International Student Affairs

New York City is the most culturally diverse city in the industrialized world. Long a gateway to the immigrants who built the United States, it is also the center of industries that are at the heart of the global economy. It is home to the United Nations, and thus literally a world capital. More than forty-percent of all of our residents were born outside of the United States. There are almost as many languages spoken in our public schools as there are sovereign members of the U.N. Because of this, it is fair to say that in New York, what is local is also global.

That is especially true of New York University. We are both the New York university and at the heart of an international network of academic scholarship and professional study, where global issues and global perspectives are threaded throughout whatever we teach.

The School of Continuing and Professional Studies (SCPS) has a special profile in educating for global competence. Our degree and continuing education programs are embedded in the industries and cultural and service sectors that drive New York’s place on the world stage: Hospitality and Tourism; Real Estate; Publishing; Digital Media; Translation and Interpreting; Public Relations and Corporate Communications; Direct and Interactive Marketing; and Global Affairs—to name but a few. Moreover, our classes are truly part of global networks, as our students and our alumni come from more than 120 countries.

What makes SCPS of special interest to international students is also a potential challenge: The pace of study is designed for working professionals, not traditional students. Along with our dedicated full-time faculty, industry experts and renowned practitioners teach in our classrooms, sharing their knowledge and practical insights. Our graduate and undergraduate students have exceptional opportunities for internships and being mentored by leaders in their respective fields.

SCPS international students need to be able to participate as active learners, mastering practical English and a professional vocabulary, with the expectation of conducting business in English as if it were their native tongue. SCPS, like every school at NYU, requires evidence of a high level of English language skill. Students interested in traditional academic programs may have a longer period to adjust and often rely on strong reading and written skills, but at SCPS prospective students must understand that they are expected to be active participants in each and every one of their classes, and evidence communication and listening skills equal to their understanding of what they study.

At SCPS, our teaching philosophy draws upon the knowledge and perspectives that students themselves bring into the classroom. We welcome you with great enthusiasm, not just to assist you in achieving your academic and professional ambitions, but to help all of our students—whether they are from Manhattan or Montevideo, Brooklyn or Beijing—learn together and from each other. We are committed to prepare all of our graduates to appreciate many perspectives and thrive in our interdependent world. Global networks and mutual understanding start here.

Of course, as an international student you also have access to all the services NYU makes available to its overseas students through its Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). And, you will be a part of a remarkably dynamic, culturally diverse, welcoming, and constantly exciting city. As different as it may be from any other place you have lived, we hope you will feel right at home here—because New York assembles the world in all its dazzling diversity.
 

Yours truly,

Robert Lapiner
Dean