

As new students entering NYU Steinhardt, you will pursue career and personal paths in every imaginable occupation and setting, both at home and abroad. The challenge of undergraduate education is to provide you with unparalleled academic experiences and opportunities that suit your needs and aspirations, and prepare you to question convention and lead in an ever-changing world.
The Steinhardt School meets this challenge by providing you with a sound academic foundation and professional skills necessary to achieve your goals. As an NYU student you will discover how to learn with the confidence, creativity, and sense of responsibility you need to succeed.
We share a commitment to building a core experience, one that embodies high standards - a strength of intellect common to the scientist, artist, and humanist. Each Steinhardt School major includes study in the liberal arts, which will teach you to see, feel, and respond to ever-widening spans of human knowledge. At the same time, your major is structured to cultivate specialized, professional knowledge and individual forms of expression, preparing you for professional life and ensuring that you can place your personal stamp on your chosen field of study.
We hope that by the time you graduate, you will have the wherewithal to adapt, grow, and thrive wherever you are, no matter what path you choose to follow in your professional and creative life.
The curriculum comprises three components: the Liberal Arts requirements, the specialization courses required by your specific major, and electives.
The opportunity for you to begin to shape your educational plan is an integral part of orientation. You will meet with your adviser to discuss your Program of Study, including academic options such as study abroad, freshman honors seminars, undergraduate research, and departmental honors. You and your adviser will review requirements for the Bachelor's degree, and determine the number of units (credits) you will need to complete your requirements, taking into consideration any advanced placement and/or transfer units (credits) that you present. Advisement provides the framework for educational planning and assessing progress. Both you and your adviser must be active participants for advisement to work effectively.
The minimum number of units (credits) for most degrees is 128, which assumes that the average enrollment will be 16 units (credits) each term. Undergraduate students may take up to 18 units (credits) each term, but be careful not to overload during the first term. Students must complete 32 units (credits) per academic year to continue eligibility for financial aid and maintain good academic standing. Tuition for full-time study covers 12-18 units (credits).
In choosing a class schedule, it is helpful to consider your "time clock." Are you an early or late morning, afternoon, evening, or time-adaptable person? And remember to allot extra travel time if you are a commuter.
The goal is to create a balanced schedule; avoid "bunching" classes over a two-day span. A balanced schedule will allow time for class preparation and more thorough study, with more time for student activities and community service.
Advisement and registration are important and necessary aspects of the academic experience at NYU Steinhardt. You are assigned an academic adviser when you first enroll for classes. Your adviser will work together with you throughout your undergraduate years for an optimum educational experience. It is important to remember that the adviser/ advisee relationship is reciprocal; both parties play an important role in the advisement process. Please use the following information and the NYU Steinhardt Advisement page to guide discussions with your adviser.
Academic advisement is the process that takes place when you meet with a faculty/administrative adviser to review your academic progress, to discuss what courses are needed to complete degree requirements, and to receive adviser approval to register for the next term's courses.
Please review your Advisement Worksheet for Undergraduate Students before each meeting with your adviser. Both student and adviser are expected to be active participants for advisement to work effectively. The Worksheet is a reminder of the expectations we hold for advisement and a self-evaluation of particular areas that may need discussion.
You are first advised during new student orientation, and thereafter at least once every term (semester) until graduation. We encourage you to stay in touch with your adviser as frequently as you would like.
You should make an appointment to see your adviser when you have received the email notifying you about your registration appointment.
You may also check with your department. Please follow instructions carefully, especially concerning deadlines, since advisement requires coordinating your schedule with that of your adviser.
Call your department. For the number, refer to the Undergraduate Bulletin or the department's website.
NOTE: These materials are available in your department, in the Office of Student Affairs located at Pless Hall, 2nd Floor, or on our Forms webpage. (See also Resources to Assist You with Course Selection.)
You will have several meetings with your adviser during your tenure at Steinhardt. Before each meeting, you should:
Thus prepared, when you meet with your adviser, you can discuss your progress and make any necessary adjustments, rather than spending time on the mechanical selection of class times.
After you receive the email informing you of your registration appointment:
During the meeting with your adviser:
Your adviser:
Registration is the process of adding courses to your schedule.
Registration is done online via Albert, on or after your Registration Appointment time.
You register for courses by logging into Albert via your NYUHome Account.
SIS, the Student Information System, is the NYU computerized system containing your transcript, financial records, grades, degree progress, and personal information.
Albert is a tool to access SIS. You can check, add, and change your financial, course, and personal information using Albert, accessible on the Academics page in NYUHome. NOTE: Please be sure that all contact information is correct and kept current in SIS through Albert, especially your cell phone number, emergency contact information, address, and expected term (semester) of graduation.
Your registration appointment is the earliest time and date that you may register for classes for the following term.
The closer you are to graduation, the earlier your registration appointment will be.
The Registrar sets registration appointments according to earned units (credits).
Around midterm, you will receive an email from the University Registrar, assigning you the day and time of your registration appointment.
Remember, the registration appointment day/time is the earliest that you will be able to register, but not the only time.
You may register any time on or after your registration appointment using Albert.
A cell phone number and an emergency contact number must be entered on Albert prior to registration.
Adviser's approval is needed to register for the next term's classes. You receive adviser approval during academic advisement, in the form of your adviser's signature on your completed Registration worksheet. Your adviser enters that approval into SIS, as the last step of academic advisement.
You do not have to register immediately after advisement.
You must register before the term (semester) begins. You may only attend classes for which you are officially registered.
It is to your advantage to be advised as soon as possible, and to register as soon as you can.
Payment is not necessarily required at the time of registration.
Please refer to Albert for tuition and housing payment deadlines.
Early advisement and registration give you a better chance of getting the schedule of courses that you want.
When you enroll in a course you are automatically enrolled in the Blackboard shell for that course, if it has one. Blackboard is an online course environment that faculty may use to supplement course instruction.
Late registration may prevent you from enrolling in courses you need to take because of course cancellation due to under-enrollment. Courses are cancelled if a required minimum number of students do not enroll. Under-enrolled classes can be cancelled weeks or months before a term (semester) begins. The only way the University knows that you want to take a course is if you register for it in advance.
Late registration may also prevent you from enrolling in courses you need to take because of courses closing. Many courses have enrollment limits, and close when they are full. Not all courses have waitlists. If you are closed out of a course, you may petition the department offering the course to allow you to register for it, but permission cannot be guaranteed. Some classes have lab space or teaching limitations based on size. If you are unable to enroll in the course, you must select an alternative course with the approval of your adviser.