NYU in Shanghai offers academic programs during the fall and spring semesters. The rigorous academic program includes intensive language study for students of all levels of language proficiency, from beginner to advanced and even native speakers without previous formal instruction. A variety of liberal arts courses are offered in areas such as comparative literature, history, journalism and economics that emphasize China’s place within these contexts. If you’re a students of art, business, communications or East Asian studies you’ll find more advanced courses that fulfill many of your major or minor requirements to keep you on track toward your degree requirements while you studying Shanghai.

One of the most notable aspects of the program is that students from our partner university, ECNU, participate in NYU courses as well. These Chinese students have advanced levels of English proficiency and contribute their opinions and views through in-class discussion which helps NYU in Shanghai students to a more in-depth discovery of Chinese culture than they might otherwise achieve. Experienced academics and scholars, curators and filmmakers, and accomplished leaders of the business world instruct each content course in English. They draw on their own specializations and experience in Asia and across the globe to connect the theme of each course to the surrounding cultural landscape.

All students are required to enroll in a Chinese language course while studying at NYU in Shanghai. No previous study of Mandarin is necessary and students arrive with all levels of language proficiency. Chinese instructors are drawn from one of the country's top programs of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, and students gain a quick grasp on both the spoken and written language as they utilize what they learn in class in daily Shanghainese life.

All NYU in Shanghai students are required to enroll in a 2 credit course entitled “Introduction to Contemporary China” which is taught by the resident director and a rotating schedule of visiting guest faculty with related research interests. This course offers a broad survey of Modern Chinese history from 1600 to the present that gives students an essential understanding of their adoptive home during their time abroad and highlights many of the historical, economical and anthropological factors that have shaped present-day China.

Please see the Course Offerings page to view a list of courses.