think that’s the biggest standout opportunity: if you’re the kind of person who wants to give something a go, chances are pretty good that there’s a venue in Berlin that will let you showcase what you do.”
Dyllan Gabriel Larmond, Class of 2025
Journal Entries II (and the goddamn dog)
“I used this painting as a way to work through difficult identity- and family-related struggles whilst bringing my fullest self into the process,” Dyllan explains. “I am so proud of this painting and how much I have grown both as an individual and as an artist.”
According to Dyllan, Berlin itself was a big part of that. “Studying abroad gave me the distance and the space I needed to bring myself back into my work in a fun and exciting environment. I felt so supported by NYU Berlin faculty, and I was shocked at how at home I felt in Berlin. I realized that a lot of my artistic practice relies on getting out of my comfort zone and exploring.”
Journal Entries II (and the goddamn dog)
Eli Kan, Class of 2025
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“The internet has become one of the most accessible ways for young queer people to find their community,” Eli explains, noting that representation of queer people in pop culture was virtually nonexistent until recently, except in the form of queer-coded villains. “But what makes something (or someone) monstrous? Is it simply a matter of unfamiliarity?”
Eli wanted to explore that question by inviting the viewer “to become an active participant in attempting to communicate with the unknown.” An iPad—placed among fabric, cow bones, fishing line, nuts, and LED lights—serves as this piece’s “window into the soul.”
Eli says NYU Berlin spurred new projects in unexpected ways: “I really enjoyed the experimental music and theatre scene there. It definitely inspired me to do more performance-based works.”
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Bingyi Zhang, Class of 2024
The Secret Language
“When creating this piece, I was doing research on Nüshu, the women’s script that was used in a small village in Hunan province, China, where women were denied a formal education,” Bingyi explains. “So, they developed a ‘secret language’ to express their feelings, to write poems and lyrics. I found it very beautiful and powerful.”
In her work, Bingyi focused on the patterns found on the surface of water, which change under different lighting and circumstances. Berlin was an integral part of shaping this piece: “I enjoyed going to Museum Island and taking a walk along the river. I took a lot of pictures of the water surface, which later became the inspiration and material for this work.”
The Secret Language
Evan Clausen, Class of 2025
Still from Eating Andrea
Still from Eating Andrea
Evan (right) performed, wrote, and directed this play, along with classmates Xander Candib (left) and Andrea Cañas. “We had intended a message about greedy corporations taking and taking and taking from the environment with little regard for the restoration or sustainability of the planet they take from,” he notes.
Then, the group decided to really lean into the absurd. “If we could confront the audience with the grotesque sight of eating meat and lettuce straight off someone’s body for a long period of time, they would be forced to reckon with the discomfort inherent in the situation…once in this state, what they take from the piece is up to them,” he says.
Evan was inspired by experimentation in German theatre. “German theatre is so dynamic and out there, and you get to experience theatrical situations that are so unusual, yet so thought-provoking,” he says.
Scene from Faith, Hope, and Charity
Scene from Faith, Hope, and Charity
Evan (as a policeman, left) and Ava Monroe (as Elisabeth, right) perform in Faith, Hope, and Charity, written by Ödön von Horváth and directed by Rikki Henry, in February 2024 in Berlin. In the scene, Elisabeth discovers the policeman she’s falling for isn’t who she thought he was.
Written by Marti Trgovich
Fast Facts of the NYU Global Network
While it is impossible to fully capture the breadth of the NYU global network, we rounded up some fast facts about the academic sites and cities where NYU students can study away. Whether they land at one of our three degree-granting campuses in New York City, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai or at our sites in Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Washington, DC, NYU students will have a rich academic experience supported by the University. Our newest site, NYU Tulsa, will officially open in spring 2025. Select students went to NYU Tulsa in spring 2024 for Alternative Breaks as well as during the summer for internship experiences.
The following information is accurate at the time of publication in fall 2024, but it is representative of a moment in time, so some information may change.
NYU Abu Dhabi
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 123*
Average class size: 16*
Number of courses available: 600+*
Number of residence halls: 3°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $4.90†
City population: ~600,000‡
NYU Accra
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 14*
Average class size: 5*
Number of courses available: 12*
Number of residence halls: 1°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $1.90†
City population: ~1.9 million‡
NYU Berlin
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 77*
Average class size: 11*
Number of courses available: 30*
Number of residence halls: 2°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $3.06†
City population: ~3.5 million‡
NYU Buenos Aires
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 47*
Average class size: 7*
Number of courses available: 27*
Number of residence halls: 1, however, most students live in a homestay°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $1.76†
City population: ~13.1 million‡
NYU Florence
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 351*
Average class size: 24*
Number of courses available: 60*
Number of residence halls: 4, plus the option to live in a homestay°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $1.54†
City population: ~350,000‡
NYU Londonˣ
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 495*
Average class size: 22*
Number of courses available: 97*
Number of residence halls: 5°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $3.36†
City population: ~8.9 million‡
NYU Los Angeles
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 35*
Average class size: 11*
Number of courses available: 13*
Number of residence halls: 1°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $4.69†
City population: ~3.8 million§
NYU Madrid
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 284*
Average class size: 23*
Number of courses available: 51*
Number of residence halls: 3°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $1.92†
City population: ~3.2 million‡
NYU in New York City
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 535*
Average class size: <30*
Number of courses available: 2,500+*
Number of residence halls: 11°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $4.69†
City population: ~8.3 million§
NYU Paris
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 257*
Average class size: 15*
Number of courses available: 68*
Number of residence halls: 3, plus the option to live in a homestay°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $3.13†
City population: ~2.1 million‡
NYU Prague
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 88*
Average class size: 8*
Number of courses available: 50*
Number of residence halls: 2°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $2.46†
City population: ~1.1 million‡
NYU Shanghai
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 95*
Average class size: 7*
Number of courses available: 250+*
Number of residence halls: 1°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $3.95†
City population: ~22.3 million‡
NYU Sydney
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 38*
Average class size: 7*
Number of courses available: 13* (Access to dozens of University of Sydney courses also available through direct enrollment.)
Number of residence halls: 1°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $3.24†
City population: ~4.6 million‡
NYU Tel Aviv
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 16*
Average class size: 7*
Number of courses available: 14*
Number of residence halls: 1°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $3.82†
City population: ~430,000‡
NYU Washington, DC
Average number of students studying away here each semester: 68*
Average class size: 17*
Number of courses available: 17*
Number of residence halls: 1°
Average cost of a cup of coffee: $4.69†
City population: ~680,000‡
°Additional student housing facilities are obtained as enrollment demands.
†Based on coffee prices in each country as of February 6, 2024 (Coffeestics.com)
‡Based on city population numbers (PopulationStat.com)
ˣNYU London’s average number of students is anticipated to grow next semester due to the global site’s move to a larger academic center in the fall 2024 semester.
Repurposed with permission from NYU Global Notebook
NYU Washington, DC, Program Director Kari Miller Leads Students on a Journey Through Time and Space
Kari Miller
When Kari Miller, program director for NYU Washington, DC, and affiliated faculty with NYU’s Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, sees the city, she finds a reservoir of public memory sites that speak to African American history and an unfinished story chronicling resilience over time. These observations are what she aims to share with NYU students from near and far in her class Black Lives Writing Washington, DC.
Each spring semester Miller begins the course with an exploration of the abolitionist movement. She then moves in chronological order through two other major movements in African American history: the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter.
“Through novels, poetry, visual arts, and in-person site visits to a variety of sites in Washington, DC, the course explores the connections between these three historical movements that have all been shaped by Washington, DC,” Miller says. “We explore the complexity of American and Washington, DC, history through the eyes of writers who, at some point in their lives, have called the city home.”
City Connections
To Miller, making real-world connections with topics discussed in the classroom is a vital part of learning—and of studying away at NYU Washington, DC. “We visit sites around the city in order to connect directly with historical neighborhoods and areas that relate back to the books that we read,” she explains.
After reading Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, the first site visit is the National Park Service site of the abolitionist’s home. They visit Georgetown University as they read Rachel Swarns’ The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved to Build the American Catholic Church. They visit the city’s Shaw neighborhood, home to Howard University, when they read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me. They even visit the mansions of Logan Circle, a few blocks from the site’s academic center after reading Dinaw Mengestu’s The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, a novel that focuses on the Ethiopian-American community in Washington, DC.
“Excursions are very immersive, and student responses have been overwhelmingly positive,” Miller reflects. “Everyone especially enjoys our visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial during the National Cherry Blossom Festival.”
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- Students from Miller’s Black Lives Writing Washington, DC, course visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture
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- Black Lives Writing Washington, DC, students visit the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
A Work in Progress
The course site visits, readings, and assignments don’t just encourage students to reflect on the past, but they celebrate the present as well. “I enjoy using all of the city’s art galleries and museums to make connections to our work through the visual arts,” she explains. “There is always a nearby or local exhibit in Washington, DC, that our students are able to go to, not only to appreciate Harlem Renaissance artists, but to learn about expressions of contemporary artists who are creating great works of art today.” Regardless of where in space and time Miller leads her students, the continuing story of African Americans and their impact on our nation remains at the center.
“In comparison to other nations that are thousands of years old, the United States is relatively very, very young. It is truly a work in progress,” Miller adds. “Through the history shaped and created in Washington, DC, I hope our students take away inspiration, motivation, and the desire to continue to build a better world, based on what we’ve learned and what we know is possible through movements, people, and progress.”
Written by Sarah Bender