How do undergraduate class sizes compare at NYU and Santa Clara University?

Santa Clara University is more likely to provide the smaller, discussion-based undergraduate classroom experience you describe. Its undergraduate population is far smaller than NYU’s, and many Santa Clara courses, particularly outside large introductory sequences, are built around closer faculty-student interaction. NYU has excellent professors and small seminars too, but its larger scale means the experience varies much more by school, major, and course level.

At Santa Clara, the university’s Jesuit, undergraduate-centered structure tends to make access to professors more routine. Students commonly encounter smaller sections in humanities, social sciences, and upper-division major courses, and faculty advising, office hours, and research relationships can begin relatively early. Introductory STEM, business, and economics courses can still be sizable, so no college-wide promise of tiny classes applies.

At NYU, large lecture courses are more common in high-demand introductory subjects, especially within the College of Arts and Science, Stern, and other large undergraduate divisions. Recitations, labs, and discussion sections can make those courses feel more personal, while advanced electives and seminars may be quite small. NYU’s New York City setting also creates access to working professionals and specialized courses, but professors and classmates can feel less immediately accessible in a large, decentralized university.

For a student whose priority is consistent small-class interaction rather than the breadth and scale of a major urban research university, Santa Clara has the clearer structural advantage. Before deciding, compare the course schedules for your intended major and look specifically at first-year requirements, since those classes will shape your earliest experience most.