267 responses · 18 NYU schools · Spring 2026
Students are ready for Public Interest Technology.
Here’s our opportunity to build pathways for engagement and impact.
This dashboard captures student aspirations on Public Interest Technology and identifies opportunities to build stronger pathways for learning, collaboration, and impact across NYU.
267
Respondents across 18 NYU schools
69.3%
Want to stay informed once they learn PIT exists
112
Already have a project to showcase or want a focus group
63.3%
don’t know PIT courses exist
Each figure represents roughly 1 in 9 of the 267 students surveyed.
Aware of PIT courses (36.3%)
Not sure (15.4%)
Unaware (48.3%)
Interest is already outpacing awareness — a strong signal for how much bigger this could grow with more visibility and faculty involvement.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The four things to know before you scroll
These are the headlines — proof that demand for PIT already exists at real scale across NYU. The full dashboard shows just how much room there is to grow it.
Interest
55.1%
The most popular answer: Interdisciplinary Student Projects. It’s the single activity type students are most “very interested” in.
Fields
64.8%
The most popular field: Data & AI for Social Impact, the single highest-interest number in the whole survey.
Topics
56.2%
The most popular topic: Social Media & Misinformation, named by over half of students.
Careers
57.3%
The most popular career path: Nonprofit / Social Impact Orgs, though Private Sector and Entrepreneurship follow closely.
01 · WHO RESPONDED
A university-wide sample
267 students across 18 schools, spanning undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Interest in PIT extends across disciplines, demonstrating an opportunity to connect students from diverse academic backgrounds around shared public challenges.
What degree level are they in?
What year are they in?
02 · WHAT THEY WANT
Applied experiences are a powerful entry point to Public Interest Technology
Students are most energized by hands-on PIT experiences, including interdisciplinary projects, workshops, and community-based work.
Key Insights: Interdisciplinary projects, community-based work, and workshops each attract 50-55% “very interested” responses — nearly twice the 25.8% who expressed the same interest in enrolling in a PIT-related course. These findings suggest that applied experiences can serve as an entry point for students to discover PIT, while faculty partnerships can help translate that interest into deeper coursework and sustained engagement.
03 · FIELDS & TOPICS
Where student interest concentrates
Data & AI for Social Impact leads student interest, with misinformation and AI in education/healthcare emerging as top areas for future programming.
Which broad fields interest them?
Which specific topics interest them?
04 · CAREER PATHWAYS
Interest in PIT careers extends beyond private-sector pathways
Nonprofit, private-sector CSR, and public-sector pathways all attract comparable interest, showing that students see PIT as a way to create impact across sectors.
05 · THE AWARENESS GAP
Over 50 PIT courses across NYU: a growing foundation for student learning
58 courses already exist across 15 schools — faculty across NYU are already building PIT-related learning opportunities. Now we have an opportunity to connect those offerings with students who are looking for them.
Do they know PIT-relevant courses exist?
Most-named courses, by mentions
| Course | School | Mentions |
|---|
06 · CROSS-SCHOOL REACH
Interdisciplinary interest, by school
Share of respondents “very interested” in interdisciplinary projects — identifying where cross-school collaboration can grow.
07 · STUDENT VOICES
What would make them get involved
230 students answered in their own words, coded into 11 themes — hands-on activities and greater visibility lead the list, giving a clear, student-sourced blueprint for what expanded programming should prioritize.
Coded into 11 themes by the team
Independent word-frequency read of the same 259 open-text answers, not tied to the coded themes above
08 · READY TO ENGAGE
A community that’s already building
20 students already have a project to showcase; 92 volunteered for a focus group. This is existing momentum to build on — creating opportunities to connect students with faculty, resources, and the broader PIT ecosystem.
“Would you like to stay informed about future PIT opportunities?”
“How did you hear about this survey?”