Visit our NYU in Ghana photo gallery for images of the city and program.

Orientation

From the moment you step off the plane at the airport, you'll realize that you have arrived in a very different place. But you'll never feel like a stranger in Ghana. After landing, you'll be picked up at the airport and taken directly to the residence halls to unpack. The following morning, a week of carefully planned orientation events begins alongside the student orientations of our partner institutions, addressing the numerous details of daily independent living. You'll attend informational sessions on student affairs, academics, residential life, security, and health. You'll tour the city and the campuses where you'll take classes and attend a variety of cultural activities that introduce you to the local and regional languages and culture. You'll take intensive language classes each day so you'll learn the key phrases in Twi that you'll use in your daily life. By the time classes begin, you'll know enough about Ghanaian food, culture, language, and customs to begin really immersing yourself in a new life experience.

Housing and Meals

NYU guarantees housing to all of its students in Ghana, and all students are required to reside in NYU-arranged housing facilities as a condition of enrollment. The residence facility is a contemporary gated complex of four duplexes in a quiet residential neighborhood of greater Accra and is within walking distance from the NYU Center. The University of Ghana-Legon, Ashesi University, and diverse parts of the city are all a short ride away.

Each duplex faces a common courtyard and houses approximately seven students in double and triple rooms, each with a private bathroom. Each also has kitchenette, a large living room with TV/VCR, and a telephone for making local calls to staff and your new friends. The complex also offers air conditioning and 24-hour security. You'll have the choice of preparing meals or eating out, since housing is located near shopping centers including the Makola Market, a large and bustling open air market. Most students opt to purchase a meal plan that allows them to eat their evening meal together at an affiliated local restaurant called Tante Marie.

Trips and Activities

At the beginning of the semester, you'll be invited to sign up for day trips and overnight excursions that will immerse you further in the history and culture of the region. Many student activities are partially subsidized by NYU, you may be asked to pay a small fee to participate.

One of the trips is to Cape Coast and the Elmina forts, which functioned initially as trading posts but quickly became a stop for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. An accompanying lecture covers issues related to the history of the slave trade and how it has shaped contemporary Ghana. Other trips outside of Accra have included Kakum National Park with its famous canopy walk, Kumasi (the center of Ashanti history), and nature preserves in the Volta region. You'll also have a rare opportunity to visit the palace of great kings and queens of the well-known Ashanti state in Kumasi.

At the beginning of the semester, students are invited to sign up for trips within the region, both in and out of Accra. For certain holidays, U.S. and local, students can participate in special one-time events. Each of the Community Resource assistants also organizes events each semester, ranging in variety from an outing to a local restaurant to a museum visit to a day-trip to a local historical site. Please note that many student activities are partially subsidized by NYU, meaning that students may be asked to pay a small fee to participate.

Student Life Staff

An exciting, and challenging, part of the study abroad experience is daily life outside the academic realm. Students are encouraged to integrate into the local community, explore their interests, and immerse themselves as deeply as possible into the local culture. At the same time, NYU housing provides a community of support to our students via on-site staff, as well as students sharing their experiences as they acclimate to Accra.

The student affairs staff is responsible for assisting students with daily issues to crisis support. The staff is trained to deal with day-to-day problems that many students face while studying abroad. Utmost discretion will be used in dealing with your case. Via the Community Resource Assistants students are afforded both formal and informal linkages into local peer networks, and provided with access to peers who can answer their questions.

Local staff organize a number of activities with and for students. The objective of these activities is to help students to become an active part of the NYU in Ghana community and experience Ghanaian life in interesting, fun, and profound ways. To find out exactly what is going on during the semester, keep an eye on the Calendar of Events and speak with local staff.