New York University

New York University, private, coeducational institution in New York City. Chartered in 1831, it opened for instruction in 1832 as the University of the City of New York. The present name was adopted in 1896. New York University, with an enrollment of more than 47,000 students, is the largest private university in the United States. More than 2500 courses are offered. The university confers more than 25 different bachelor’s, master’s, doctor’s, and professional degrees.

The university includes 13 schools, colleges, and divisions, most of which are at the Washington Square campus in lower Manhattan. These include the College of Arts and Science; the School of Education; the Tisch School of the Arts, with studies in performing and media arts; the Gallatin division, which offers individualized undergraduate programs; schools of business, social work, and law; graduate schools of arts and science, and of public services; and the School of Continuing Education.

New York University medical center, in midtown Manhattan, includes Tisch Hospital, the school of medicine, the postgraduate medical school, and the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. Nearby is the university’s David B. Kriser Dental Center, which includes the college of dentistry, dental clinics, and the institute for dental research.

Among the other research and cultural centers is the Center for Neural Science, the Skirball Institute of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, the Center for Media Culture and History, and the Courant Institute of Mathematical Science, for advanced research in applied mathematics. The Institute of Fine Arts, a division of the graduate school of arts and science, offers courses in art history and art conservation. The Elmer Holmes Bobst Library and Study Center, with some 2.5 million volumes, serves the entire university, administering the seven other separate libraries maintained by several of the schools.

Notable alumni of New York University include author Joseph Heller, director Martin Scorsese, and economist and chairman of the Federal Reserve Board Alan Greenspan.