New Program is 7th NYU Study Abroad Site; First Students to Arrive in Shanghai this Fall
John Sexton, president of New York University (NYU), and Yu Lizhong, president of East China Normal University (ECNU), today announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Cooperation Agreement establishing “NYU in Shanghai,” NYU’s seventh Study Abroad site and its first in Asia. “NYU in Shanghai” will begin operations in fall 2006 using administrative and classroom facilities located on the Shanghai campus of ECNU, one of China’s premier institutions of higher education. It is expected that the program will eventually provide study abroad opportunities for more than 200 students per year.
Students can apply online at http://www.nyu.edu/studyabroad/application/, or by visiting the Office of Study Abroad Admissions (7 East 12 St., 6th fl., 212-998-4433).
NYU has a significant presence in global education. According to a study by the Institute of International Education (IIE), NYU sends more students to study abroad than any other American college or university. The University currently has six Study Abroad sites: London, Prague, Paris, Florence, Madrid, and Accra; some 25 percent of NYU undergraduates study abroad, and the University hopes to raise that figure to 50 percent. In addition, NYU has one of the largest groups of international students of any U.S. college or university.
Dr. Sexton said, “This is another important stride in the march towards the future of higher education. With globalization proceeding at its current pace, in a decade or two it will be all but impossible to imagine a higher education experience regarded as complete if it lacks a strong global component. Ten years ago, less than 10 percent of NYU’s students studied abroad; today one-quarter do. We have opened a site in Africa, and now one in Asia, and we continue to look for other opportunities to give our students a truly global, truly 21st century education. East China Normal University is a respected institution of higher learning, and we are honored and gratified to be entering into this partnership with them. I would like to thank Professor Yaw Nyarko for his leadership in bringing this to fruition.”
Yaw Nyarko, Vice Provost for Globalization and Multicultural Affairs, said, “The decision to open ‘NYU in Shanghai’ is a response to keen interest on the part of faculty and students, which reflects that country’s growing importance in the world economy, its history as the world’s oldest continuous civilization, and its expanding role on the world’s political stage. We chose Shanghai in particular because of that city’s openness and advanced infrastructure, its central role in China’s unprecedented economic development, and its unique similarity to New York as a world-class economic and cultural metropolis that is not its nation’s political center. We selected ECNU as a partner because of the ties between faculty of the two universities, its like-minded approach to change and innovation, its ability to woo scholars, its flourishing research efforts, and its reputation as China’s leading center for the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language. I expect that the program will be popular among undergraduates and will quickly grow to become a key part of NYU’s global university.”
Like the six existing NYU Study Abroad Centers, “NYU in Shanghai” will offer a wide range of undergraduate courses from across the spectrum of NYU schools and departments. Faculty will include leading academics from Shanghai’s finest universities, scholars from elsewhere in China, and visiting NYU professors. While the program is designed for NYU undergraduates and students from other U.S. institutions, the curriculum has been organized to ensure that all classes are mixed - with both U.S. and Chinese students studying side by side. Like the other overseas Centers, “NYU in Shanghai” will be structured to be consistent with NYU’s “in and of the city” character — the metropolis itself will provide both the resources and the subject matter for sustained academic exploration. In addition to establishing the undergraduate program, the NYU-ECNU Agreement contemplates a robust program of graduate and faculty exchanges and research collaboration over the coming years.
It is expected that the search for the director of “NYU in Shanghai” will be completed shortly. NYU is also reviewing other opportunities for global higher education in China, including a cooperative institute for advanced studies to be located in Beijing, and a New York-based center to coordinate the expansion of these new efforts and to facilitate the many other China-related activities already underway at NYU.
New York University, located in the heart of Greenwich Village, was established in 1831 and is one of America’s leading research universities and a member of the selective Association of American Universities. It is one of the largest private universities in the U.S. Through its 14 schools and colleges, NYU conducts research and provides education in the arts and sciences, law, medicine, business, dentistry, education, nursing, the cinematic and performing arts, music, public administration, social work, and continuing and professional studies, among other areas.