NYU to accessible study abroad website in Australia

Although an exact location has not yet been selected, university spokesman John Beckman said NYU is in the logistical planning stages of establishing a study abroad site in Sydney, Australia and expects to welcome students to the program sometime during the 2011-12 academic year.
According to Ulrich Baer, vice provost for globalization and multicultural affairs, the NYU Australia center will partner with the University of Sydney and will be open to all majors. The site will offer special tracks in indigenous aboriginal art, culture and history and environmental studies.

Australia offers a lot of interesting possibilities for study on immigration, on aboriginal people, on issues relating to the environment and the natural world, Beckman wrote in an e-mail.It is also a location in which many of our faculty have an interest; we believe it is likewise true among students.After conducting several surveys to determine student and faculty interest in the area, Baer said the Australia center will strengthen NYU's ties to the region where several NYU faculty and deans have conducted research and many call home.Australia presents an exceptional opportunity for students interested in the history of the oldest continuous civilization in the world, and in pressing environmental issues facing the globe today,Baer said. It is also an exceptionally vibrant and cosmopolitan society that will allow students to understand the Asia-Pacific region better.

CAS senior Maria Cinti thinks the Australia center will offer students a memorable study abroad experience without the difficulties of culture shock.It's the perfect location for someone looking for a new cultural experience without the complete and total culture shock of living in a country where the first language is not English,she said.CAS junior Scott Davidson agreed that Australia may offer opportunities to him that other study abroad sites cannot.I actually think it's a good idea, and there's not a lot of places for me to study abroad because I'm an economics major,he said.There are not a lot of places that offer the courses for me to take.