Students, faculty anticipate Shanghai campus curricula, experiences

Fay Lin

Courtesy of NYU

NYU Shanghai, the university’s third degree-granting portal campus, continues to prepare for its inaugural class entering next semester.

The campus will welcome a class of approximately 300 students in the fall. Assistant Vice President for Admissions Shawn Abbott said 51 percent of enrolled students will be citizens of China. This decision was made as a result of NYUSH’s partnership with the Ministry of Education in China.

“This expectation is really no different than how many public universities in the United States reserve spaces in their freshman class for in-state residents,” he said.

This number is not an indication of easier admission for Chinese students. Abbott explained that admissions will be selective for all Chinese and international students, as the class size is very small.

The idea of being a foreigner in a strange land appealed to some applicants, like New Jersey high school student Alex Opanasets, who was accepted through early decision and said she was pleased to hear that every international student will room with a Chinese student.

“There can’t really be effective exposure to global ideas and perspectives without ample representation from the country,” Opanasets said.

According to Opanasets, the current group of about 15 early decision acceptances are already in contact with each other and include students from 10 countries on four continents.

Joanna Waley-Cohen, dean of Arts and Sciences at NYU Shanghai, expects the interaction between the groups of students on the portal campus to extend to students studying abroad in Shanghai, as they will likely have overlapping elective courses.

“It’s a wonderful thing for these Chinese freshmen to meet the students from New York,” Waley-Cohen said. “These students will learn a lot from each other culturally and within the classroom.”

NYUSH faculty will also hail from around the world, underlining NYUSH’s value in an integrated global network. Waley-Cohen explained that a cohort of professors from NYUNY will be going to NYUSH to teach.

The NYUSH class of 2017 will have required courses that emphasize a global perspective by exploring Chinese culture, including social and cultural foundations, writing, and language for Chinese students and Chinese for non-Chinese students. After completing this program, students will have a choice of majors in the humanities, social sciences and STEM fields.

Emily Flippen, a high school student from Texas whose early decision application to NYUSH was accepted in December, said she was disappointed she could not immediately start classes in her desired major of finance but thinks the core program will ultimately strengthen the university.

“Living alongside Chinese students, going to the same classes and experiencing the same city offers an invaluable opportunity, one that I could not turn down,” she said. “Making strong and challenging courses in these required areas is going to be what allows NYUSH to grow and attract more students internationally,” she said.

All information regarding housing or athletic programs at NYU Shanghai can be found at www.shanghai.nyu.edu/resources.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, March 5 print edition. Fay Lin is a contributing writer. Additional reporting by Nicole Brown. Email them at [email protected].