New York University

Overview

New York University (NYU) is the largest private university in the United States. Located in Greenwich Village, the institution was established in 1831 by Albert Gallatin, with the help of prominent merchants, bankers, and traders in New York. Gallatin’s core idea was to launch an open-to-all institution that would break the social class and birthright barriers to education and admit students based on merit.

Since its inception, NYU has stuck to this trailblazing spirit, embracing an urban identity and professional focus from its early stages to engineer its way into the echelon of the distinguished research universities. What started with classes in rented rooms of four-story Clinton Hall is now one of the largest R1 doctoral universities in the United States by enrollment.

Beyond its main campus in New York, the university has other degree-granting campuses in Shanghai and Abu Dhabi. It also has 11 global academic centers spread across Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and Africa. The entire institution is organized into 18 schools and colleges, with 25 research programs in over 25 countries.

NYU is home to over 50,000 students drawn from nearly every US state and from 133 countries. The students are enrolled in over 140 distinct undergraduate degrees, concentrated into 94 majors. In addition to its vast student population, the institution has more than 19,000 faculty and staff and over 500,000 alumni from the US and 183 foreign countries.

The largest school at NYU is the College of Art and Science, the first school that the institution had since it opened its doors in 1831. The Tisch School of Arts, in particular, is the go-to place for students interested in drama or film.

Other popular graduate programs include the Stern School of Business, School of Law, Silver School of Social Work, and the School of Medicine. Over the years, the university has also been regarded as one of the top feeder schools for a career in Wall Street’s finance and investment banking sector, accounting for 3.9% of hires in all top financial institutions.

Aside from NYU’s top-notch programs, it also has the learning and research facilities that make students thrive. With its 5 million square feet interior space (Washington Square Campus), the university has housing for over 11,000 undergraduate students and ten libraries with 5.9 million volumes. It’s also at the fore of numerous research efforts, key amongst which is the launching of the American Chemical Society. Moreover, NYU has various internal research centers geared toward streamlining research and innovations in fields such as history, artificial intelligence, medicine culture, economics, and mathematics.

As a mark of success, New York University’s faculties have claimed multiple awards and honors including five Nobel Prizes, five Pulitzer Prizes, and four Abel Prizes. Last but not least, 29 of its faculty have been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Sciences.