More students studying abroad, early numbers show

Applications to NYU's 10 study abroad sites increased 8 percent this year. The jump follows a decades-long trend of an increasing number of students spending a semester or more on another continent.

For the upcoming semester, 1,589 students applied to study abroad, according to Christopher Nicolussi, the senior director of Student Support and Services in NYU's Office of Global Programs.

Of the students who applied during the first phase, 1,390 were accepted. In total, 1,478 spots are available for all of the sites.

More than 100 students will be accepted during the second phase of the process and will be notified Oct. 30. Spots in each program are not reserved for phase II applicants, and if a program is already full by Oct. 15, students will be encouraged to select an open location.

NYU in Tel Aviv and Shanghai are the only sites thus far where the number of applicants did not exceed the number of reserved spots, with 23 and 73 applications for 35 and 110 spots, respectively.

Due to the increase in student applications, administrators have added sites in cities such as Buenos Aires and Prague in recent years.

"Given student interest, we are often able to increase enrollment above the number for which we had originally planned," Nicolussi said.

The most popular NYU study abroad locations this year have been Florence and London, with 380 and 398 applications for 362 and 360 spots, respectively.

CAS sophomore Ian Hartz, who is majoring in art history and psychology, was accepted to NYU in Florence, where he plans to take "Renaissance Art" among other courses.

"There really is no better place to study the Renaissance than where it happened: in Florence," Hartz said.

Gallatin sophomore Kim Pearson will study abroad in London.

"London offered courses and non-academic opportunities that I feel are the most relevant to my concentration," she said. "London also has fairly easy access to mainland Europe, so I'll still get to see places like Paris and Rome while studying relevant material."