Albert Gallatin Scholars

The Albert Gallatin Scholars (AGS) program offers selected entering Gallatin undergraduate students of exceptional ability an enriched educational and cultural experience that includes special seminars, intellectual mentoring, and international travel opportunities. The program also offers access to cultural and social pursuits made possible by Gallatin's location in one of the great artistic, financial, and media capitals of the world: New York City.

Membership in AGS is extended during the Gallatin admissions process. Entering first-year students are invited to participate in the program based on their academic record and extracurricular achievements in high school; there is no application. Students may remain in the program throughout the course of their undergraduate education at Gallatin, provided they maintain a 3.5 GPA at NYU and participate regularly in scheduled meetings and activities.

Year-Long Program

Each year, AGS explores a broad intellectual theme through biweekly seminars with a Gallatin faculty mentor. Scholars meet with guest lecturers and discuss the politics, art, language, economics, environment, and culture of the country they will visit. Short readings are required for most meetings. Throughout the year, Scholars also attend concerts, plays, gallery openings, films, and lectures that stimulate intellectual curiosity. Gallatin subsidizes entry fees for most events.

International Travel

Scholars may participate in two international study trips with the group during their undergraduate years; generally, they can choose which trips. To prepare for travel, Scholars study the culture, history, and economy of the country in the biweekly seminars. Gallatin subsidizes the cost of international travel, with Scholars usually contributing between $400-$500 of their own funds.

2022-2023: United Kingdom and Ireland: “A United/Disunited Kingdom”
Faculty Mentor: Sara Murphy

Past AGS travel locations and themes:

• Oman: "Memories of the Revolution in the Gulf"
• Oman: "Muslim Slaves and Muslim Slave Traders" (group did not travel)
  
• Mauritius: "What is the Global South?"
• Japan: "Disaster in/of Modernity"
• Ireland & Northern England: "Ancient Landscapes/Modern Storytelling"
  
• Greece, Cyprus, & London: "Archaeology, Preservation, and National Identity"
• South Africa: "Globalization and Contemporary Art"
• China: "Cultural Revolutions"
  
• Chile & Argentina: "The Past and Future of Movements"
  
• Spain & Morocco: "Europe?"
• Vietnam: "Cultural Memory in Contemporary Times"
• South Africa: "The Arts in Times of Social Change"
• Turkey: “The Creation and Maintenance of the Nation-State”

View photos and video footage from recent AGS trips!

Past Years' Projects

Scholars have published their scholarly essays and creative reflections in Gallatin's Mosaic journal and on Gallatin's online platform, Confluence.