400 students from 81 countries join New York University Abu Dhabi

New York University (NYU) Abu Dhabi’s Class of 2023, made up of over 400 students, from 81 different countries on six continents, and speaking 65 languages, is the University’s tenth and largest incoming class since welcoming its first students in 2010.

With a current undergraduate student body of nearly 1,500, NYUAD is on track to reach a total undergraduate student population of roughly 2,200.

NYUAD’s Class of 2023 was selected from over 14,000 applicants around the world. The yield for the incoming class —the percentage of students who choose to attend NYUAD after being admitted — makes the University one of the most highly selective of any in the world.

Within the Class of 2023, UAE Nationals and Americans make up the two largest groups of students by nationality, with 14 per cent Emirati students and 12 per cent from the US. Students from South Korea, China, Pakistan, India, and Egypt make up the next largest cohorts. NYUAD’s new incoming class also includes students from Eritrea, Mauritius, and Niger for the first time ever.

Fourteen per cent of the class are first generation students, meaning that they are the first from their immediate family to attend University. Fifty-six percent of incoming students are women.

NYU President Andrew Hamilton said, "I am thrilled to welcome the Class of 2023 to NYU Abu Dhabi and to the larger NYU family. Coming to us from over 80 countries, the Class of 2023 joins a diverse student body at NYU Abu Dhabi - diverse geographically, ethnically, diverse in life experience, and myriad other ways. This is a deeply held NYU value — we believe that engaging with people who are different from us is both worthwhile and deeply rewarding, and a vital part of your education."

Class of 2023 student Victoria Alvarez, Venezuela, 19, said: "It is in diversity and differences that we can find the tools to build the world we want, where we are all welcome despite our nationality, religion, or appearance. NYUAD promotes intercultural understanding; it encourages us to go out there and understand how things work so we can be the best leaders of tomorrow. When I found out that these were the values of this University, I knew this was the place I wanted to spend the next four years of my life."

NYU Abu Dhabi, NYU Shanghai, and NYU in New York form the backbone of NYU’s global network of degree-granting campuses and academic centers across six continents.

WAM