Program Structure
The Social Research and Public Policy (SRPP) program at NYU Abu Dhabi aims at inspiring students’ critical theoretical imagination and will help them to make better sense of the world around themselves.
Foundations of Social Science
Students come to NYUAD with a great diversity of backgrounds in terms of their grasp of societal development and globalization, with a vision that is often narrowed by regional foci of high school curricula. Foundations of Social Science (FSS) is designed to broaden and amplify students’ understandings of the world and global processes. Required and elective courses in each of the majors will be able to build on this foundation, thereby fostering intellectual growth. There are four components:
- intellectual traditions in the social sciences
- global development in historical perspective
- quantitative reasoning and numeracy
- gateway courses into the majors
Beyond their role in the programs, FSS courses are open to all students and will deliver high value to any student curious about the development of societies and social thought; the substance and skills students learn in these courses will be applicable across the liberal arts spectrum. They are designed to foster informed world citizenship.
Capstone Project
SRPP majors will produce a piece of original research to meet the Capstone requirement. Student may collect their own data, conduct simulations, or re-analyze available data to make a contribution to the research in the field of their choice. Students will work with a faculty mentor to develop and implement the research design. Students who wish to do fieldwork abroad should develop the project in the spring of junior year and obtain approval from the faculty mentor to collect data during the summer before senior year.
NYUAD’s Institutional Review Board must approve all projects that involve human subjects before data collection begins. Seniors will attend a bi-weekly colloquium, which is moderated by a faculty member and serves as a forum for peer review and feedback on progress with the senior thesis.
Earn Credit Toward Your Master of
Public Administration
NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU's Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service offers a dual-degree program that enables NYUAD Social Science students to earn the Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Public Administration in less time than it would take to complete the programs separately.
NYUAD students who major in Social Research and Public Policy can accelerate progress on the master's degree during their undergraduate studies. How?
- Earn course credits (typically five courses) toward the Wagner MPA.
- Choose to get started on 280 hours of field experience required by Wagner.
Interested students usually apply to Wagner during their junior year at NYUAD, and must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 to be considered.