For an undergraduate business degree, is Arizona State University or NYU Shanghai the better choice overall?

The biggest practical tradeoff is scale and U.S. business-school infrastructure at Arizona State versus the international, China-centered experience at NYU Shanghai. ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business is a large, established business school with a broad set of majors, recruiting pipelines, and alumni connections across the U.S. NYU Shanghai gives you the NYU brand and a distinctly global environment, but it is a much smaller campus and not a standalone undergraduate business school in the same way.

For undergraduate business specifically, ASU is the clearer and more developed option. W. P. Carey is well known for business, offers many specialized tracks, and has the kind of on-campus ecosystem students usually want for internships, student organizations, career fairs, and employer access. If your goal is a traditional undergraduate business experience with lots of structured options, ASU has a real advantage.

NYU Shanghai is stronger if what you want is an international academic setting tied to NYU’s global network. That can be appealing for students interested in international business, finance with a cross-border angle, or careers that benefit from China and Asia exposure. But its opportunities are shaped more by being part of NYU’s global system than by having a large, deeply built-out undergraduate business school on its own campus.

Career outcomes depend a lot on where you want to work after college. ASU is better positioned for broad U.S. recruiting and a more conventional path into business internships and entry-level roles. NYU Shanghai can be very compelling for globally mobile students, especially those comfortable navigating different markets and cultures, but it is less straightforward if you want the most standard U.S. business-school pipeline.