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Fast Facts of the NYU Global Network

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Maxine P

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

Students in front of the Sydney Opera House

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)

United States Census Bureau

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

Global Programs Booklist

Posted on April 15, 2024 by Katie L

Inspired by the first NYU Bookstore display collaboration between the Office of Marketing Communications and the Office of Global Programs, this list of books representing NYU’s global locations promises to broaden your perspective and enrich your knowledge.

NYU Abu Dhabi

Temporary People
By Deepak Unnikrishnan

The skylines of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are recognizable around the world by their resplendent glittering towers—but how did they get there? Deepak Unnikrishnan, an Indian-born writer raised in the United Arab Emirates and associate arts professor of literature and creative writing at NYU Abu Dhabi, knows the answer: a foreign labor force was brought in to construct them. Using a series of clever and surreal linked stories, Unnikrishnan gives voice to a humanitarian crisis that doesn’t get the attention it deserves.

NYU Accra

The Hundred Wells of Salaga
By Ayesha Harruna Attah

Based on a true story, The Hundred Wells of Salaga tells the tale of two women from very different backgrounds whose lives converge in an unexpected way. It’s a novel that will entangle you emotionally, while offering you crucial insight into precolonial Ghana, particularly the slave trade and its impact on a people.

NYU Berlin

No Photos on the Dance Floor! Berlin 1989–Today
Edited by Heiko Hoffmann and Felix Hoffmann

History books offer what we think is a full story, but this photography book provides a peek into the city’s after-hours culture through the club scene that blossomed in 1989 after the fall of the Berlin Wall. It’s not only a delightful visual romp but also a history book in its own right, telling the story of a city in transformation, one party at a time.

NYU Buenos Aires

The Aleph and Other Stories
By Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges might seem like an obvious choice for Argentina—for a country that produced so many famous writers, he is arguably the most famous. Still, who can deny this selection? The brilliant, inventive tales of The Aleph and Other Stories will surprise and stimulate, and they are must-reads for diving into Argentine culture. Borges, after all, makes magic happen in the most unexpected ways.

NYU Florence

The Monster of Florence book cover featuring a close-up image of Giambologna's The Rape of the Sabine sculpture

The Monster of Florence: A True Story
By Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi

The Monster of Florence has developed a bit of a cult following in recent years, and for good reason—it’s a wild ride. American Douglas Preston moved to Florence with his family and quickly discovered that their olive grove was the site of one of Italy’s most infamous double murders. As he works with investigative journalist Mario Spezi, a Florentine, to get closer to the truth, things really begin to spiral. The Monster of Florence is a propulsive thriller that offers valuable, and often shocking, insight into the Italian justice system.

NYU London

White Teeth
By Zadie Smith

White Teeth is a rare novel that is entertaining while simultaneously layered with so much richness, one might want to read it all over again as soon as it’s over. Starting with two unlikely friends whose stories blossom into a poignant yet funny family saga, Zadie Smith’s debut novel keenly witnesses the immigrant experience in London, traveling to other continents as well while navigating the relationship between tradition and change.

NYU Los Angeles

Slow Days, Fast Company book cover featuring a distorted image of a woman

Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A.
By Eve Babitz

This slim book offers stories as wild and wanton as Los Angeles itself. Unapologetically hedonistic, Slow Days, Fast Company is also a clever, windy ride through the Los Angeles of the 1960s and 1970s. It has all the usual Angeleno archetypes, but Eve Babitz elevates them with her incisive and acerbic insights into life in Hollywood. Isn’t it funny that, decades later, so much has changed but so much remains the same?

NYU Madrid

Ghosts of Spain book cover featuring images of Spain

Ghosts of Spain: Travels Through Spain and Its Silent Past
By Giles Tremlett

Worth a read to understand a post-Franco Spain, Ghosts of Spain is a well-rounded, curious, and admittedly fun romp through the country, albeit prompted by the author’s questions about its devastating civil war. British author Giles Tremlett combines keen cultural reporting with memoir and quirky sidebars that add levity to what begins as a serious interrogation. While it’s intellectually critical, it’s also a love letter to Spain. After all, there’s a reason Spain is Tremlett’s adopted country.

NYU Paris

The Years book cover featuring an image of a woman looking at the viewer with the silhouette of a person looking down a hallway

The Years
By Annie Ernaux

Annie Ernaux’s whole oeuvre is masterful, but many critics cite The Years, first published in 2008, as her magnum opus. In this brilliant collage of a memoir, Nobel Prize winner Ernaux examines her life and the generation that she grew up in, favoring “we” over “I.” The result is a personal history tied to the collective experience of a generation in France during the 20th century. Ernaux weaves her memories into a story that offers cultural notes on topics from consumerism and immigration to unemployment and the threat of nuclear war.

NYU Prague

Havel: A Life book cover featuring an image of Václev Havel with his hand atop his head

Havel: A Life
By Michael Žantovský

In many ways, Václav Havel’s life mirrors the zeitgeist of Prague: it’s political, literary, antiauthoritarian, surreal, and somehow, even at its most serious moments, darkly humorous. If that sounds like a lot, it’s because Havel, like the city itself, was a complex figure. Michael Žantovský was a trusted friend, so this biography reads as an intimate and true portrait (faults and all) of a man loyal to his people, his values, and his art. Žantovský succeeds in showing the many dimensions of the iconoclast—playwright, political dissident, prisoner, president—who, in the end, was just as human as the rest of us.

NYU Shanghai

Shanghai Future: Modernity Remade
By Anna Greenspan

This brilliant book contextualizes China’s largest and most cosmopolitan city through the lens of modernity. Author Anna Greenspan, an associate professor of contemporary global media at NYU Shanghai, reexamines the changing landscape of the city as it steps well into the 21st century and takes its place on the world stage.

NYU Sydney

Mirror Sydney: An Atlas of Reflections
By Vanessa Berry

A fun and unexpected romp, Mirror Sydney takes us on a tour of the harborside city via engaging essays and clever hand-illustrated maps. Based on a blog Vanessa Berry started more than a decade ago, Mirror Sydney is clearly more than a mere guidebook—it’s too much fun to be that typical. Moreover, it tends to direct the reader to the kinds of places the average tourist wouldn’t care to know about or explore anyway.

NYU Tel Aviv

The Bibliomaniacs: Tales from a Tel Aviv Bookseller
By J.C. Halper

On Allenby Street in Tel Aviv, J.C. Halper—originally from New Jersey but now an Israeli for four-plus decades—runs the city’s most popular secondhand bookshop, containing a dazzling 60,000 books. And in 2022 he published this book of clever, often funny short stories from the point of view of a shop owner. While the stories are allegedly fiction, one can’t help but wonder if we’re learning more about real locals than the author lets on.

NYU Washington, DC

Lost in the City
By Edward P. Jones

It’s a joy to read anything by Edward P. Jones, the gifted, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer. His debut collection of short stories, Lost in the City, is no exception and first cemented his literary reputation. These 14 tales tell the everyday encounters and struggles of Black citizens in Washington, DC. But Jones has a gift for making even the most mundane situation meaningful, and his rich, textured stories give weight to life’s most quotidian moments as viewed through the lens of the Black experience in the nation’s capital.

Written by Marti Trgovich

NYU Prague: Day in the Life

Posted on April 8, 2024 by Kristin Law

Follow Music Business major Antonio, a junior at the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, as he shares a typical day studying at NYU Prague, including insight into his internship at the Bohuslav Martinů Institute, where he helps preserve the Czech composer’s body of work.

NYU Paris Staff Spotlight: Martina Faltova

Posted on March 26, 2024 by Katie L

Martina Faltova in a coat and hat stands in front of a flower stand

Martina Faltova at Paris’ Bastille Market

In 2001 Martina Faltova was a study abroad student in Cambridge, England, when a chance encounter with an NYU professor led her to becoming his family’s au pair in New York City. Since her visa required a language course, she enrolled in Intermediate French at NYU. She loved the University so much that, when she returned home to the Czech Republic, she applied to work at NYU Prague. Now, more than 20 years later, she’s the assistant director for student life at NYU Paris.

Your job starts before students even arrive: organizing events, arranging housing, and prioritizing everyone’s safety and wellness. What inspired you to work with study away students?
I was a guest in another culture, and when I was leaving New York City, the family I lived with told me there was an NYU site in Prague and I should apply to it. And I loved that because I just came out of New York, I knew who the students were, and I felt like I could give back. Also, I love traveling, languages, meeting new people, and helping people learn more about Czech culture.

What role does language have in a student’s success at NYU Paris and NYU Prague?
In Paris the language course is required, so everyone has to take French. And it really makes your life easier. It’s a wonderful feeling when you can communicate, and it’s a really big sense of accomplishment. In Prague, though language courses are not required, learning Czech helps you make connections with the local people and understand the culture better too. Other language courses are offered at NYU Prague as well.

What are additional ways students can connect to local communities?
In Paris students can take courses at partner universities and hold internships. I also see students who choose to stay in a homestay, where they meet local families and become more connected to the place. In Prague I saw a lot of connections for the music students because they were performing in local places like pubs and would practice at other schools around Prague.

An NYU Paris student interning at a nonprofit organization

What attracts students to each site?
In Prague there’s centuries and centuries of history around you. It’s also very affordable. You really can do anything: easily buy tickets to the opera, go to nice restaurants, or live on a budget. In Paris the arts scene is incredible for anyone taking art or film courses. Here, students leave the classroom and see the paintings they discussed, and they wander the streets featured in famous movies.

You mentioned that NYU Paris is also branching out from the arts.
NYU Paris has changed a lot in the past six years. When I arrived, the majority of our courses were in the humanities. Now we have more and more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses. So we see a lot of students studying computer science and mathematics.

Which initiative are you most proud of?
At the beginning of the semester, we bring in people from local communities like nongovernmental and volunteer organizations and promote our cultural activities and trips. We invite all of our student and club leaders to promote their work. Students just mingle and learn about these opportunities, then they sign up for clubs. They talk to organizations about volunteering and helping. I just love that day.

Written by Marti Trgovich

The Rise of Experimental Circus in Prague: Artistic Research over Entertainment

Posted on February 26, 2024 by Katie L

It’s early evening and the National Theatre: The New Stage in Prague is sold out for the premiere show of Krajina těla or Land of Body. Sounds of waves crashing and a cello fill the hall as aerial acrobat Alžbeta Tichá climbs up a dangling rope, twisting, flipping, and falling dangerously fast before pulling the rope taut. While she moves through her choreography, eight LED screens placed around the stage show close-up images of hair follicles.

This is circus. Or, a kind of circus. With its understated exploration of physicality—a visual poem through movement—Krajina těla is an example of the experimental circus style emerging in the Czech Republic. Decidedly different from the theatrical and showy version of modern circus that Czech companies have mastered, the change comes as a new generation of performers enters the field, bringing with them new techniques and concepts.

Alžbeta Tichá, in motion midair supported by a rope held by another performer

Alžbeta Tichá on the rope in “Krajina těla”
Photo courtesy of Vojtěch Brtnický, Narodni divadlo

Czech contemporary circus was created right after the fall of communism in 1989. “Metaphorical, symbolic—the circus as a physical form was there as a metaphor for something else. Like you are on the trapeze, so you are representing a bird, for example,” says Veronika Štefanová, research supervisor of CIRQUEON, a Prague-based circus center. Theatre folk were inspired by touring European circus companies, but, without formal training to make stand-alone circus shows, they began incorporating these elements into their theatre productions.

The style’s popularity exploded in 2004 with the annual summer festival, Letní Letná, started by Jiří Turek, who has a background in dancing, miming, and alternative theatre. When he first hosted the festival in Prague, there were 6,000 attendees. Now it attracts 60,000 people, making it the biggest contemporary circus festival in the Czech Republic. “We invite the biggest companies,” Turek says of his festival direction. “We must do it. The smaller festivals cannot invite them; it is too expensive.” The necessity of featuring large companies has developed a large, unvarying style of circus—commercial and theatrical.

Cirk La Putyka is a case in point. It is the latest company in Prague, currently performing Cesty, which features more than 50 performers in a classic circus top. The acrobats, dancers, and actors wear flashy costumes while thunderous sound effects accentuate the stunts. In one act nine women flip around Hula-Hoops spinning high in the air. In another, a man walks amid the audience seats and breathes out orange flames. These moments are interspersed with storytelling and dialogue. The show is a glamorous spectacle.

A performer seated with legs crossed in an aerial hoop suspended from a light rack

Cirk La Putyka performers in “Cesty”
Photo courtesy: Cirk La Putyka

This “wow” factor is necessary, explains researcher Štefanová. “They would like to really live on circus and work only in circus, and it means you have to sell a lot of tickets.” Cirk La Putyka and other large companies have successfully done so, regularly selling out shows. In recent years the experimental shows have gained popularity with new techniques by younger artists. The kids, who 10 years ago signed up for informal circus classes at CIRQUEON, are of a professional age now. Tichá, the rope acrobat in Krajina těla, performs in several avant-garde shows. Along with Krajina těla, she is part of Thin Skin, a production staged in the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art.

Tichá emphasizes that she is not so much entertaining an audience as pushing the limits of her art, conducting a kind of research while onstage. “When I go on the rope, I have to be present. There is no chance to think about anything else.”

Repurposed and edited with permission by Dispatches

Prague Internships

Posted on October 16, 2023, modified on November 27, 2023 by Kristin Law

NYU Prague students share their favorite moments from internships during their time studying away.

Three smiling NYU students face a group of children

NYU Prague students teach Czech elementary school students English through the Prague Elementary program.

Prague Elementary
This program brings native English users into Prague elementary schools to help children learn English.

“My best memory was helping the students gain the confidence to perform a play in English! Many of the students felt out of place because they were experiencing something new, but it was heartwarming watching them come out of their shells.”
—Emily Tsao, Music Education, Class of 2025

“When one of the kids gave me a drawing of their family. It was so sweet and reminded me of my own.”
—Lina Wang, Business, Class of 2024

Organization for Aid to Refugees (OPU)
Since 1991, this nonprofit and nongovernmental organization has supported refugees in the Czech Republic. OPU offers free legal and social counseling, training programs for professionals, and other activities to welcome and integrate refugees. Fighting against xenophobia and racial and ethnic intolerance is one of their main goals.

“Organizing a Holi event for the kids and watching them decorate bags, color, and get their faces painted!”
—Ela Kulkarni, Global Liberal Studies, Class of 2025

CEE Bankwatch Network
CEE Bankwatch Network is a global network of 15 member groups and 13 countries working to prevent environmentally and socially harmful international development as well as promote alternative solutions and community input.

“Writing a case study on a hydropower plant in Serbia!”
—Molly Bombard, Public Policy, Class of 2024

Memory of Nations’ High School
Opened in 2021, the Memory of Nations’ High School focuses on modern history, social and media education, practical journalism, world languages, and other humanities subjects. In addition to partnering with NYU Prague, the high school works with Sokolov Grammar School and the Higher Vocational School of Journalism.

“It’s hard to come up with a specific moment, but I’m fortunate enough to have developed a kind of relationship where we’re open and sharing about our personal lives. The students feel like my mini-therapists sometimes.”
—Emily Yang, Sociology, Class of 2024

A Universal Language at Every Age

Posted on May 15, 2023 by Maxine P

Through internships, volunteer opportunities, and class projects, NYU study away students can make a positive impact on the children in their local communities while also gaining valuable, real-world experience they can apply to their future careers.

While studying at NYU Prague last spring, Joey Duke, a junior majoring in Music Education at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, found there is more to his field of study than he could have imagined. Through the class Foundations of Music Education led by Professor Klára Boudalová, he had the opportunity to work with the Prague Symphony Orchestra to help make classical music accessible to children in the Czech Republic.

Seven people pose for a camera on the orchestra stage

Concert planners and participants pose for a photo onstage at Smetana Hall after the orchestra performance. Pictured from left to right are: Jaime Patterson, Jair Gonzales, director Klara Boudalova, Joey Duke, actress Veronika Kubarova, Jahnvi Seshadri, and conductor Jan Kucera.

“We worked on the Orchestr na dotek, which means ‘the orchestra to listen,’” Joey says. After a semester of learning from the orchestra, the class’ final project was to organize an orchestra completely on their own. “It’s their program created just for young audiences, and it was a game changer for me. It showed me there’s a lot more you can do with music education.”

Joey and his classmates “took a part in everything” when it came to creating the orchestra. They chose composers, selected and cut the music, wrote a storyline, and worked with the musicians and performers to ensure the performance went off without a hitch.

“We knew we would be these kids’ first impressions of the composers, and we wanted to make sure we selected the right pieces and cuts,” explains Joey. Their orchestra focused on the works of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, which they intertwined with a story about pirates. “The music really couldn’t be more than three minutes at a time, so we had to select the most important parts. That took a lot of score reading and musical knowledge. Then for the story, Debussy features a lot of ocean music and Ravel features a lot of Spanish music, so we were like, ‘We’ve got it! We’re getting on a ship, we’re venturing across the sea, we’re going to islands.’ It was this big, fantastical process, and once we got past the blank canvas, the possibilities were endless.”

Similarly, at NYU Florence, Anika Istok, a junior majoring in Psychology at the College of Arts and Science and minoring in both Italian Studies and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies (CAMS), had the chance to connect with children through music.

“Music is so important for kids,” says Anika who spent the fall of 2022 volunteering with NPM Bambini in Movimento, an organization that provides support, therapy, and inclusive recreational activities for children, adolescents, and their families to help improve their health and wellness. “It’s an important way for kids to express themselves, especially if they’re nonverbal, shy, or don’t initiate interactions. It’s amazing because, through something simple like playing our community drum together, they were able to bond in a way that, even with words, you can’t accomplish.”

Photo of Anika wearing an NPM Bambini in Movimento polo shirt

Anika Istok in her NPM Bambini in Movimento shirt

Volunteering with NPM Bambini in Movimento was fulfilling for Anika on multiple levels. It not only advanced her work in psychology and CAMS but also helped her become fluent in Italian. She noted volunteering as part of the culture at NYU Florence, so she knew she would get involved somewhere. Still, it was important for her to find an organization where she could really make an impact, and at NPM Bambini in Movimento, she was able to do just that.

“We weren’t necessarily teaching music; rather, we were experiencing music together,” Anika adds. Anika helped teach two after-school classes, one for children between 2 and 5 and one for children between 6 and 8 years old. “A lot of the kids we worked with had either a disability or some sort of special need, and a lot of them were too young to be in school full time or had some trouble in school. Connecting with them outside of their normal educational environment was really important.”

Both Joey and Anika returned to New York City after their semesters away with newfound knowledge and appreciation for their selected fields of study. “This opportunity showed me that I could not only aspire to do something like this but do it. And then we watched it happen,” says Joey. “At the end of the day, music is who we are as a people. It carries all of our cultural meaning, it carries a message, and for kids to understand the music from where they are is for them to participate in their communities. For me, I realized there’s so much more we can do. That semester really opened my eyes to the impact we can make through music.”

Written by Kelly McHugh-Stewart

A New Collaboration Creates a Bridge for Ukrainian Students at NYU Prague

Posted on September 22, 2022, modified on September 22, 2022 by Katie L

Ukrainian students and the NYU president smile at the camera

NYU President Andy Hamilton welcomes Ukrainian students to NYU Prague.

The start of the school year marked the arrival of a new cohort within the NYU community—a group of nearly 15 displaced Ukrainian students who will spend the 2022–23 academic year at NYU Prague.

The students became part of the NYU Prague community and will study alongside full-time NYU degree students. This program was developed as part of University efforts to provide educational opportunities and other assistance to students and scholars affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

NYU identified students for the program in partnership with the Ukrainian Global University (UGU), a consortium of Ukrainian universities dedicated to creating opportunities for Ukrainian students and scholars to continue their education. To further support students, NYU Prague developed special resources and programming for the cohort, including counseling services, health insurance, and a stipend to help cover living expenses.

“NYU is arguably the most global university in the world, so when international crises occur, our community feels them at our core and wants to respond in very tangible ways,” explains Josh Taylor, associate vice chancellor for global programs and mobility services. “There is an all-hands-on-deck mentality right now with a deep commitment to try and help students and scholars who are at risk. Education is an important foundation, especially for these undergraduates who have their whole lives ahead of them.”

NYU Prague Assistant Director for Student Life, Yveta Kenety, chats with Ukrainian students.

NYU Prague, with its geographic proximity to Ukraine and similarities in language and culture, offers a comparatively easy transitional point for the visiting students, according to Thea Favaloro, associate director of NYU Prague. Further, she says welcoming this cohort in our community gives an opportunity for NYU students—many of them American—to gain a deeper and personal insight on how the Russian invasion has affected the Ukrainian people: “We can’t completely understand what these students have been going through, but we are very sincere in our desire to help them while they’re here with us.”

For Anastasiia Koverha, a Marketing student from V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, the opportunity has been empowering. “As I watched Russian missiles destroy my university, I thought I would never be back to my normal student life again,” she explains. “But as I started the enrollment process at NYU Prague, supported by NYU staff at every stage, I felt I was not alone. And being in Prague now, meeting so many incredible people, I finally feel I am not helpless. I know I will return to my country with new knowledge and experiences that will aid in our recovery.”

Likewise, Anna-Mariia Mandzii, an International Relations, Public Communications, and Regional Studies major from the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, recognizes this year as the chance to deepen her knowledge of her chosen field. “The opportunity to study at NYU Prague is invaluable,” she says. “Being here allows me to look at the current situation in the world, especially the Russian war against Ukraine, from a different perspective.”

While the hope is for a swift and peaceful resolution to the conflict, NYU continues to stand with Ukraine and others affected by crises around the world. In recent years, NYU in New York City welcomed students from Puerto Rico who were affected by Hurricane Maria, as well as Tulane University students who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Tymofii Brik, rector of the Kyiv School of Economics and one of the founders of the UGU, notes, “Having the support of NYU, one of the best and most known universities in the world, is crucial. The leadership at NYU recognized the potential of the UGU and immediately decided to support it. Making strong decisions in times of uncertainty—and then delivering—is rare nowadays. This exchange program is excellent because it ensures that students will come back to Ukraine and contribute to making it a better place.”

Written by Auzelle Epeneter

Fall 2022 Orientation Week in Images

Posted on September 19, 2022, modified on September 19, 2022 by Kristin Law

Orientation Week at NYU global locations introduces students to the history and culture of their new home through exciting programming. Additionally, students receive important academic information to set them up for success during their time away.

NYU Abu Dhabi

A student surfing down a hill of sand as other students wait for their turn.

NYU Abu Dhabi welcomes more than 120 study away students from New York City and Shanghai. Staff members love to introduce them to the Emirates with a weekend trip to Dubai and a cultural day in Abu Dhabi.

NYU Florence

Students sitting in the amphitheater as they learn from an authority figure.

New students at NYU Florence attend a session about community values in the amphitheater on the beautiful 57-acre estate of Villa La Pietra.

NYU Madrid

A group of students gathering with a professor on the street in Madrid.

NYU Madrid orientation week features great academic activities like Mapping Madrid, a series of five tours in five city locations led by five NYU Madrid professors. This location is Tetuán, a barrio of contrasts where many cultures mix.

NYU Paris

Four students posing for the camera with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background.

Fall 2022 students enjoy Paris on a boat cruise along the Seine during Welcome Week.

NYU Prague

A trio of students surveying the front of the Municipal House.

Students admire the Municipal House, where the independent Czechoslovakia was established in 1918. During orientation at NYU Prague, they walk around the historical center of Prague while asking questions about Czech history.

NYU Sydney

A student role playing at parliament, while other students are sitting in rows behind them.

At NYU Sydney, students visit the New South Wales Parliament House, the oldest house of parliament in Australia. Students role play as speaker of the house, government members, or opposition members.

NYU Tel Aviv

Students, staff, and faculty convene at the traditional faculty panel and welcome dinner during orientation week at NYU Tel Aviv.

NYU Washington, D.C.

A professor lecturing in front of a projection screen.

Professor Vicky Kiechel leads a Washington 101 session for students during orientation week at NYU Washington, DC.

Modern Dissent in Prague

Posted on May 2, 2022, modified on May 3, 2022 by Kristin Law

In the late 1980s, revolution was stirring in Communist Czechoslovakia, and Jan Urban was at the center of it. While reporting for Radio Free Europe and the BBC, he was also secretly working with underground newspapers and leading a fledgling dissident network called the Eastern European Information Agency. His efforts helped bring the country to the 1989 Velvet Revolution, a nonviolent uprising that toppled the Communist regime and brought democracy to his homeland. Because of his pivotal role in the revolution, Urban became the leader of the Civic Forum, a political, anti-communist movement he helped found.

Professor Jan Urban giving a lecture

In the first free elections in June 1990, the public turned its attention to Urban as a natural choice for prime minister, but he declined. The reason? He says, “I was too good at giving speeches and mobilizing crowds. It was frightening to have such power, and I gladly gave it up.”

Teaching from Personal Experience

Urban turned away from politics and spent several years as a war journalist in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq. He began teaching courses about political dissent and civil disobedience at the Czech Republic’s Charles University. At NYU Prague, too, he teaches its most popular course, Modern Dissent in Central Europe: The Art of Defeat. In the classroom Urban uses his personal history as a case study.

Students, seated in desks, listening to Professor Urban

NYU Prague students in the Modern Dissent in Central Europe course

He knows it’s far more compelling to experience a personal account of what happened than to read about it in a textbook. His goal is to help students understand how civil disobedience led to positive changes for the people of the Czech Republic—and what it can also do for movements like Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street.

“To act outside of what is mainstream and fashionable is more important today than ever before, and political dissent is a tool we can use to dismantle ideas that no longer work. Sometimes it’s our civic responsibility to be different.” —Jan Urban

Students Explore Obedience and Resistance

In class discussions students work through topics like obedience and dissent, the media and propaganda, and government and civic responsibility. Urban challenges them to think by being the dissenters in the room. “Young people often say what they’ve been taught without questioning it deeply, so it’s necessary to provoke them, expose their prejudices, and destroy their ready-made conclusions,” he says. Though he makes his students uncomfortable at times, he also broadens their thinking. “Television has changed our lives and democracies into entertainment and emotional games,” Urban says.

Repurposed from NYU Global Notebook.