NYU Shanghai, the third degree-granting portal campus to open for the global network university after NYU New York and NYU Abu Dhabi, announced last week that 500 candidates are left to fight for seats in its Fall 2013 inaugural class.
According to Global Times, the selected students will be interviewed in a series of activities ranging from demo classes, group discussions and teamwork assignments to evaluate leadership, teamwork, communication and writing skills. From there, the university will admit 300 of the applicants.
John Beckman, NYU’s spokesman, said the admissions process for NYU Shanghai is distinct from those in New York and Abu Dhabi because at least half the class will be recruited from China.
“For those students, they apply to NYU Shanghai through our regular admissions process, but their acceptance to NYU happens only after they take the Gao Kao national college admissions exam and score within the highest rank,” Beckman said. “Regardless of the process, we are confident that we will have an excellent first class, which we expect to number between 150 and 200, when we open next fall.”
According to an NYU press release, NYU Shanghai’s undergraduate curriculum has a liberal arts focus in which all students will develop a foundation in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences before pursuing their specified disciplines.
Currently, NYUNY students have the option of studying abroad in Shanghai for a maximum of three semesters, and can choose to take classes in a variety of subjects including business, history, journalism and metropolitan studies.
“I spent a semester abroad in Shanghai for metropolitan studies, and it was a great way to brush up on Chinese language proficiency,” CAS junior Irene Huh said. “Making it an official campus within NYU will make NYU even more diverse and will encourage students to learn about such an exciting culture.”
Some students hope to use the new campus as an opportunity to study longer in Shanghai.
“I’m taking Chinese and really want to spend a year in Shanghai. Unfortunately, I’m in a program that doesn’t have professors in Shanghai,” said CAS sophomore Dylan Welch. “Once the campus gets up and running, more programs and classes can be offered there more easily.”
A version of this article appeared in the Monday, Feb. 11. print edition. Fay Lin is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].
