Founded in 1831, New York University is a private institution located in New York City. NYU is now one of the largest private universities in the United States, having 15 different schools and colleges, the largest of which is the College of Arts and Sciences. The school's main campus is located at Washington Square in Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 22,498, among which 50 percent or more live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing. The school utilizes a semester-based academic calendar.

A member of the distinguished Association of American Universities, NYU offers over 150 undergraduate majors, including individualized studies, as well as double majors, minors, dual degrees, and internships. NYU has established itself as the first global network university, with a comprehensive liberal arts campus in Abu Dhabi, the first to be operated abroad by a major U.S. research university. NYU offers the opportunity to study at other sites for study and research in Accra, Ghana; Berlin, Germany; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Florence, Italy; London, England; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Prague, the Czech Republic; Shanghai, China; and Tel Aviv, Israel, among other locations.

NYU's renowned Tisch School of the Arts offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in acting, dance, dramatic writing, film, television and more. Former Tisch students include directors Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee. Other graduate programs include the highly ranked Stern School of Business; Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development; School of Law; School of Medicine; Silver School of Social Work; and Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. NYU counts 36 Nobel Prize winners, three Abel Prize winners, 10 National Medal of Science recipients, 16 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 30 Academy Award winners.

NYU's sports teams are referred to as the NYU Violets and participate in the NCAA's Division III and the University Athletic Association.