Study Away FAQ

Gallatin students can study away beginning in the fall of their sophomore year. Transfer students may study in their second full semester at Gallatin. Study away opportunities are offered in the Fall and Spring semesters; the two-week January term; and for varying periods over the summer (usually two to six weeks).

If you plan to study away early in your Gallatin career, the experience can help you conceptualize your concentration. If you study away as a junior or senior, study away may represent the culmination of your Gallatin concentration.

In general, students who want to study away should have a 3.0 GPA and no Incompletes (other than the IAPC). First-year students are not permitted to study away and seniors must first confer with their advisers about when they will complete the colloquium.

Gallatin Travel Courses are open to all students who will have completed their first year before beginning the study away course. Students who will have completed at least one semester before beginning the study away course are eligible to apply for January Term Travel Courses.

There’s really no limit to the amount of times you may study away, but you should work closely with your adviser to make sure your various degree requirements will be fulfilled in time for your desired graduation date. Also, we find that students who study away often sometimes encounter difficulties forming a community with their peers and faculty here at Washington Square. This may not apply to everyone, but be sure to consider how this may affect you.

Consider learning the language! Although it’s not required (unless you choose a foreign language track program), we find that students have a more fulfilling experience if they have at least some knowledge of the language prior to studying away.

Explore the NYU study away site online, including courses offered and faculty who teach at the site in which you are interested. Think about how the site’s academic offerings may enhance your Gallatin concentration. If you plan to study away early in your Gallatin career, the experience can help you conceptualize your concentration. If you study away as a junior or senior, study away may represent the culmination of your Gallatin concentration.

Make sure you have a passport that’s valid until at least 6 months after your planned return from study away. You’ll need it several weeks (or sometimes months, depending on visa requirements) prior to traveling, so don’t wait until the last minute! For more information on obtaining or renewing you passport , visit the NYU Global Passport page and the U.S. Department of State web site.

For NYU semester-long programs, financial aid applies just as if you were studying here at Washington Square. Tuition and fees are the same for a semester spent at a global location as long as you enroll in 12-18 credits. NYU students with a current FAFSA on file with the Office of Financial Aid may apply for additional financial aid for their semester away.

For school-based and short-term programs, financial aid varies. Please contact the NYU Office of Financial Aid and / or the sponsor NYU school for more information.

For External Study, please note that NYU-specific financial aid will not transfer to the External Program. Please contact the NYU Office of Financial Aid for more information.

Financial aid, grants, and scholarships are available to NYU upperclassmen who study at NYU global academic centers. For more information about scholarship opportunities, visit the NYU Global Scholarships & Financial Aid web page.

Need-based scholarships exist for Gallatin Summer and January Term Travel Courses. For more information, visit Gallatin’s Summer and Winter Travel Course web page.

In addition to the academic centers abroad, NYU students have the opportunity to be considered to study away from New York at one of the University’s partner institutions by participating in a student exchange. The International Exchange Program enables select NYU students to study at institutions in 10 countries while earning NYU credit and being immersed in the culture of some of the world's most exciting cities.

Many universities offer course work in English and others require advanced knowledge of a foreign language.

For more information visit the NYU International Exchange site.

You may apply to study for credit at other colleges or universities while matriculated at Gallatin. You must be pre-approved for such external study, and approval is by no means guaranteed. For more information, including an application, please refer to our External Study page. Interested students should meet with Patrick McCreery, Assistant Dean for Global Programs, prior to submitting the External Study application. E-mail him at patrick.mccreery@nyu.edu for an appointment, or stop by his office hours, which are listed at the end of this FAQ.

It’s easy! You simply need to fill out the online application, which includes a personal statement. You may also be required to submit information about second language ability, when relevant. A letter of recommendation or adviser approval is not required.

To access the online application, log into the Student Center through Albert. Under the "Student Center" heading click the link to the "Application Center." This will take you to a new page where you will select the "Create" option next to the "Global Programs Application" link. You can find additional information on the NYU Global Applying page.

NO! A letter of recommendation, faculty reference or adviser approval form is not required for semester-long study at an NYU site. Only the online application and a personal statement are required. For the NYU exchange program, however, two reference letters are required.

One way to strengthen your application statement is to address your academic reasons for wanting to study away at the site to which you are applying. You may want to research course offerings and faculty members who teach at the site. Tying your knowledge of the site into your concentration or academic reasons for studying abroad will always enhance your application!

Applying for a semester away does not commit you to attend. Accepted students who intend to enroll must confirm their intention to participate by submitting a nonrefundable $500 reservation fee.

Students are urged to do so immediately upon receiving admission notification, as enrollment is not guaranteed until the reservation is received. Reservations will be accepted as long as space remains available. Please note that if the program reaches capacity before NYU Global Programs receives your reservation, you will be placed on a waitlist.

Should a program reach capacity, or if you change your mind, you can apply to an alternate NYU study away location by notifying NYU’s Office of Global Programs that you wish to cancel your first application, and then submitting a second application online. You can reach NYU Global Programs by calling 212-998-4433 or sending an email to abroad.admissions@nyu.edu.

Applicants will be notified via e-mail on the notification deadline—usually about 2-4 weeks after submission. To see a complete list of all study abroad deadlines, please visit the NYU Global Applying web page.

If you can't pay your $500 reservation fee online, you can mail or deliver a money order or personal check made out to New York University to the NYU Office of Global Programs in University Hall, located at 110 E 14th Street, Lower Level.

Not every student who is offered admission will accept the invitation to study away, and NYU Global Programs uses historical data to understand the appropriate number of admission offers they can make to yield a class. While they’re pretty good at anticipating how many students will confirm, if students behave differently and more students confirm than they expect, there is a chance that admitted students confirming later in the process may be placed on a waitlist. If you are sure that you intend to study away, you should confirm as soon as possible after receiving the acceptance email.

If you disagree with your admissions decision, you may write a letter of appeal to the admissions committee. The letter should detail why you feel the semester of application is the best time for you to study away and should include information about how or why you haven't met the admissions criteria. Letters of appeal can be directed to jaci@nyu.edu.

NYU Global Programs tries very hard to ensure that every qualified student who submitted an application by the priority application deadline is offered either their first or second choice location. However, some programs such as NYU London and NYU Paris, for instance, are very popular, and not every qualified applicant can be offered a place.

You may elect to be on a wait list, but if no place opens up, you may not be able to get back into your second choice location given the timing and necessary immigration procedures.

Of course! You can talk to a representative at NYU Global Programs. Simply email global.admissions@nyu.edu with your request. Also, NYU Global can put you in contact with students who have recently returned from the site to which you have been accepted. E-mail global.ambassadors@nyu.edu if you are interested in this.

If you study away in the spring you will follow the same steps as is you were studying here at Washington Square. Once accepted to study away, you will be prompted to inform NYU Housing, who will then cancel your housing for the term you are away.

If you study away in the fall, the process is a bit different. While away, NYU Housing will contact you with instructions for securing housing upon your return to Washington Square for spring. You are able to submit housing preferences, but your preferences are not guaranteed since you will be placed in open spaces vacated by those students studying away for the spring term.

Returning from NYU study away is easy! Your courses and credits will appear on your transcript just as if you were here at the Washington Square campus, only next to the semester you were away you will see a note indicating the site you attended.

For NYU semester-long study away, NYU Global Programs can answer general questions about admissions, operations, academics and preparing to go abroad. Site representatives are available in New York to answer questions about all academic centers abroad, and you can find contact information here. You may also want to visit NYU Global’s FAQ Forum, where you can post questions and receive responses from NYU staff, alumni and other students.

For other study away questions, please feel free to either email us at gallatin.global@nyu.edu, or stop in for our walk-in hours, listed below. No appointment is needed during these time slots.

Melissa Daniel (Questions re: Semester-long study abroad logistics; Gallatin Winter and Summer Travel Courses)
Director of Study Away
Walk-in hours: 10am-1pm, Tuesdays
NYU Gallatin School (411 Lafayette, 3rd floor)
melissa.daniel@nyu.edu, 212.998.7316

Patrick McCreery (Questions re: External Study, Semester-long study abroad academics)
Assistant Dean, Global Programs
Walk-in hours: 3-6pm, Mondays
NYU Gallatin School (411 Lafayette, 3rd floor)
patrick.mccreery@nyu.edu, 212.998.7351