Admitted Students

If you’ve been offered admission as a first-year student to NYU, you may request to defer your enrollment for one full year. If your request is approved, you do not have to file a new application and are guaranteed readmission for the following year.

Students admitted from the waitlist or as transfers cannot defer their enrollment. If you fall into one of those categories and cannot enroll for the upcoming semester, you will need to re-apply for admission.

For more information about deferment, visit the NYU-Undergraduate Admissions website.

Admitted students are invited to participate in NYU's Weekend on the Square. Students admitted to the Clive Davis Institute who attend this event are given the opportunity to visit our department at the Brooklyn Campus and meet with faculty, staff, and current students to learn more about the program and tour the facilities.

Outside of this event, we regularly offer a departmental information session/tour, both in-person and virtually, which you can sign up for here.

Yes! By the time you join us for orientation in August, you will have also been assigned a full-time faculty academic advisor. However, you will not need to meet or speak with them until that time. In the meantime, our Student Services Administrator will help you with everything you need to get set for the fall.

All new students are assigned a registration appointment time. This usually happens in the second or third week of June. You will receive multiple emails and communications from the department and NYU informing you when your registration appointment time is.

Meet Albert

Albert is NYU’s student registration system. It’s best to get some help in learning how to use it. Here’s a helpful link to learn more. Once you learn your way around Albert, you will find some holds on your account, one may be an advisor registration hold. Don’t worry, you will be cleared en masse the day of registration so that you’re able to register for classes. 

If you are coming to us with any Advanced Standing credits, please make sure they are sent to NYU. It might even be a good idea to keep a copy of the official transcript yourself. No advanced standing credit for first-year students will be reviewed or awarded until after completion of your first year.

If you plan to live on campus, you’ll be prompted to submit your required housing reservation and online housing application once you accept your offer of admission and submit your tuition deposit.

For additional questions, you should reach out to the NYU Residential and Housing Services office.

Incoming CDI students should purchase if they do not already own:

A HIGH-QUALITY SET OF WIRED, CLOSED OVER-THE-EAR HEADPHONES

These will be used throughout your four years of studio coursework. These headphones must either terminate with a 1/4" stereo plug or have the appropriate adapter to interface with 1/4" stereo jacks. Headphones are required in all classes meeting in CDI’s computer labs (including music theory and DAW classes).

Recommendations include: 

• Audio Technica ATH M50x

• Beyer DT770 (80 Ohm version)

• Sennheiser PX100

• Sennheiser HD280Pro

• Beyerdynamic DT250, DT150 or DT770

• Pro Sony MDR-7506

• Sony MDR-Digital (red) 

• Status CB-1

A PORTABLE DRIVE 

Students’ audio hard drives should be:

• Solid-State (less prone to physical failure) or 7200 RPM Hard-Drive (no slower, as it is no good for audio)

• Have a USB 3.0 port (or higher)

• Most bus-powered drives (no external power supply) should be fine.

Recommended brands: Avastor, G-technology, Glyph, LaCie, Other World Computing (OWC)  Seagate, Samsung, SanDisk, Western Digital (WD).

OPTIONAL PURCHASES:

A COMPUTER! 

Students will have ample access to the department’s production facilities, which include five edit suites, six recording studios and two computer labs, to complete all course assignments. Additionally, NYU has computer labs where students can complete coursework. However, if you wish to bring your own personal computer system, the department recommends the following:

• Any Apple Mac laptop or desktop system. Keep in mind more RAM increases overall system performance as well as Digital Audio Workstation performance, a minimum of 16 GB of RAM is recommended. The NYU Computer Store also offers computers at reduced educational prices (212-998-4672)  The NYU Computer Store also has a computer purchasing program offering students the opportunity to receive a no-interest computer loan for up to $3,000 with deposit. The program is sponsored by NYU and allows you to defer payment of your computer purchase and be billed in two equal installments on your bursar's bill.  The student deferment program is open to enrolled students prior to the Fall and Spring semesters of each academic year. Information is on the bookstore’s website.

AN AUDIO INTERFACE

A one- or two-input audio interface (Focusrite Scarlett Solo or 2i2 are affordable units) is recommended, but not required. Interfaces provide monitoring capabilities, built-in microphone pre-amp, and direct input for electric guitars and electronic instruments. It is possible to listen to the output of audio software without an interface, however, the interface’s input options make recording much more flexible and easy.

Students interested in Ableton Live, Avid Pro Tools, Avid Sibelius or audio plug-ins are advised to consult the manufacturers’ websites for information on educational/student pricing. (Apple typically does not offer special pricing on Logic.)