Liberal arts education in transnational higher education: a comparative study of New York University and its international campuses

Recent decades have seen rapid increases in the number of international campuses and student enrolments at these campuses. While research has indicated that international campuses often struggle to resolve the tension between global integration and local responsiveness, there is currently only a limited understanding of how these campuses navigate and address this tension in their curriculum operations. Combining document and interview data, this study compared the liberal arts curricula of two international campuses of New York University and explored the factors associated with differences in the curricula. The curriculum design is similar in that it places liberal arts at the core, but there are slight variations in the proportion and implementation of the liberal arts curriculum. Our analysis showed that international learning, the quality assurance system of the host country, and local relevance combine to shape the curriculum design. We further highlighted the importance of governance structures and internal organisational structures in the running of international campuses.