The BA in Urban Studies
As of fall 2020, students declaring the major in Urban Studies must take 34–47 credits, including Senior Seminars I and II. Students who have declared the major in Urban Studies before fall 2020 but wish to follow the current curriculum can consult their
Student Success advisor about submitting a Change-of-Catalog-Year request.
Students must earn a grade of B or better in the introductory courses to declare the major and a C or higher in all courses to meet the requirements. Only specific courses satisfy the Urban Studies major requirements, including electives. See the university
course catalog for fall 2025 Urban Studies courses that fulfill these requirements. Not all courses are offered
each semester. Track your progress using the program worksheet (below).
Note for Lang Students: In addition to the requirements outlined in this program worksheet, Lang has general requirements, including a minimum number of credits in liberal arts courses as well as college residency requirements. All Lang students should read Lang’s General Degree Requirements and consult both their Student Success advisor and the Departmental Faculty Advisor of Urban Studies each semester to ensure they are on track to graduate. Lang students should declare their major by following the process outlined in Declaring a Major (Lang Students) and consult our 4-Year Lang Career Pathways Map (PDF) for helpful steps and resources
to link your academic journey to your future plans.
All students: To be sure their Degree Works account reflects the same information in this worksheet, students should forward any approved exceptions of the following requirements to their Student Success advisor.
Bachelor’s-Master’s Program
Undergraduates in the BA-MA program can earn up to 18 credits (depending on the master's program) in New School master's courses and apply those graduate credits to both their BA and their MA. Submission of the Bachelor’s-Master’s application is required
(members of the direct entry cohort do not have to submit an application but do have to declare the Bachelor's-Master's combination they wish to pursue). Students should consult their departmental faculty advisor and their Student Success advisor
if they are pursuing a BA-MA, including those offered in Urban Studies:
- BA Urban Studies—MS Environmental Policy and Sustainability Management
- BA Urban Studies—MS Public and Urban Policy
Requirements for the BA in Urban Studies
Choose 1 of the following introductory courses (3 credits):
- UURB 2100 Urban Worlds: Social Justice and the Lived City (spring)
- ULEC 2620 Urban Worlds: Social Justice and the Lived City (fall)
Other required courses (27–36 credits):
- Nine Urban Studies electives. Of these, one must be at the 2000 level, four must be at the 3000 level, and two must be at the 4000 level. In addition, one must be a non-Western/comparative course at any level. Elective course offerings vary from semester to semester and may include courses with other prefixes. Please consult the departmental faculty advisor for a complete course listing. These nine electives must be distributed as follows:
- 1 Urban Methods elective (3–4 credits). Varies by semester. Examples include UURB 3210 Spatial Thinking with GIS, URRB 3112 Ethnographic Writing Workshop, LLSJ 3505 Visualizing Data, LMTH 2030 Statistics with SPSS, UURB 3506 Urban Photography,
UURB 3505 Urban Community Lab, LCOD 2012 Code Toolkit: Python, and LMTH 2025 Statistics for Social Scientists.
- 1 NYC Experiential Learning elective (3–4 credits). Varies by semester. Examples include UURB 3505 Urban Community Lab and UURB 2503 Urban Homelessness.
- 1 UURB 2000-level elective (3–4 credits). Varies by semester. Examples include UURB 2411 Urban Planning, Design, and Social Justice, UURB 2056 Immigrant New York, and UURB 2503 Urban Homelessness.
- 4 UURB 3000-level electives (total 12–16 credits). Varies by semester. Examples include UURB 3112 Ethnographic Writing Workshop, UURB 3210 Spatial Thinking with GIS, UURB 3505 Urban Community Lab, UURB 3506 Urban Photography, UURB 3610 Gentrification
Through Media, UURB Urban Choreography: Bodies and Cities in Motion, and UURB 3001 Planning Sustainable Cities
- 2 UURB 4000-level electives (total 6-8 credits). Varies by semester. Examples include UURB 4191 Urban Century, UURB 4521 Political Economy of the City, UURB 4139 Smart Cities and Urban Values, UURB 4514 Housing Policy, UURB 4005 Reparative
Planning, and UURB 4001 Cities and Migration.
Senior Capstone (4–8 credits). Senior Seminars can be taken for 1 to 4 credits, depending on the nature and extent of the senior capstone project. A minimum of 4 credits combined must be allocated to the two courses together.
- UURB 4900 Senior Thesis, fall (1–4 credits)
- UURB 4901 Senior Thesis, spring (1–4 credits)
Total credits: 34–47