It’s course registration week, which means NYU Albert is the hottest website on campus. For most students, building a course schedule is a matter of fulfilling graduation requirements, avoiding 8 a.m. class times and making it all fit together. But if you truly want to get your money’s worth — you’re already paying for 18 credits, after all — here are five categories of two-credit classes across different NYU schools to add some variety to your fall schedule. 

Tisch’s Open Arts program

These classes fill up quickly for good reason. From choreography to digital photography, Open Arts courses at the Tisch School of the Arts can help you pick up a new artistic skill. Most classes in the Open Arts program are geared specifically towards non-majors, serving as an introductory-level segue into various creative fields. Some classes, like Acting I: Introduction to the Actor’s Craft, have a small registration fee — a small price to pay for getting the chance to take a semester-long acting class. Open Arts also offers dance classes like Modern Dance: Mind-Body Knowledge and Expression or even Ballet, where you can fulfill your prima ballerina fantasies. 

Silver’s Service Learning courses

If you’re looking for a two-credit course to break up the monotony of your lectures and labs, NYU Silver’s Service Learning courses give you the opportunity to get out of the classroom. Open to all undergraduate students, these classes focus on different ways of supporting local communities — Service Learning Through Community Engagement and Service Learning Through Youth Literacy, for example, both contain a weekly community service component of after-school tutoring for elementary or middle and high school students. Students in Service Learning: Shaping Change: Spirituality, Service and Social Justice also partake in volunteer work, and Service Learning and Food Insecurity requires them to complete a part-time internship.

Steinhardt’s instrument lessons  

One of the great perks of living in New York City is being surrounded by a diverse music scene, and NYU understands this better than most. A little-known secret is that the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development offers a variety of music lessons for non-majors in piano, brass, jazz, strings and more. With both group and private lessons, these classes give both out-of-practice instrumentalists and first-time learners the chance to explore their musicality. While there are no extra costs for group lessons, private lessons have a $316 registration fee — but the dates and times are up to you. So if your upcoming fall semester is already packed with academically demanding classes, try leaning into your musical side for a bit of respite and flexibility. 

Stern’s marketing courses 

Don’t be deterred by the infamous Stern curve — two-credit courses at the Stern School of Business are great for taking a deep dive into specific marketing topics, even if you’re only taking the class for fun. There are many courses to choose from, including Entertainment & Media Industries, Intro to Sports Betting and Theme Park and Experiential Entertainment Marketing with Leslie Ferraro, who spent 18 years working at the Walt Disney Company. Most of these classes require you to have sophomore standing — so, if your schedule allows, check out the multitude of available options.

CAS’s language courses

If you were to ask me in high school if I wanted to take more language classes in college, I would have said no — but after taking three semesters of French at NYU, I’ve come to appreciate how fun language classes can be. While most two-credit language courses have extensive prerequisites, these courses are great options for students who want to continue exercising their foreign language muscles. If your schedule doesn’t have room for a regular four-credit foreign language course, try two-credit classes like Machines à écrire to develop your French reading and writing skills. Other options include Topics in Conversational Chinese, for students looking to further hone their casual speaking skills, and Advanced Japanese Reading Practice, where students self-select their readings and participate in a book talk, both of which are offered in the East Asian studies department.

Contact Isabel Lesser at [email protected].