Meet Me at NYU: Plan Your Campus Tour

There’s something special about being on a corner outside the College of Arts and Science, the Stern School of Business, or any other NYU building and witnessing students go about their day. You’ll observe an incredible amount of diversity, creativity, and passion for learning. Our student population includes people from many backgrounds and perspectives, with just as many interests. Therefore, no matter who you are, you can find like-minded people at NYU.

What makes NYU different from other colleges, even those located in New York City, is the lack of walls or gates separating the University from the rest of the city. For example, on a single block, you’ll find the NYU Wasserman Center for Career Development; a friendly, all-gender hair salon; and a Mexican restaurant. At NYU, the city is both your home and your classroom. And a campus tour is a great way to begin to understand just what that means! 

Your campus tour could take you across the East River, a short ride from NYU’s campus in Greenwich Village, to one of the city’s newest hubs for technology, science, business, and the creative arts: Downtown Brooklyn. This dynamic, growing neighborhood is home to the NYU Tandon School of Engineering as well as exciting programs in the Tisch School of the Arts that merge art and technology. For example, the Game Design, Interactive Media Arts, and Recorded Music programs call Downtown Brooklyn home. Here, opportunities to learn and collaborate abound.

Can’t wait to experience it all in person? While you’re counting down to your campus visit, get a head start with a virtual tour. Explore NYU’s most important buildings like Bobst Library, the Department of Campus Safety, and the Tandon MakerSpace. As you go, note any questions or observations that come up.

Whether you’re visiting the NYU campus in Greenwich Village or Downtown Brooklyn, you will be welcomed by a team of student ambassadors and admissions staff eager to ensure you learn what you need to make an informed college decision.

Your visit will start with an information session led by an NYU admissions counselor. There, you’ll get an overview and have the chance to ask any application-related questions you might have.

Next, a student ambassador will take you around campus and share what it’s like to be an NYU student. You’ll tour Bobst Library, the Kimmel Center for University Life, a first-year residence hall, and different types of classrooms. You can take as many photos as you’d like and ask any questions along the way. The size of tour groups is kept small on purpose, so each visitor has a personalized experience.

What’s more, during check-in, you’ll receive a 10 percent discount voucher to the campus bookstore. So you can pick up some NYU merch at the end of your tour.

Visiting NYU Abu Dhabi in person is just a preview of what being part of this inclusive, globally minded learning community is like. As you explore the modern, 38-acre campus, you’ll take in the places where you will live, learn, and make lifelong friends.

At the heart of NYU Abu Dhabi is the Campus Center. Students go there to study, enjoy meals, and take advantage of the library and athletic facilities. On your tour, you’ll also visit the Conference Center, home to the NYU Abu Dhabi Institute; the Experimental Research Building, which supports cross-disciplinary collaboration; and the Arts Center, with its state-of-the-art theatres, rehearsal rooms, classrooms, and more.

NYU Abu Dhabi is located on Saadiyat Island, just outside downtown Abu Dhabi. The campus is a short taxi or car ride from Abu Dhabi’s airport and about an hour drive from Dubai. Saadiyat is known as Abu Dhabi’s cultural district, with the recently opened Louvre Abu Dhabi and forthcoming Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Natural History Museum. Therefore, before or after your campus tour, you and your family can go downtown to explore the city by public bus, bike shares and e-scooters, or abra (water taxi).

Your exploration of NYU Shanghai begins with a tour of the brand-new Qiantan campus and the city of Shanghai!

NYU Shanghai’s campus, located in the Qiantan district of Pudong, just opened in spring 2023. Qiantan, also known as the New Bund, is one of Shanghai’s newest neighborhoods. It’s an exciting place to be a college student! All within a pedestrian-friendly distance from campus, you can explore international and traditional Shanghai restaurants, cozy coffee shops, unique bookstores, and spacious parks. Local attractions include the Oriental Sports Center, Qiantan Crystal Plaza shopping center, and the New Bund 31 Performing Arts Center. What’s more, the stunning Huangpu River walkway with many pedestrian and bike paths is also nearby. 

The campus is composed of four interconnecting structures surrounding a central, sun-filled courtyard. Its environmentally sustainable design encourages collaboration while uniting Western and Chinese scholarly traditions. Some highlights of the new campus are a new library with a digital studio, visualization and media lab, active learning classroom, virtual reality lab, and curiosity lab; an athletic center featuring multiple sport courts and state-of-the-art fitness equipment; a dining hall that serves both Chinese and international menu items; a recital hall and black box theatre; and Magnolia House, a winter garden where students can relax or study in a comfortable, light-filled setting. In the residence hall, Chinese students and non-Chinese students are paired together. So everyone has the chance to share their culture and unique perspective to learn from each other.

Shanghai has one of the world’s most extensive networks of public transit, including buses, trolley buses, and metro lines. Catch a ride and enjoy everything China’s largest city has to offer!