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

At NYU in Ghana, all students are required to reside in NYU-arranged housing as a condition of enrollment. Housing facilities are located in residential neighborhoods and are 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.

Students live in one of two complexes: Church Crescent, which has four duplex units or doubles and triples, or Solomon’s Lodge, which has single and double rooms within one building. At Crescent, each duplex faces a common courtyard and houses approximately seven students in double and triple rooms, each with a private bathroom, kitchen, and living room with TV/DVD player and telephone for local calls. Solomon’s offers large communal areas (study lounge, dining, kitchen) with all the amenities of Crescent. Both complexes have air conditioning and 24-hour security. Both are located near shopping centers including the Makola Market, a busy open air market and the Koala Supermarket. Including in the housing fee, students are enrolled in a meal plan which provides dinner Monday through Friday. Students may enjoy dinner at two local restaurants one specializing in Ghanaian, Nigerian and Ivorian dishes, the other offering international cuisine including vegetarian or special dietary options.

Health and Safety

The NYU Student Health Center and the Department of Public Safety work closely with program staff to plan for safe, healthy, and enriching opportunities long before you arrive. You will be introduced to many of these services in the months leading up to your program abroad while others will be explained in detail during the mandatory on-site orientation such as meetings with local health care providers, presentations of local laws and crime prevention techniques, and examples of cultural differences.

While an issue is unlikely to surface, should an emergency situation arise, there is a contact person designated for wellness issues on call 24 hours a day located locally; as well, the Department of Public Safety in New York will assist with international emergencies (212-998-2222). For medical situations, the University provides coverage by HTH Worldwide, an international insurance company, to ensure that treatment is available to you by qualified professionals when needed with no out of pocket expense. Students are also required to maintain insurance with their home policy. For assistance in extremely rare situations, the University has contracted with International SOS, the world's leading provider of international customer care, which includes evacuation services.

The Department of Public Safety in conjunction with the Office of Global Programs works to create a safe and secure environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors to pursue their educational and professional goals and aspirations. The annual security report for NYU in Ghana contains useful and relevant information.

Before you depart for the semester you will be instructed on how to use NYU Traveler, a Web-based information collection tool where flight and travel details, local and U.S. telephone numbers, and emergency contact information can be stored so that NYU staff can assist you if needed.

Trips and Activities

At the beginning of the semester, you'll be provided with a calendar of student events such as day trips and overnight excursions both in and out of Accra that will immerse you further in the history and culture of the region. The Community Resource Assistants also organize events each semester, ranging in variety from an outing to a local restaurant to a museum visit to a local historical site. Many student activities are partially subsidized by NYU, though students 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 queenmothers of the well-known Ashanti state.

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.