Spring 2021
Courses by Department
Courses listed as online or blended instruction mode in Albert are available to be taken 100% remote synchronously and are available to all students including non-Go Local students. Students will participate in real-time virtual class sessions during the meeting times which Albert lists in the location’s time zone.
Please note that courses are subject to change.
Please view this full Spring 2021 Global Courses list with meeting patterns google sheet.
- For Abu Dhabi students, please see the Abu Dhabi course equivalencies on this page. Please note this is only applicable to NYU Abu Dhabi degree students.
- For Shanghai students, please see the Shanghai course equivalencies on this page. Please note this is only applicable to NYU Shanghai degree students.
Important Note Regarding Language of Instruction
Please note that the language of instruction is noted at the end of each course title. (ie IN FRENCH or IN ENGLISH). For courses taught IN FRENCH prerequisites are listed above the course description. All French Language courses are taught primarily in French.
Navigate to a Specific Department
Urban Ethnography - ANTH-UA 9901 or IDSEM-UG 9357- 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Through a focus on contemporary Paris, the course explores the insights offered by anthropological approaches to cities and urban life. We consider the relationships between urban spatial organization and an array of social, economic and political phenomena; the relevance of consumption and display to the shaping of urban identities; and the shifting dynamics of social groups and boundaries within the urban context. Course readings are complemented by an opportunity to develop skills in ethnographic research methods; each student will carry out a sustained fieldwork project over the semester within a locus of everyday Parisian life, culminating in a final piece of ethnographic writing and analysis.
Expressive Cultures: Film - CORE-UA 9750 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
French films and French culture, examined by situating the films in their social, historical, and philosophical context. Topics include the relationship between the Avant-garde artistic movements of the early 20th century (futurism, cubism, expressionism, surrealism) and the cinematographic Avant-garde (Buñuel, L’Herbier, Cocteau), the echoes of classical French theatre (Marivaux, Beaumarchais, Musset) in the cinema of Renoir, the troubled period of the German Occupation and the work of filmmakers who deliberately chose to stay in France to continue their calling (Clouzot, Carné), and the influence of the existentialist circles of Saint Germain des Prés (Sartre, Camus) on the Nouvelle Vague.
Introduction to Machine Learning - CSCI-UA 9473 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Pre-requisite: MATH-UA 121: Calculus I or equivalent, MATH-UA 140 or MATH-UA 9140, MATH-UA 235, and grade of C or better in CSCI-UA 102: Data Structures.
Machine learning is an exciting and fast-moving field of computer science with many recent consumer applications (e.g., Microsoft Kinect, Google Translate, Iphone's Siri, digital camera face detection, Netflix recommendations, Google news) and applications within the sciences and medicine (e.g., predicting protein-protein interactions, species modeling, detecting tumors, personalized medicine). This course introduces undergraduate computer science students to the field of machine learning. Students learn about the theoretical foundations of machine learning and how to apply machine learning to solve new problems. Assuming no prior knowledge in machine learning, the course focuses on two major paradigms in machine learning which are supervised and unsupervised learning. In supervised learning, we learn various methods for classification and regression. Dimensionality reduction and clustering are discussed in the case of unsupervised learning
The course will consist of lectures and lab sessions.
Data Structures - CSCI-UA 9102 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Prerequisite: CSCI-UA 101: Introduction to Computer Science
Use and design of data structures, which organize information in computer memory. Stacks, queues, linked lists, binary trees: how to iimplement them in a high-level language, how to analyze their effect on algorithm efficiency, and how to modify them. Programming assignments
Discrete Mathematics - CS-UH 1002 - 4 points
Discrete mathematics concerns the study of mathematical structures that are discrete rather than continuous, and provides a powerful language for investigating many areas of computer science. Discrete structures are characterized by distinct elements, which are often represented by integers. Continuous mathematics on the other hand deals with real numbers. Topics in this course include: sets, counting techniques, logic, proof techniques, solving recurrence relations, number theory, probability, statistics, graph theory, and discrete geometry. These mathematical tools are illustrated with applications in computer science.
Algorithms - CS-UH 1052 - 4 points
Prerequisites: CS-UH 1002: Discrete Mathematics and CS-UH 1050: Data Structures
Note: This course is equivalent to Design & Analysis of Algorithms CS-UY 2413.
Algorithms lie at the very heart of computer science. An algorithm is an effective procedure, expressed as a finite list of precisely defined instructions, for solving problems that arise in applications in any domain of knowledge. All computer programs are translations of algorithms into some programming language. Often the most difficult parts of designing an algorithm are to make sure that when it is programmed in a computer, it runs as fast as possible and does what it was designed to do. This course covers the fundamentals of algorithms, focusing on designing efficient algorithms, proving their correctness, and analyzing their computational complexity. The algorithms studied are taken from a variety of applications such as sorting, robotics, artificial intelligence, searching, pattern recognition, machine learning, music, bioinformatics, arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.
France & Islam - FREN-UA 9907 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
An exploration of the historical and on-going contact between France and the Muslim world, including, most notably, the important Muslim population living in France today. The course examines the historical links between France and its colonial possessions in North and West Africa and the Middle East, the place of Islamic religious practice in a traditionally Catholic, and officially secular, France, and the frictions generated by newly politicized forms of Islam. Also considered is the ‘crisis’ of the banlieue, or French suburbs, and the cultural, generational, and religious tensions in evidence there.
Urban Ethnography - ANTH-UA 9901 or IDSEM-UG 9357- 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Through a focus on contemporary Paris, the course explores the insights offered by anthropological approaches to cities and urban life. We consider the relationships between urban spatial organization and an array of social, economic and political phenomena; the relevance of consumption and display to the shaping of urban identities; and the shifting dynamics of social groups and boundaries within the urban context. Course readings are complemented by an opportunity to develop skills in ethnographic research methods; each student will carry out a sustained fieldwork project over the semester within a locus of everyday Parisian life, culminating in a final piece of ethnographic writing and analysis.
Mathematics for Economics II - MATH-UA 9212 - 4 points
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in MATH-UA 211 Math for Economics I or passing departmental placement exam.
Elements of calculus and linear algebra are important to the study of economics. This class is designed to provide the appropriate tools for study in the policy concentration. Examples and motivation are drawn from important topics in economics. Topics covered include derivatives of functions of one and several variables; interpretations of the derivatives; convexity; constrained and unconstrained optimization; series, including geometric and Taylor series; ordinary differential equations; matrix algebra; eigenvalues; and (possibly) dynamic optimization and multivariable integration.
Introduction to Media Studies - MCC-UE 9001 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Introduces students to the study of contemporary forms of mediated forms of communication. The course surveys the main topics in the field and introduces students to a variety of analytical perspectives. Issues include: the economics of media production; the impact of media on individual attitudes, values and behaviors; the role of media professionals; the impact of new media technologies. With special emphasis on the study of news, advertising, political economy of the media, identity and representation.
Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & Social Sciences for Steinhardt students
Fashion and Power - MCC-UE 9345 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
This course examines fashion both from its diffusion in a globalized society, and as a form of communication and culture. We will examine how fashion has been valued through social sciences – history and sociology on the one hand, and economy on the other hand, from its production to its consumption. The course will address fashion in terms of issues of consumerism and sustainability in a post industrialized society. Conducted in English.
History of Media and Communication - MCC-UE 9003 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
This course introduces students to the history of media and communication and to the stakes of historical inquiry. Rather than tracing a necessarily selective historical arc from alphabet to internet or from cave painting to coding, the course is organized around an exploration of key concepts such as literacy, publicity, temporality, visual culture, networks & information. With attention to the work of Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan, Lewis Mumford, and Neil Postman.
Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & Social Sciences for Steinhardt students.
History of French Philosophy - PHIL-UA 9026 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Provides an overview of important developments in French philosophy from the 16th century to the 1940s and 1950s. Beginning with the epistemological and metaphysical debates that followed the rediscovery of Ancient philosophy and the Copernican revolution in the sciences, we will consider Montaigne’s skepticism, Descartes’ attempts at securing our knowledge of the soul, God, and the external world, and Condillac’s empiricist critique of Descartes’ theory of knowledge. We will then focus on major developments in French political philosophy in the 18th and 19th centuries, closely intertwined with political events in France at the time, including such figures as Rousseau, Proudhon, and Tocqueville. Finally, we will look at two of the major movements in French philosophy in the first half of the 20th century: Henri Bergson’s attempts to understand the temporal duration conscious beings inhabit, and Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir’s distinctive development of existentialism, a philosophy that grapples with the radical consequences of human freedom. Conducted in English.
Philosophy of Language - PHIL-UA 9085 - 4 points (IN ENGLISH)
Prior introduction to logic or linguistics is welcome, but not mandatory.
Examines various philosophical and psychological approaches to language and meaning, as well as their consequences for traditional philosophical problems in metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics. Discusses primarily 20th-century authors, including Russell, Wittgenstein, and Quine.