Program Reviews

My study abroad semester in Florence was my first time ever in Europe, and it was definitely a dream come true. Florence is a gorgeous city & is fairly easy to get adjusted to, regarding culture, transportation, food, etc. The NYU Florence campus is beautiful, with a fascinating history as well. The community itself is small and tight-knit, where I met some wonderful students who I got to travel to around the continent with. My favorite part of studying abroad in Florence is how easy it was to travel to different countries every weekend & experience new cultures.

I think studying away in Shanghai is a quite great experience for me. Shanghai is an amazing city with its own distinct culture, and it's so convenient and safe. Well, I think the cost of living in Shanghai actually is much lower than New York, which sometimes also be a concern for college students.

As for the academic courses, I highly recommended you to take some culture related courses in NYUShanghai which allows you to gain and explore more about this city and this country, I think it is a very important part of "Study Away Program" and is very meaningful. I've taken "Concept of China" and "History of Chinese Art" during my "Study Away" semester, the professor was so nice, even inspiring my great academic interests in Art History, currently I decided to pursue this field as my minor.

During your spare time, I think searching for a on-campus job is a very good choice, then you can meet more with your teammates/partners/groups. At the same time, it's also like a close community with who you works with, it will provide you a sense of belongingness to this site. Take my story as an example, I was the "Study Away Peer Assistant" in that semester, and we worked together to plan for study away students' events/activities. Through meetings, brainstorming, chatting, collaborating, I made good friends there and I also love the energy I had while working in this team! Otherwise, you can also step outside the campus and go cycling along the Bund or bring your camera to Xujiahui. I mean lifestyle in Shanghai is up to you, don't be stressful when you are seeing people in a hurry to work. There are many places and things you can go for, explore and enjoy!

I had a really great experience in Madrid! I learned so much from just being surrounded by history and traveling to actually see the different cultures and materials we were learning about. For example, when we learned about Venus figurines, I got to go to Paris and see some of the ones we talked about. When we learned about the Muslim influence in the Iberian peninsula, we were able to go see it for ourselves in Granada. Or for analyzing Bosch, we had to go to the Prado to see the original work. Having to use Spanish all the time (while hard at first) really helped me improve my Spanish, too! I loved the different parks in Madrid, and while some might disagree, I actually really liked the food as well. While there isn’t a lot of visible diversity in the population, there is a ton of diversity in the food options! The metro and the streets were so clean and nice, and Uber is super easy to use, too. Although it’s tempting to travel out of Spain almost every weekend (because it can be so cheap!!) I would recommend spending time in Spain and also just within Madrid because it really is a beautiful and interesting place to be.

Many aspects of living such as food and transportation will be cheaper in Shanghai than any Western country. Something to be aware of is the Chinese requirement to study in NYU Shanghai. Chinese may be a difficult language to learn because it is completely different from Western languages such as English. Academics are slightly harder. Clubs are slightly limited because the school itself is smaller and there is no greek life in NYU Shanghai. All of the courses are held in one building called the academic building, but NYU Shanghai is opening a new campus, if not already, very soon.

I had the best semester ever. The faculty and support staff at NYU Florence was so accommodating and kind. My classes were interesting and the larger than life Villa La Pietra is the greatest university campus to exist.My favourite part about my classes was the site visits.It was so engaging to make all those historical locations our textbook. Florence is a magnificent city with beautiful views, yummy food and multiple locations with a rich history. I feel like I left a piece of my heart there and I will definitely be going back very soon.

My time in Buenos Aires was nothing short of a great one! The academics were all tailored to the local context which made things not only interesting but extremely relevant! They were also a lot chiller compared to the campus in New York. The community was so tight-knit and it was easy to make friends. Moreover, the staff were so attentive and made sure that healthcare (physical + mental) was up avaiable for all students. Travel and food were all so afforable and easily accessible. Truly no complaints!

The best experience of my life! NYU offers an interesting intercultural experience. Classes are only with other NYU students in the NYU building. However, we live with college students from all over the world! There were some students also studying abroad from the US, local Spaniards, and Europeans from all over! The classes offered a unique insight into the Spanish culture. I loved learned about something and then going out into the city and seeing it! My Spanish greatly improved while abroad and that was something I really wanted to work on. The locals are so kind and always happy to have a conversation with you!

Overall good experience. The classes are good but, not on par with New York standards. It's easy to travel around Italy by train. Great places to go are Venice, Rome, Sienna, Milan, and Cinque Terre. Cheap flights to other countries from Bologna airport. Florence is beautiful. Only thing is, NYU is a bubble, so you won't really meet Italians and feel the culture unless you go out of your way to speak to locals. Even the bars and clubs are mostly full of American students. Campus is beautiful.

DC is a painfully underrated city! Incredible local community and so much to do. NYU DC is perfect for internships on the Hill or otherwise, and puts on fun events to immerse you in the city! Dorms are great too!

Take this with a grain of salt though- I would not recommend this site for any first-year student, or those without an internship/other stake in the DC area. There are limited facilities due to it being a very small site, so it is very hard for freshmen to adjust to college life there.

It was overall a good experience I would recommend. However, as much as they do provide resources for you in terms of housing, kitchen equipment (most of the time), mental health, & other activities, NYU Paris administration can be a little stingy at times + not here you out on your opinion when voices. You will get “that’s just how things are here” or “well it’s hard for us in Paris, we don’t really think like that here, it’s kind of a new idea”...which of course one could get being in a different culture of course. That being said, they could be better with accommodating for those of lower incomes, minority student resources, etc. You will eventually find a grasp on your own for a lot of things though & there will be a group or place you go to which satisfies your wants because it is a pretty multicultural/multi-minded city; just prepare for some ignorance and standing your ground, whether it be at NYU Paris or Europeans/Parisians you’ll encounter outside.