New York University Shanghai has denied that the extension of its application deadline for the 2013 school year is due to insufficient candidates.

NYU Shanghai is the first institution of higher education jointly established by China and the United States. It was officially founded last month, and on Monday it announced its enrollment plan.

According to the plan, NYU Shanghai will welcome its first 300 students next year from across the world. Among them, 151 will be from the Chinese mainland.

The first 151 students will come from the country's 10 provinces and municipalities, including the Yangtze River delta region, Beijing, Sichuan, Henan and Shandong provinces, it said.

So far, the deadline for Chinese mainland students has been extended from Jan 1, to Jan 15, 2013, sparking rumors that the school might fear they will not receive enough applicants by Jan 1.

The school claims the extension is to offer students more time, the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post reported on Tuesday.

According to NYU Shanghai, the university will comprehensively assess each applicant, and Chinese mainland students will also be required to summit the scores of their national college entrance exams.