NYU’s Washington D.C. campus, the university’s 14th academic site, officially opened last week.

NYU spokesman John Beckman said the District of Columbia campus will benefit students and faculty by allowing them to work and intern in the nation’s capital.

“The reality is that NYU has strong connections with D.C., and has for some time,” Beckman said. “Many NYU students pursue internships in [the District of Columbia]. [The District of Columbia] has one of the largest concentrations NYU alums, and D.C. is the focus of the scholarly interests of many of our faculty.”

“We think it will be a popular site not only with U.S. students, but with non-U.S. students studying in New York, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai who wish to better understand the U.S. government, policy-making and international relations,” he added.

Though there are currently 15 students studying at the campus this fall, the site may ultimately hold up to 125 students per semester.

“NYU Washington D.C. provides students with access to institutions, individuals, internships, initiatives and ideas that are unique to the nation’s capital and complement the experiences available in New York City and other sites within the Global Network University,” said Michael Ulrich, site director of Washington D.C.

Ulrich said some examples of placements for the fall include the White House, U.S. Department of Treasury and Commerce, Center for American Progress, The Hill newspaper, Korean Embassy, U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and District of Columbia Courts.

The student body also has access to a wide variety to intelectual mentors.

“For our faculty and guest lecturers, we’ve included a variety of professionals including former elected members of congress, campaign strategists, lobbyists, foreign service professionals, activists, [non-governmental organization] staffers and museum representatives,” he added.

Alec Foster, Steinhardt junior and District of Columbia student, said he feels his experiences in the D.C. campus are much to his advantage.

Foster added that his experiences in classes at the Washington D.C campus are unique and interesting because of their versatility.

“D.C. has so many influential people who are very happy to speak in our classes,” Foster said. “I’ve had political consultants and city council members in other classes, and that wasn’t something I experienced much back on [NYU’s] campus.”

Neela Qadir is a contributing writer. Email her at [email protected].