NYU and University of Sydney announce new partnership

The University of Sydney and New York University (NYU) have signed a partnership agreement that will give their students the opportunity to study together, take course offerings from both universities' curricula and participate in a reciprocal student exchange program.

NYU students travelling to Australia as part of the NYU Sydney study abroad program will learn on the Camperdown/Darlington campus alongside University of Sydney peers and stay at the Regiment student accommodation. The first NYU students are scheduled to arrive at the University of Sydney in July 2022.

NYU lecturers will teach on campus at the University of Sydney, with course offerings expected to include Anthropology, Environmental Studies, English, and Media, Culture and Communications, among others. These units of study will also be open to University of Sydney students. In addition, NYU Sydney students will be able to enrol in a selection of courses offered by the University of Sydney.

Students from both institutions will have the chance to participate in the University of Sydney’s industry and community projects, which enable students to work in cross-disciplinary teams to research, analyse and present solutions to real-world problems set by external partners in industry, government and community organisations. Industry partners for 2022 include IBM, Adobe, Westmead Health Precinct and Accenture. Students from NYU and the University of Sydney will collaborate on projects to address issues such as social housing, the ethics of artificial intelligence and democratising healthcare.

NYU will also welcome University of Sydney students to its campus in New York City, as well as its global sites, through a new reciprocal exchange program.

The agreement will see NYU move its NYU Sydney campus from Science House, in the Rocks, to the University of Sydney’s Camperdown/Darlington campus.

For more than 10 years, NYU Sydney has offered NYU students the opportunity to live and study in Australia. The move to the University of Sydney represents a return to Australia for NYU after the study abroad program was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agreement was signed during a virtual ceremony yesterday by the University of Sydney’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Professor Mark Scott, NYU’s President, Professor Andrew Hamilton and NYU’s Vice Chancellor and Senior Vice Provost for Global Programs and University Life, Professor Linda Mills.

Professor Scott said the agreement represented the beginning of a long and wide-ranging collaboration across education and research.

“This new partnership between two of the world’s leading universities opens up a wealth of extraordinary opportunities for collaboration across teaching, research and industry engagement,” he said.

“As the world begins to open up after the COVID-19 crisis, we’re thrilled to be offering students an immersive international experience, either here in Sydney or in New York.

“NYU is a leader in international education. We can’t wait to welcome their students and staff. Their presence will enrich our teaching, learning and research, giving our students the opportunity to engage with international peers, even if they are unable to travel overseas or are not yet comfortable doing so in the wake of the pandemic.”

NYU President Andrew Hamilton said, “Our students love being in Sydney, and, like them, I am thrilled to be resuming NYU’s program there after a COVID-related hiatus. And it is especially wonderful to be doing so at a new location for the program: the University of Sydney, one of Australia’s leading academic institutions. Our agreement will have the additional important advantage of permitting NYU students to take classes alongside University of Sydney counterparts, which will benefit everyone.

“NYU’s extensive global presence is a reflection of our commitment to global engagement, and this new collaboration is emblematic of that commitment. We couldn’t ask for better partners than the University of Sydney, or a warmer or more propitious welcome.”

NYU Silver Professor of Anthropology Fred Myers has a longstanding interest in Australia through his research into First Nations art and culture. He was instrumental in designing the NYU Sydney program.

“We always wanted to offer students something that was distinctive to Australia, so there is a focus on issues such as Indigenous Australia, the media, and the environment,” he said.

“Study abroad experiences work best when students are thrown into the life of the city. This partnership with the University of Sydney gives our students the opportunity to engage more deeply with Australia. It’s a chance for American students and Australian students to meet on equal terms.”

About NYU Sydney

NYU Sydney is one of more than a dozen academic centres around the world where NYU delivers its own curriculum to students from its three degree-granting campuses (New York, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai). Students participating in the program choose four subjects to study during their time in Sydney, which count towards their NYU degree.