New York University New York University ( NYU ) is a private , nonsectarian American research university based in New York City . NYU ' s main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan . Founded in 1831 , NYU is one of the largest private nonprofit institution s of American higher education . NYU was elected to the Association of American Universities in 1950 . The university counts 36 Nobel Prize winners , three Abel Prize winners , 10 National Medal of Science recipients , 16 Pulitzer Prize winners , 30 Academy Award winners , four Putnam Competition winners , Russ Prize , Gordon Prize , and Draper Prize winners , Turing Award winners , and Emmy , Grammy , and Tony Award winners among its faculty and alumni . NYU also has MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowship holders as well as National Academy of Sciences members among its past and present graduates and faculty . NYU is organized into 18 schools , colleges , and institutes , located in six centers throughout Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn , as well as more than a dozen other sites across the world , with plans for further expansion . According to the Institute of International Education , NYU sends more students to study abroad than any other US college or university , and the College Board reports more online searches by international students for " NYU " than for any other university . History . Albert Gallatin , Secretary of Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison , declared his intention to establish " in this immense and fast - growing city . . . a system of rational and practical education fitting for all and graciously opened to all " . A three - day long " literary and scientific convention " held in City Hall in 1830 and attended by over 100 delegates debated the terms of a plan for a new university . These New Yorkers believed the city needed a university designed for young men who would be admitted based on merit , not birthright , status or social class . On April 18 , 1831 , an institution was established , with the support of a group of prominent New York City residents from the city ' s landed class of merchant s , banker s , and trader s . Albert Gallatin was elected as the institution ' s first president . On April 21 , 1831 , the new institution received its charter and was incorporated as the University of the City of New York by the New York State Legislature ; older documents often refer to it by that name . The university has been popularly known as New York University since its beginning and was officially renamed New York University in 1896 . In 1832 , NYU held its first classes in rented rooms of four - story Clinton Hall , situated near City Hall . In 1835 , the School of Law , NYU ' s first professional school , was established . Although the impetus to found a new school was partly a reaction by evangelical Presbyterian s to what they perceived as the Episcopalianism of Columbia College , NYU was created non - denominational , unlike many American colleges at the time . Whereas NYU had its Washington Square campus since its founding , the university purchased a campus at University Heights in the Bronx because of overcrowding on the old campus . NYU also had a desire to follow New York City ' s development further uptown . NYU ' s move to the Bronx occurred in 1894 , spearheaded by the efforts of Chancellor Henry Mitchell MacCracken . The University Heights campus was far more spacious than its predecessor was . As a result , most of the university ' s operations along with the undergraduate College of Arts and Science and School of Engineering were housed there . NYU ' s administrative operations were moved to the new campus , but the graduate schools of the university remained at Washington Square . In 1914 , Washington Square College was founded as the downtown undergraduate college of NYU . In 1935 , NYU opened the " Nassau College - Hofstra Memorial of New York University at Hempstead , Long Island " . This extension would later become a fully independent Hofstra University . In the late 1960s and early 1970s , financial crisis gripped the New York City government and the troubles spread to the city ' s institutions , including NYU . Feeling the pressures of imminent bankruptcy , NYU President James McNaughton Hester negotiated the sale of the University Heights campus to the City University of New York , which occurred in 1973 . After the sale of the Bronx campus , University College merged with Washington Square College . In the 1980s , under the leadership of President John Brademas , NYU launched a billion - dollar campaign that was spent almost entirely on updating facilities . The campaign was set to complete in 15 years , but ended up being completed in 10 . In 2003 President John Sexton launched a $ 2 . 5 billion campaign for funds to be spent especially on faculty and financial aid resources . University logo . The university logo , the upheld torch , is derived from the Statue of Liberty , signifying NYU ' s service to the city of New York . The torch is depicted on both the NYU seal and the more abstract NYU logo , designed in 1965 by renowned graphic designer Tom Geismar of the branding and design firm Chermayeff & Geismar . There are at least two versions of the possible origin of the university color , violet . Some believe that it may have been chosen because violets are said to have grown abundantly in Washington Square and around the buttresses of the Old University Building . Others argue that the color may have been adopted because the violet was the flower associated with Athens , the center of learning in ancient Greece . Cultural setting . Washington Square and Greenwich Village have been hubs of cultural life in New York City since the early 19th century . Much of this culture has intersected with NYU at various points in its history . Artist s of the Hudson River School , the United States ' first prominent school of painters , settled around Washington Square . Samuel F . B . Morse , the first chair of Painting and Sculpture at NYU , and Daniel Huntington were early tenants of the Old University Building in the mid - 19th century . ( The University rented out studio space and residential apartments within the " academic " building . ) Artists and intellectual s , including Edgar Allan Poe , Mark Twain , Herman Melville , and Walt Whitman , have contributed to the artistic scene encompassing NYU . As a result , they had notable interaction with the cultural and academic life of the university . In the 1870s , sculptors Augustus Saint - Gaudens and Daniel Chester French lived and worked near the Square . By the 1920s , Washington Square Park was nationally recognized as a focal point for artistic and moral rebellion . As such , the Washington Square campus became more diverse and bustled with urban energy , contributing to academic change at NYU . Famed residents of this time include Eugene O ' Neill , John Sloan , and Maurice Prendergast . In the 1930s , the abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning , and the realists Edward Hopper and Thomas Hart Benton had studios around Washington Square . In the 1960s the area became one of the centers of the beat and folk generation , when Allen Ginsberg and Bob Dylan settled there . This led to tension with the university , which at the time was in the midst of an aggressive facilities expansion phase . In 1975 , the university opened The Grey Art Gallery at 100 Washington Square East , housing the New York University art collection and featuring museum quality exhibitions . Campus . Most of NYU ' s buildings are located across a roughly area bounded by Houston Street to the south , Broadway to the east , 14th Street to the north , and Sixth Avenue ( Avenue of the Americas ) to the west . The core of NYU consists of buildings that surround Washington Square Park . With approximately 12 , 500 residents , NYU has the seventh - largest university housing system in the U . S . as of 2007 , and one of the largest among private schools . Washington Square campus . Since the late 1970s , the central part of NYU has been its Washington Square campus in the heart of Greenwich Village . The Washington Square Arch is an unofficial symbol of NYU . Until 2007 , NYU had held its commencement ceremonies in Washington Square Park , but moved the ceremonies to Yankee Stadium in 2008 because of renovations to Washington Square . In the 1990s , NYU became a " two square " university by building a second community around Union Square , in close proximity to Washington Square . NYU ' s Union Square community primarily consists of the priority residence halls of Carlyle Court , Palladium Residence Hall , Alumni Hall , Coral Tower , Thirteenth Street Hall , University Hall , Third North Residence Hall , and Founders Hall . NYU operates theaters and performance facilities that are often used by the university ' s music conservatory and Tisch School of the Arts . External productions are also occasionally held in NYU ' s facilities . The largest performance accommodations at NYU are the Skirball Center for Performing Arts ( 850 seats ) at 566 LaGuardia Place , just south of Washington Square South , and the Eisner - Lubin Auditorium ( 560 seats ) in the Kimmel Center . Recently , the Skirball Center hosted important speeches on foreign policy by John Kerry and Al Gore as well as the recording of the third season finale of The Apprentice . The Skirball Center is the largest performing arts facility south of 42nd Street . Bobst Library . The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library , built between 1967 and 1972 , is the largest library at NYU and one of the largest academic libraries in the United States . Designed by Philip Johnson and Richard Foster , the 12 - story , structure sits on the southern edge of Washington Square Park ( at 70 Washington Square South ) and is the flagship of an eight - library , 4 . 5 million - volume system . Bobst Library offers one Multidisciplinary Reference Center , a Research Commons , 28 miles of open - stacks shelving , and approximately 2 , 000 seats for student study . The library is visited by more than 6 , 800 users each day , and circulates more than one million books annually . Bobst ' s Avery Fisher Center for Music and Media is one of the world ' s largest academic media centers , where students and researchers use more than 95 , 000 audio and video recordings per year . The Digital Studio offers a constantly evolving , leading - edge resource for faculty and student projects and promotes and supports access to digital resources for teaching , learning , research and arts events . Bobst Library is also home to significant special collections . The Fales Collection houses one of the finest collections of English and American fiction in the United States , the unique Downtown Collection , documenting the New York literary avante - garde arts scene from the 1970s to the present , and the Food and Cookery Collection , which documents American food history with a focus on New York City . Bobst Library also houses the Tamiment Library , one of the finest collections in the world for scholarly research in labor history , socialism , anarchism , communism , and American radicalism . Tamiment includes the Robert F . Wagner Labor Archives , the Archives of Irish America , the Center for the Cold War and the U . S . , and the Frederic Ewen Academic Freedom Center . New facilities . Since the early 2000s , NYU has developed new facilities on and around its Washington Square Campus . The Kimmel Center for University Life was built in 2003 to serve as the primary location for the university ' s student services offices . The center also houses the Skirball Center for the Performing Arts , the Rosenthal Pavilion , the Eisner & Lubin Auditorium , and the Loeb Student Center . The School of Law built Furman Hall in 2004 , incorporating elements of two historic buildings into the new facade , one of which was occupied by poet Edgar Allan Poe . In 2005 , NYU announced the development of a new life science facility on Waverly Place . The facility is the first NYU science building developed since the opening of Meyer Hall in 1971 . In November 2005 , NYU announced plans to build a 26 - floor , residence hall on 12th Street . The residence hall , named " Founders Hall " , accommodates approximately 700 undergraduates and contains a host of other student facilities . It is currently the tallest building in the East Village . Polytechnic Institute . The Polytechnic Institute of New York University , often referred to as Polytechnic Institute of NYU , NYU Polytechnic , or NYU - Poly , is located in Downtown Brooklyn in the MetroTech Center , the nation ' s largest urban university - industry science and technology park . Founded in 1854 , the institute adopted the European polytechnic university model , and its laboratory instruction at the undergraduate and graduate levels led to close cooperation with the industry . It is one of the oldest private technology institutes in the United States , and has made contributions in the fields of electrical engineering , polymer chemistry , aerospace , and microwave engineering . NYU - Poly operates several on - campus and off - campus business incubators and is known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation . NYU - Poly has state - of - the - art facilities including a brand new library and new facilities for its electrical engineering , computer science and computer engineering programs . The Brooklyn campus offers programs primarily for undergraduate students but also offers opportunities for graduate students , including executive programs for students with related experience . NYU Poly also has campuses in downtown Manhattan , Long Island , Westchester , and in international locations such as Israel , Abu Dhabi , Shanghai , and London . Other campuses and facilities . The New York University School of Medicine is situated near the East River waterfront at 550 First Avenue between East 30th and East 34th Streets . The campus hosts the medical school , Tisch Hospital , and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine . Other NYU Centers across the city include NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases and the Bellevue Hospital Center . NYU ' s Silver School of Social Work ( formerly Ehrenkranz School of Social Work ) manages branch campus programs in Westchester County at Manhattanville College , in Rockland County at St . Thomas Aquinas College , and on Staten Island at the City University of New York ' s College of Staten Island . In Sterling Forest , near Tuxedo , New York , NYU has a research facility that contains institutes , in particular the Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine . The Midtown Center at 11 West 42nd Street and the Woolworth Building in the financial district are home to NYU ' s continuing education programs . NYU has two units located on the Upper East Side . The Institute for the Study of the Ancient World , a discrete entity within New York University , independent of any other school or department of the university , is located on East 84th St , while the New York University Institute of Fine Arts , a graduate school of art history and fine arts , is located at the James B . Duke Building at 1 East 78th St . Tisch School of the Arts , Asia was NYU ' s first branch campus abroad . The result of a partnership between Tisch School of the Arts and the Singapore Government , it offered Master of Fine Arts degrees in animation and digital arts , dramatic writing , film and international media producing . The campus opened in fall 2007 with the intention to enroll approximately 250 students . Anticipated enrolment figures were not achieved , financial irregularities were alleged and President Pari Sara Shirazi was dismissed from her post by NYU in November 2011 . She subsequently announced her intention to commence legal proceedings against NYU alleging wrongful termination and defamation . In a letter to the Tisch Asia community dated 8 November 2012 , Dean Mary Schmidt Campbell announced that the campus would close after 2014 with recruitment and admission of new students suspended with immediate effect . In the Fall of 2010 , NYU Abu Dhabi ( NYUAD ) opened as the University ' s first overseas " Portal Campus " with an inaugural class of 150 students . Unlike the University ' s other study abroad centers , NYUAD functions as a separate liberal arts college within a University , offering complete degree programs to students admitted directly to NYUAD . NYUAD recruits students from all over the world and describes itself as the " World ' s Honor College " . The main campus for NYUAD is under construction on Saadiyat Island and is scheduled to open in 2014 . Until then the school operates from a campus located in downtown Abu Dhabi . The campus construction and operational costs are entirely funded by the Abu Dhabi government . It was announced in 2011 that NYU planned to open another portal campus , New York University Shanghai , for the fall semester of 2013 . It was set to have about 3 , 000 undergraduate students , the majority of whom would be Chinese . It was approved by the Ministry of Education of the People ' s Republic of China in January 2011 . NYU ' s local partner will be East China Normal University ( ECNU ) . ECNU ' s president Yu Lizhong will be the chancellor and play a major role in government relations while Jeffrey S . Lehman , former president of Cornell amongst other positions , will serve as vice chancellor and have " free rein in academic affairs " . NYU has a host of foreign facilities used for study abroad programs , referred to as Global Academic Centers . As of 2012 , NYU operates 14 academic sites – both degree - granting research university campuses and study abroad sites – in Africa , Asia , Australia , Europe , the Middle East , and North and South America , including undergraduate academic - year and summer study abroad programs in New York , Florence , London , Paris , Prague , Berlin , Accra , Madrid , Shanghai , Buenos Aires , Tel Aviv , Abu Dhabi , Sydney and Washington DC . One of the most noteworthy is the campus of NYU Florence Villa LaPietra in Italy , bequeathed by the late Sir Harold Acton to NYU in 1994 . NYU also has international houses on campus , including the Deutsches Haus , La Maison Française , Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò , the Glucksman Ireland House , the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center , the Hagop Kevorkian Center , an Africa House and a China House . NYU was the founding member of the League of World Universities , an international organization consisting of rectors and president s from urban universities across six continents . The league and its 47 representatives gather every two years to discuss global issues in education . L . Jay Oliva formed the organization in 1991 just after he was inaugurated president of New York University . Sustainability . New York University has made the greening of its campus a large priority . For example , NYU has been the largest university purchaser of wind energy in the U . S . since 2009 . With this switch to renewable power , NYU is achieving benefits equivalent to removing 12 , 000 cars from the road or planting 72 , 000 trees . In May 2008 , the NYU Sustainability Task Force awarded $ 150 , 000 in grants to 23 projects that would focus research and efforts toward energy , food , landscape , outreach , procurement , transportation and waste . These projects include a student - led bike - sharing program modeled after Paris ' Velib program with 30 bikes free to students , staff , and faculty . NYU received a grade of " B " on the College Sustainability Report Card 2010 from the Sustainable Endowments Institute . NYU purchased 118 million kilowatt - hours of wind power during the 2006 – 2007 academic year – the largest purchase of wind power by any university in the country and any institution in New York City . For 2007 , the university expanded its purchase of wind power to 132 million kilowatt - hours . The EPA ranked NYU as one of the greenest colleges in the country in its annual College & University Green Power Challenge . Residence halls . With approximately 12 , 500 residents , NYU has the seventh - largest university housing system in the U . S . as of 2007 , and one of the largest among private schools . NYU ' s undergraduate housing system consists of 21 buildings . Uniquely , many of NYU ' s residence halls are converted apartment complexes or old hotels . In general , NYU residence halls receive favorable ratings , and some are opulent . Many rooms are spacious and contain amenities considered rare for individual college residence hall rooms , such as kitchens , lavatories , living rooms and common areas . The university operates its own transit system to transport its students by bus to its campus . Undergraduate students are guaranteed housing during their enrollment at NYU . Most freshman residence halls are located near the Washington Square area . While nearly all of the residence halls that primarily house sophomores are located near the Union Square area , two former residence halls were located in the Financial District and one is still in use in Chinatown . All of NYU ' s residence halls are governed by the Inter - Residence Hall Council ( IRHC ) , an umbrella student council organization . In 2007 , the National Association of College and University Residence Halls named NYU the National School of the Year for IRHC and NRHH ' s strong efforts over the past year . In addition , NYU was named the National Program of the Year for UltraViolet Live , the annual inter - hall competition that raises funds for Relay For Life . Academics . Schools and colleges . New York University comprises 18 colleges , schools , and institutes . Arts and Science is currently the largest academic unit of the university . It has three subdivisions , which include the College of Arts and Science , the Graduate School of Arts and Science , and Liberal Studies . The College of Arts and Science ( CAS ) was the only school when NYU was founded . Other undergraduate schools include the Gallatin School of Individualized Study , the School of Social Work , the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality , Tourism and Sports Management at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies , the Steinhardt School of Culture , Education and Human Development ( the first school of education in the United States ) , the Stern School of Business , and Tisch School of the Arts . In 2008 , Polytechnic University merged with NYU to become the Polytechnic Institute , providing NYU with an engineering school for the first time in three decades . The university also plans to open up the Liberal Studies Program to all students for the Fall 2012 term by process of application , rather than by referral ( as it has been since 1972 ) . Several schools at NYU also offer graduate and professional programs . NYU ' s postgraduate schools and divisions include the Gallatin School of Individualized Study , College of Dentistry , the College of Nursing , the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences , the Institute of Fine Arts , Institute for the Study of the Ancient World , the Polytechnic Institute , the School of Continuing and Professional Studies , the School of Law , the School of Medicine , the Graduate School of Arts and Science , and the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service . NYU closed its School of Aeronautics in 1973 , its College of Veterinary Surgeons in 1922 , and has merged various programs with other schools . For example , its School of Engineering merged with the Polytechnic University of New York in 1973 , and NYU ' s former College Hofstra Memorial became independent in 1937 . Rankings . NYU is ranked 22nd among all universities in the world by Global University Ranking ( maintained by Wuhan University ) , and 20th nationally and 27th globally by the Academic Ranking of World Universities ( formerly maintained by Shanghai Jiaotong University ) . NYU ' s schools and institutes are regularly ranked within the top 10 worldwide . NYU ' s philosophy department is ranked # 1 among 50 philosophy departments in the English - speaking world . NYU is also ranked # 1 in finance , mathematics , Italian , and theater in the U . S . by the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index , which uses data , such as faculty publications , grants , and honors and awards to rank 104 doctoral programs in 10 academic disciplines based on the research productivity of faculty members . The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences is ranked # 1 in applied mathematics in the U . S . , # 5 in citation impact worldwide and # 12 in citations worldwide . The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked NYU ' s math department # 14 overall among top universities globally . The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences is also known for its research in pure mathematical areas , such as partial differential equations , probability and differential geometry ( Professors Peter Lax , S . R . Srinivasa Varadhan and Mikhail Gromov won the 2005 , 2007 and 2009 Abel Prize respectively for their research in these areas ) as well as applied mathematical areas , such as computational biology and computational neuroscience . NYU ' s Stern School of Business undergraduate program is ranked # 5 by " US News " and # 12 by " BusinessWeek " ( ranked # 8 in 2009 ) . Stern ' s MBA program is ranked # 10 in " US News " , # 11 in " The Economist " , # 15 in the " Financial Times " , # 16 in " BusinessWeek " , and # 2 by research contribution . NYU ' s economics department is regularly ranked among the top 10 worldwide , including # 6 in an updated Dusansky - Vernon " Journal of Economic Literature " study , which ranked departments in terms of the publications of their faculty in top - five rated journals . NYU was ranked # 9 globally in economics / business by the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2009 , one ahead of Yale University . The School of Law is ranked # 6 among law school s in the U . S . by " US News and World Report " ( and has been ranked by the same source as high as # 4 in previous years ) . The law school is particularly noted as the nation ' s top law school in tax law , international law , and jurisprudence ( philosophy of law ) . Some of NYU ' s alumni have been appointed justices of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court . NYU School of Medicine is ranked # 26 , and # 11 for best AIDS program , by " US News and World Report " . The School of Medicine ' s alumni include four Nobel Prize recipients . The " Princeton Review " ranks NYU - Poly ' s undergraduate electrical engineering program # 12 in the nation , and its graduate electrical engineering program # 13 in the nation . Forbes . com regularly ranks NYU - Poly among the top 10 in its list of “ Top Colleges for Getting Rich ” . In 2012 , NYU - Poly was ranked # 21 by graduate engineering enrollment in the United States according to the American Society for Engineering Education , and # 34 on " The World ' s Best Engineering Schools " list by " Business Insider " . In the social sciences , NYU was ranked # 10 by the Academic Ranking of World Universities in 2009 , and # 11 among Shanghai Jiao Tong University ' s world ' s top 100 universities . NYU ' s Steinhardt School of Culture , Education and Human Development has one of the top 15 education programs in the U . S . NYU ' s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is ranked 6th nationally by " US News and World Report " . In addition , several of Wagner ' s public affairs specializations are ranked in the top 10 . NYU ' s Tisch School of the Arts has produced more Academy Award winners than any other film institution in the U . S . NYU Tisch members are regularly nominated to win Oscars , Emmys , and other awards : in 2011 , 15 Tisch members were nominated for Oscars , and 10 Tisch members claimed Emmys . NYU ' s Creative Writing Program ( GSAS ) was included within " The Atlantic ' s " list of " Top Ten Graduate Programs in Creative Writing " , having been selected from a pool of over 250 such programs currently active in the United States . From 2004 to 2007 , NYU was ranked by the " Princeton Review " as America ' s # 1 " dream school " among high school seniors . In 2008 however , NYU slipped to 4th place in the " Princeton Review " poll , led only by Harvard , Yale , and Stanford , citing better financial aid among Ivy Leagues and using additional parental ratings . In 2006 , NYU was named by Kaplan as one of the " New Ivies " . NYU ranks 30th on the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities , which ranks the world ' s universities based on a composite indicator that takes into account both the volume of the Web contents ( number of web pages and files ) and the visibility and impact of these web publications according to the number of external inlinks ( site citations ) they received . NYU ranks # 1 among " Universities That Turn Research Into Revenue " according to " Forbes " . According to data compiled by " Forbes Magazine " in 2008 , NYU ranks 7th among universities that have produced the largest number of living billionaires . Admissions and enrollment . NYU has a large , diverse student population representing all 50 states and more than 130 countries . About 25 – 30 % of NYU ' s incoming freshmen are from New York , New Jersey , and Connecticut , while the remaining 70 – 75 % are from outside the Tri - State area . 10 % of the students are from one of New York City ' s five boroughs . NYU ' s main feeder schools reflect a heavy Northeastern U . S . presence , and particularly a strong New York City influence . Among NYU ' s top feeder schools are prestigious high schools including Stuyvesant High School , Brooklyn Technical High School , Bronx High School of Science , and several top private schools in the northeast . Out of the 42 , 242 applicants for the undergraduate class of 2015 , around 30 % were offered admission ( when including admission statistics for the Liberal Studies Program ) . Out of the acceptances , 38 % consisted of early decision applicants , who together form 23 % of the undergraduate class . 4 , 650 freshmen joined NYU in Fall 2011 . In 2008 , NYU achieved a record low admission rate of 24 % of applicants . The middle 50 % of SAT scores for the class of 2015 was 630 – 730 for critical reading , 650 – 750 for math , and 660 – 750 for writing . The middle 50 % of ACT scores for the class of 2015 was between 29 and 31 . The average GPA corresponds with an A - range letter grade , and most incoming students were in the top 10 % of their class . On June 21 , 2010 , NYU announced the profile of the first freshman class of NYU Abu Dhabi ( NYUAD ) , which calls itself the " World ' s Honors College " . The class includes 150 students , 36 % of whom are from the United States . The average SAT score was 1470 and the acceptance rate was 2 . 1 % . In a quest to find talented individuals from around the world and become a truly global university , New York University signed an agreement to accept high - performing students from the University of the People who are eligible to apply to New York University ' s Abu Dhabi campus . The Abu Dhabi campus is able to grant generous financial aid , enabling those students who are eligible , albeit disadvantaged financially , to attend the highly selective NYU Abu Dhabi campus . During the admissions process , some institutions at NYU are relatively more selective than others in certain categories , depending on the institution ' s educational goals . For example , NYU ' s Abu Dhabi program focuses more than other schools at NYU on students who have demonstrated a history of leadership , whereas NYU ' s Tisch School of the Arts focuses more on artistic and creative traits than do other schools at NYU . NYU is among the top 15 universities in the U . S . in the number of National Merit Scholar s in the first - year undergraduate student body . Budget and fundraising . New York University has successfully completed a seven - year , $ 2 . 5 billion campaign , surpassing expectations by raising more than $ 3 billion over the seven - year period . Started in 2001 , this campaign was the university ' s largest in its history , in which they planned to " raise $ 1 million per day for scholarships and financial aid , faculty building , new academic initiatives , and enhancing NYU ' s physical facilities " . The campaign included a $ 50 million gift from the Tisch family ( after which one building and the art school are named ) and a $ 60 million gift from six trustee s called " The Partners Fund " , aimed at hiring new faculty . On October 15 , 2007 the university announced that the Silver family donated $ 50 million to the School of Social Work , which will be renamed as a result . This is the largest donation ever to a school of social work in the United States . The 2007 – 2008 academic year was the most successful fundraising year to date for NYU , with the school raising $ 698 million in only the first 11 months of the year , representing a 70 % increase in donations from the prior year . The University also recently announced plans for NYU ' s Call to Action , a new initiative to ask alumni and donors to support financial aid for students at NYU . The university has announced a 25 - year strategic development plan , scheduled to coincide with its bicentennial in 2031 . Included in the " NYU 200 " plans are increasing resident and academic space , hiring additional exemplary faculty , and involving the New York City community in a transparent planning process . Additionally , NYU hopes to make their buildings more environmentally friendly , which will be facilitated by an evaluation of all campus spaces . As a part of this plan , NYU purchased 118 million kilowatt - hours of wind power during the 2006 – 2007 academic year – the largest purchase of wind power by any university in the country and any institution in New York City . For 2007 , the university expanded its purchase of wind power to 132 million kilowatt - hours . As a result , the EPA ranked NYU as one of the greenest colleges in the country in its annual College & University Green Power Challenge . Student life . Student government . The Student Senators Council is the governing student body at NYU . The SSC has been involved in controversial debates on campus , including a campuswide ban on the sale of Coca - Cola products in 2005 , and the Graduate Student Organizing Committee unionization in 2001 and subsequent strike in 2005 . This ban was lifted by the University Senate on February 5 , 2009 . Student organizations . NYU has over 450 student clubs and organizations on campus . In addition to the sports teams , fraternities , sororities , and study clubs , there are many organizations on campus that focus on entertainment , arts , and culture . These organizations include various student media clubs : for instance , the daily student newspaper the " Washington Square News " , the NYU Local daily blog , " The Plague " comedy magazine , and the literary journals " Washington Square Review " and " The Minetta Review " , as well as student - run event producers such as the NYU Program Board and the Inter - Residence Hall Council . It also operates radio station WNYU - FM 89 . 1 with a diverse college radio format , transmitting to the entire New York metropolitan area from the original campus , and via booster station WNYU - FM1 which fills in the signal in lower Manhattan from atop one of the Silver Towers , next to the football field at the Washington Square campus . During the University Heights era , an apparent rift evolved with some organizations distancing themselves from students from the downtown schools . The exclusive Philomathean Society operated from 1832 to 1888 ( formally giving way in 1907 and reconstituted into the Andiron Club ) . Included among the Andiron ' s regulations was " Rule No . 11 : Have no relations save the most casual and informal kind with the downtown schools " . The Eucleian Society , rival to the Philomathean Society , was founded in 1832 . The Knights of the Lamp was a social organization founded in 1914 at the School of Commerce . This organization met every full moon and had a glowworm as its mascot . The Red Dragon Society , founded in 1898 , is thought to be the most selective society at NYU . In addition , NYU ' s first yearbook was formed by fraternities and " secret societies " at the university . New York University has traditions which have persisted across campuses . Since the beginning of the 20th century initiation ceremonies have welcomed incoming NYU freshmen . At the Bronx University Heights Campus , seniors used to grab unsuspecting freshmen , take them to a horse - watering trough , and then dunk them head - first into what was known colloquially as " the Fountain of Knowledge " . This underground initiation took place until the 1970s . Today freshmen take part in university - sponsored activities during what is called " Welcome Week " . In addition , throughout the year the university traditionally holds Apple Fest ( an apple - themed country fest that began at the University Heights campus ) , the Violet Ball ( a dance in the atrium of Bobst Library ) , Strawberry Fest ( featuring New York City ' s longest Strawberry Shortcake ) , and the semi - annual midnight breakfast where Student Affairs administrators serve free breakfast to students before finals . Greek life . Some of the first fraternities in the country were formed at NYU . Greek life first formed on the NYU campus in 1837 when Psi Upsilon chartered its Delta Chapter . The first fraternities at NYU were social ones . With their athletic , professional , intellectual , and service activities , later groups sought to attract students who also formed other groups . Since then , Greek letter organizations have proliferated to include 25 social fraternities and sororities . Approximately 7 % of NYU students choose to join fraternities or sororities . Four governing boards oversee Greek life at the university . The Interfraternity Council ( IFC ) has jurisdiction over all twelve recognized fraternities on campus . Eight sororities are under the jurisdiction of the Panhellenic Council ( PhC ) , which features six national sororities ( ΔΦΈ , ΑΈΦ , ΆΣΤ , ΠΒΦ , KKΓ and ZTA ) and two local sororities ( ΆΦΖ and ΘΦΒ ) . Five multicultural organizations maintain membership in the Multicultural Greek Council ( MGC ) , including two fraternities and three sororities . All three of the aforementioned boards are managed under the auspices of the Inter - Greek Council . Greek organizations have historical significance at NYU . Delta Phi Epsilon , Zeta Psi , Alpha Epsilon Pi , Tau Delta Phi , Alpha Kappa Psi and Delta Sigma Pi were founded at NYU . Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America was chartered in 1847 , Delta Sigma Pi in 1907 , and Alpha Epsilon Pi in 1913 . Delta Phi Epsilon was founded in 1917 . The NYU Gamma chapter of Delta Phi , founded in 1841 , is the longest continuously active fraternity chapter in the world , having never gone inactive since its establishment . Delta Phi is also the oldest continuously active fraternity in the United States , being the only organization in the original Union Triad to remain active since its institute . The NYU Gamma chapter of Zeta Beta Tau is the oldest active ZBT chapter in the country . Athletics . NYU ' s sports teams are referred to as the NYU Violets , the colors being the trademarked hue " NYU Violet " , and white . Since 1981 , the school mascot has been a bobcat , whose origin can be traced back to the abbreviation then being used by the Bobst Library computerized catalog — short : Bobcat . NYU ' s sports teams include men ' s and women ' s varsity basketball , cross country , fencing , golf , soccer , swimming and diving , tennis , track and field , volleyball , and wrestling . All of NYU ' s sports teams participate in the NCAA ' s Division III and the University Athletic Association , with the exceptions of Men ' s Volleyball , which competes in the Division I Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association , and fencing , which also participates in Division I . The National Intercollegiate Women ' s Fencing Association ( NIWFA ) was founded by NYU freshmen Julia Jones and Dorothy Hafner . While NYU has had All - American football players , the school has not had a varsity football team since 1952 . Notable football players include Hall of Fame Ken Strong ( 1956 ) and Ed Smith ( 1934 ) , the model for the Heisman Trophy . In the 1940 season , before a football game between NYU and Missouri , students protested against the " gentlemen ' s agreement " to exclude black athletes ( at Missouri ' s request ) . The protest against this practice is the first time such protests were recorded to have occurred . NYU , within its brief history in NCAA Division III , has won two national team championships and many league championships . In 1997 , the Women ' s Basketball team , led by head coach Janice Quinn , won a national championship over the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire and in 2007 returned to the Final Four . NYU Men ' s Basketball and head coach Joe Nesci appeared in the Division III National Championship game in 1994 . In 2006 , the Men ' s Cross Country team finished 2nd at the NCAA Championship . The following year , behind the emotional support of Dan Schwartzman , the Men ' s Cross Country team won the 2007 NCAA National Cross Country Championship at St . Olaf College in Minnesota . NYU Men ' s and Women ' s Swimming teams captured consecutive ( 2004 – 2005 ) Eastern College Athletic Conference ( ECAC ) Division III Swimming and Diving Championships . Christian Majdick of the Men ' s Track and Field team captured the NCAA Division III championship for the triple jump in 2003 . Lauren Henkel , a track and field athlete and the current assistant coach of the Women ' s Track and Field team , acquired All - American status three times for High Jump . The Men ' s Soccer team won its league ECAC championship in the 2005 – 2006 season . The Men ' s Ice Hockey team participates in the ACHA ( DII ) and is in the SECHL . During the 2003 – 2004 season , the Ice Hockey team finished second ( 2nd ) in the nation , losing to Oakland University of Michigan . NYU students also compete in club and intramural sports , including badminton , baseball , basketball , crew , equestrianism , ice hockey , lacrosse , rugby football , softball , squash , martial arts , tennis , triathlon , and ultimate . The Coles Sports and Recreation Center serves as the home base of several of NYU ' s intercollegiate athletic teams . Many of NYU ' s varsity teams play their games at various facilities and fields throughout Manhattan because of the scarcity of space for playing fields near campus . In 2002 , NYU opened the Palladium Athletic Facility as the second on - campus recreational facility . In the same year , NYU ' s intramural dance team won the National Championship title at the National Dance Alliance ( NDA ) Division III competition in Daytona , Florida . Faculty and alumni . As the largest private non - profit university in the country , NYU has one of the largest alumni bodies in the world . At the end of 2004 , NYU had about 350 , 000 alumni . Of these , at least 17 , 000 live abroad . The New York University Office for Alumni Affairs oversees various activities such as class reunions , local NYU Club gatherings , NYU alumni travel , and Career Services . The Alumni club on campus is the Torch Club , located in Greenwich Village . In addition , the Princeton Club of New York ( PCNY ) has also invited New York University alumni for club membership . NYU counts 36 Nobel Prize winners by affiliation . Notable graduating classes include 1941 , which graduated three later Nobel Prize laureates ( Julius Axelrod , Gertrude B . Elion and Clifford Shull ) , Olympic Gold Medalist John Woodruff , sportscaster Howard Cosell and sociologist Morris Janowitz ; 1957 included Pulitzer Prize winning author Frank McCourt and president of Technion - Israel Institute of Technology Josef Singer ( NYU - Poly ) ; 1970 included Thomas S . Popkewitz , professor of curriculum theory at the University of Wisconsin - Madison ; 1974 included author Warren Farrell , Ph . D . ; and 1977 included : former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan ; IRS Commissioner Mark Everson ; INSEAD Dean Gabriel Hawawini ; Pulitzer , Oscar and Tony Award winner John Patrick Shanley ; NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman ; physicist Lewis E . Little ; NASDAQ CEO Robert Greifeld ; Ma Ying - jeou president of Republic of China ( Taiwan ) ; Guillermo Endara president of Republic of Panama , Clive Davis music industry executive , and Cathy Minehan , Federal Reserve Chairman Boston . Many Fortune 500 companies are currently being headed by NYU - Poly alumni , including Yahoo ! , Lockheed Martin , Xerox , and AECOM . In film and literature . NYU is often portrayed in a variety of television shows , motion pictures , literature , and other media . Fictional NYU students and faculty include Kramer ' s intern Darren in " Seinfeld " , who helps him run " Kramerica Industries " ; a student reporter in a different episode of Seinfeld who interviews Jerry ; Theo Huxtable ( Malcolm - Jamal Warner ) from " The Cosby Show " , who graduates from NYU in the series finale ; Ross Geller ( David Schwimmer ) from " Friends " , who becomes an NYU professor in Season 6 ; Character Tom Collins from " Rent " , who taught there ; Bud Fox ( Charlie Sheen ) in the movie " Wall Street " ( 1987 ) ; Finch ( Eddie Kaye Thomas ) from the " American Pie " films ; Paul Tannek ( Jason Biggs ) in " Loser " ( 2000 ) ; Alex Foreman ( Scarlett Johansson ) in " In Good Company " ( 2005 ) ; Jack Campbell ( Nicolas Cage ) in " The Family Man " ( 2000 ) ; Clark Kellogg ( Matthew Broderick ) in " The Freshman " ( 1990 ) ; Justin Cobb ( Lou Taylor Pucci ) in the film version of " Thumbsucker " ( 2005 ) , who secretly applies and is accepted to NYU ; the songwriter Albert Peterson in the musical " Bye Bye Birdie " who promises his sweetheart Rosie to start studying at NYU and become an English teacher ; and the characters Blair Waldorf , Dan Humphrey , Vanessa Abrams and Georgina Sparks in " Gossip Girl " . In addition , the campus of NYU has been the backdrop for various pieces of fiction : Grace Adler ' s office in Will & Grace is portrayed in the show as being in the Puck Building , home to NYU ' s Wagner School ; Henry James ' novel " Washington Square " is set around the NYU area ; and " Rose of Washington Square " ( 1939 ) , " 13 Washington Square " ( 1928 ) , " Annie Hall " ( 1977 ) , " When Harry Met Sally " ( 1989 ) , " I Am Legend " ( 2007 ) , " August Rush " ( 2007 ) , " Remember Me " ( 2010 ) , " Step Up 3 - D " ( 2010 ) and " The Sorcerer ' s Apprentice " ( 2010 ) are centered around the NYU campus . In Ralph Bakshi ' s animated feature " Fritz The Cat " ( 1972 ) , the dormitory that Fritz burns down is clearly supposed to be NYU ' s Weinstein Hall , located at 5 - 11 University Place near the northeast corner of Washington Square Park . The Warner Brothers show " Felicity " was set at the " University of New York " , clearly modeled after NYU ; and NYU ' s old University Heights Campus in the Bronx provided the scenery for " Sophie ' s Choice " ( 1982 ) , " The Thomas Crown Affair " ( 1999 ) , " A Beautiful Mind " ( 2001 ) , " Maid in Manhattan " ( 2002 ) , " Mona Lisa Smile " ( 2003 ) , and " Step Up 3D " ( 2010 ) . NYU is also featured in the TV show " Californication " .