Urban Studies

Taught by experienced, dynamic faculty, the Urban Studies Program offers an intellectually rigorous foundation in the disciplines that focus on contemporary city life, urban culture, and urbanization, with emphasis on equality, diversity, inclusion, environmental sustainability and social justice. Through the lenses of history and literature, sociology and anthropology, political science and economics, psychology and environmental science, students explore the foundations, structures, and character of cities while considering their future development. The theoretical frameworks, conceptual tools, and research methods the Program instills provide a solid background for careers in urban policy, government, law, civil/public service and administration, real estate, journalism, community organizing, and regional or urban planning.

Using New York City as its laboratory, the Program guides students in navigating urban systems such as housing, transportation, health care, and education. As they investigate municipal structures and local communities, students develop analytical and practical skills and perspectives on urban development. Moreover, Urban Studies majors perform fieldwork in urban communities and the organizations serving them first-hand, allowing students to preview socially and environmentally relevant careers they can pursue upon transfer to a baccalaureate program.

Urban Studies is integral in the contemporary global context. By applying interdisciplinary analysis and research skills to the long-term vision of social change, economic development, and environmental sustainability, students learn to view cities as living organisms that have wide-ranging impacts not only on urban residents, but also the population of the world and international markets, movements, and trends. This broad perspective informs the deep, nuanced understanding of modern cities and strategic, critical thinking that Urban Studies graduates carry into further higher education and both public and private sector professions.

The Urban Studies Program empowers students to explore and understand the government, economics, services, and lived experiences of urban communities. Working individually and in teams, students engage with interdisciplinary concepts and practices of urban planning, social research, social justice, and the built environment. Students gain and create knowledge about how cities work so they can improve them.

To promote career readiness within the curriculum, the Program implements course design and experiences that promote and incorporate the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) Career Competencies:

• Critical Thinking/Problem Solving
• Oral/Written Communication
• Teamwork/Collaboration
• Digital Technology
• Leadership
• Professionalism/Work Ethic
• Career Management
• Global/Intercultural Fluency

Upon successful completion of the Urban Studies program, students will be able to:

• Connect everyday urban experiences to theoretical perspectives/frameworks/lenses and research about cities;
• Conduct quantitative, qualitative, and secondary source research to investigate urban problems using various sources (e.g. planning documents, maps, census data, journals, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, photography, interviews, surveys);
• Identify significant occurrences in urban history and explain their relevance to modern cities;
• Analyze how political structures, policy development, and governance processes operate in cities;
• Evaluate how multiple stakeholders (individuals/communities/institutions/government agencies) are affected by a particular issue and understand their perspectives; and
• Examine, analyze, and engage the interdependence of critical urban social, economic, and environmental issues, with an emphasis on urban social justice.