New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature,[14] NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.[15]
In 1832, the initial non-denominational all-male institution began its first classes near City Hall based on a curriculum focused on a secular education.[16][17] The university, in 1833, then moved and has maintained its main campus in Greenwich Village surrounding Washington Square Park.[18] Since then, the university has added an engineering school in Brooklyn’s MetroTech Center and graduate schools throughout Manhattan.[19] NYU has become the largest private university in the United States by enrollment, with a total of 51,848 enrolled students, including 26,733 undergraduate students and 25,115 graduate students, in 2019.[20][10] NYU also receives the most applications of any private institution in the United States and admission is considered highly selective.[21][22][23]
NYU is organized into 10 undergraduate schools, including the College of Arts & Science, Gallatin School, Steinhardt School, Stern School of Business, Tandon School of Engineering, and the Tisch School of Arts.[16] NYU’s 15 graduate schools include the Grossman School of Medicine, School of Law, Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, School of Professional Studies, School of Social Work, and Rory Meyers School of Nursing.[24][16] The university’s internal academic centers include the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Center for Data Science, Center for Neural Science, Clive Davis Institute, Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, Institute of Fine Arts, and the NYU Langone Health System.[25] NYU is a global university[26] with degree-granting campuses at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai, and academic centers in Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Paris, Prague, Sydney, Tel Aviv, and Washington, D.C.[27][28][29]
Past and present faculty and alumni include 38 Nobel Laureates, 8 Turing Award winners, 5 Fields Medalists, 31 MacArthur Fellows, 26 Pulitzer Prize winners, 3 heads of state, a U.S. Supreme Court justice,[30] 5 U.S. governors, 4 mayors of New York City, 12 U.S. Senators, 58 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, two Federal Reserve Chairmen,[31] 38 Academy Award winners, 30 Emmy Award winners, 25 Tony Award winners, 12 Grammy Award winners, 17 billionaires, and seven Olympic medalists.[