Financial Aid
Student financial aid is fully applicable to the cost of J-Term courses abroad.
J-Term
J-Term courses are designed as 10-day, highly immersive learning experiences during January. Intellectually linked to their locations, the courses take advantage of local resources, explore the history, culture, economy, and society of the host communities, and involve collaborative activities with local students and experts.
J-Term Courses Count in the Core Curriculum
All J-Term courses count in the NYUAD undergraduate curriculum within the Core Program as “J-Term Core Field Colloquia.” Students must take two J-Term courses over four years, one course in Abu Dhabi and one course abroad.
J-Term courses explore timeless and timely questions about human experience and the world around us in relation to some of the most pressing challenges global society faces today.
How can research be applied towards more inclusive education in Zambia?
How might we envision a world free of plastic?
Where does a commitment to religious pluralism intersect with the law?
In 2026, 1,096 students were enrolled in 84 J-Term courses across 19 countries.
Documenting the Environmental Crisis
Transnational Cities, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Paris
Ribbons of Blue: Urbanization on the Coastal Fringe
The Science of Colors
Democracy in Britain: Crisis and Change in Modern Politics
Knowledge Mobilization: Bridging Science, Policy, and Practice in Zambia
Disability and Development
During J-Term, the World Is Your Classroom
J-Term courses invite our students to look up from their books and articles to enter into meaning-making with the dynamic text of the real world.
Courses taught in Abu Dhabi use the UAE as a “real-world text” for the class. Courses taught abroad are based in NYU’s distinctive Global Network of program sites, or fully taught in countries outside of the Global Network - such as Bangladesh, Greece, India, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, and Thailand.
Ribbons of Blue: Urbanization on the Coastal Fringe
Professor John Burt’s course took students to Belize to gain an interdisciplinary understanding of the balance required between urban growth, economic development, and environmental sustainability.
Using GIS and remote sensing, students collect data from the local environment to further their knowledge.
Politics of Heritage in the Arabian Peninsula
This course, taught by Professor Nathalie Peutz, immersed students in Socotra’s rich cultural landscape to examine the politics of heritage and preservation.
By living among the people of Socotra and exploring anthropological scholarship in the wider MENA region, students gained a nuanced understanding of the politics of heritage, collective memory, and its role in shaping a nation’s identity and ‘past.’
Disability, Technology, and Media
Drawing on disability arts and law, Professor Mara Mills’s course encouraged students to investigate how media and technology shape the experience of disability across cultures.
Students were then further challenged to apply their learning in the community by completing 12 hours of fieldwork to help the Zayed National Museum make their exhibitions accessible.
World-Renowned Faculty Teach at NYUAD’s J-Term
Courses are taught by renowned scholars, writers, artists, journalists, and policy analysts, who teach only during the J-Term, as well as distinguished professors from NYU, NYUAD, and other leading universities.
Although the J-Term is short, the intensity of shared experience between professors and students tends to foster an unusually strong bond that lasts long after J-Term ends.
The Possibilities Are Endless with J-Term
Taking a single course during J-Term gives students more time for concentrated reflection on a dedicated topic, allowing them to broaden their worldview, discover new ways of seeing, and produce work in a wide range of genres from spoken word poetry and dance to policy briefs.
These courses leave a deep impression on students, impacting their academic journeys at NYUAD and beyond.
The city of Istanbul was a living syllabus, and its ferries, mosques, alleyways, restaurants, and musicians all contributed to the course in ways no reading could.
This experience taught me that education is deeply connected to culture, society, and opportunity. Studying fairness in university applications while in India allowed me to see how structural factors actually affect access to education. The contrast between what seemed fair in theory and what I observed in practice made me more aware of how inequality shapes people's lives.
This was one of the most impactful courses I’ve taken at NYUAD. It made me think, reflect, and critique so many decisions we make as individuals, as communities, and on a global scale. I’m leaving this course with a deeper awareness as a computer science student, and with a more thoughtful understanding of how I engage with technology and the world around me.
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