New York University
- Academics

It All Depends on the Program

It really all depends on the program you are in at NYU. It is such a big university that you cannot compare the different colleges. My personal experience shows me that the NYU Economics and Politics program have great professors who are part of the leading faculty worldwide. It is true that the first few core classes are mainly huge lecture however as you progress in your major the class sizes reduce considerably. I am currently taking two politics classes where we are no more than 25 students. Even professors who teach the large lectures are always willing to know the students more and meet with them. If a student wants to have close relations with his professors he has to be the one to step up. The professor will never make the first move. The LSP program is a really interesting part of NYU. The overall program is great for students who want to get a well rounded knowledge of cultural, philosophical history. Most of the things I've learned in LSP classes have helped me with my politics classes. This program is perfect for students who want to be best friends with their professor (go out for coffee, explore the city, just hand out and even drinks). The classes are small and the professors are always excited to become best friends with their students (plus many of them either live on campus or not far away). I personally am still in touch with an LSP professor I had for three semesters and meet her up regularly to get drinks and talk about almost everything. The main issue you can have in LSP is that because of the large amount of professors they have to sometimes take some who are not great. It can be hard to have a professor who doesn't keep you interested in those classes or sometimes seems to not know what they cover however at the end of the day there are a majority of great professors and by the time you get here you will know who to take (ratemyprofessor, Facebook and Friends).

Gallatin

I have just transferred from College of Arts and Sciences to Gallatin within NYU. Gallatin is a college of individualized studies. Basically you make your own major and curriculum according to your concentration. Gallatin students have access to most of the other courses in other colleges within NYU as well as their own.

Rigorous but Fruitful

Because NYU is still rising in national rankings and attempting to make a bigger name for itself, academics are emphasized and rigorous. A positive note, however, is that the university's location helps bring in very talented, experienced individuals as professors, such as the Ex Foreign Minister of Mexico, a CNN anchor, Swizz Beats, and James Franco.