166 students from ten countries joined NYU Shanghai’s Study Away Program this fall semester, the most study away students on campus since the New Bund campus opened in 2023.
This semester NYU Shanghai also welcomes 12 visiting students from Duke University, Reed College, George Washington University, Hofstra University, and Swarthmore College, the most visiting students from non-NYU campuses since 2012.
At the University Welcome for Study Away students, Associate Provost for Academic Affairs John Robertson pushed the students to try new things.
“Get out and experience culture shock, recover in our safe space here, and go out and find a new experience for culture shock,” he advised them.
Study Away Programs Specialist Milly Yin encouraged the students to take the initiative and grasp hold of resources and opportunities available on campus and in China.
“Connect with your fellow study away students and engage with the vibrant community at NYU Shanghai,” she said. “The key to making the most of your experience is staying actively involved.”
Yin, who still cherishes memories of her own experiences studying internationally, said the students’ three-day long orientation is crucial to make them feel welcome right from the start.
“We want them to feel comfortable and help them acculturate and enjoy their time in China,” she said.
The study away students were guided through orientation by NYU Shanghai students, who picked them up at the airport and helped them move into their dorm rooms. They participated in several days of activities aimed at getting them familiar with NYU Shanghai resources and navigating life in China. City tours, day trips, and hands-on workshops got students off campus to learn more about Shanghai and Chinese culture and history.
Study Away Orientation Ambassador Yelena Ye ’26, from Shanghai, said that after serving as an Orientation Ambassador for first-year students, she wanted to support study away students too. “I had a really good experience studying away at other NYU sites (shout out to NYU Buenos Aires),” she said, “so I wanted to bring this experience to the in-coming students who chose Shanghai as their study-away site.”
The Orientation Ambassadors helped the students navigate everything from supermarkets to China’s plethora of apps, often a challenge for newcomers. “I feel like studying away in Shanghai is different from having Shanghai as your home campus,” Ye said, “because students want to explore both Shanghai and China within one semester, but time is very limited.”
She and other Orientation Ambassadors showed the study away students around the must-sees of Shanghai. One of the highlights was a city walk around central Shanghai, including a trip to Jing’an Temple. Other activities included a visit to Zhujiajiao water town outside of Shanghai, where students took in the beautiful scenery and tried local delicacies.
Throughout the semester, the Study Away Program will continue to take students on trips around Shanghai and the surrounding areas, to boost their understanding of this region of China.
For many of the students, studying in Shanghai allows them an opportunity to explore China. Karl Sinkula, a junior majoring in Global Liberal Studies at NYU, listed Chongqing and southern China as two destinations on his bucket list. “I really want to take China's high speed rail and train system to other cities and walk around beyond just what's in Shanghai,” he said, listing. “China’s innovation with high speed rail and infrastructure, that part of the economics I’m really interested in.”
For others, it was the chance to taste China’s diverse cuisine. NYU senior Angelina Grontas, an international relations major, had already started searching the city for the best street foods. “I went to a breakfast spot for a scallion pancake with eggs,” she said. “It can be kind of complicated when you don't know the language, but we survived, we managed. And as the days went by, it got a little bit easier each time.”
“It definitely forces you to be out of your comfort zone and face the challenges that come with that,” she said. The language barrier has been tough, she said, but she’s been experimenting with translator apps to help her get around. “Having to navigate something completely new on your own definitely helps you become even more independent,” she said. “So that's a really good thing to experience.”
Learning Mandarin is definitely an attraction of studying in Shanghai. Rachael Ferguson, who studies international affairs and Chinese language and literature at George Washington University in Washington, DC, said she planned to join the Language Peer Mentor Program, an integral part of NYU Shanghai’s Study Away programming. “I'm hoping I can meet somebody who is friendly and willing to talk outside of sessions too,” she said.
Braam Bowen-Karlyn, a junior at Reed College majoring in environmental chemistry, said he came to NYU Shanghai to work on his language skills in an immersive environment.
This is also the first time Braam has ever had a roommate, and he said he’s looking forward to it. “This will be fun,” he said. “It's part of the college experience.”