Overview
The Urban Studies minor is offered through the Schools of Public Engagement.
The Urban Studies minor provides a foundational interdisciplinary understanding of urbanism and the social, spatial, material, ecological, political, and institutional conditions that shape cities and metropolitan regions. With experiential learning
as a key component, the minor provides a strong foundation for students' engagement with the city, whether as citizens, scholars, artists, designers, architects, bloggers, activists, journalists, educators, curators, or other actors with a stake in
the urban.
By successfully completing this minor, a student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a theoretical understanding of cities as generators of economic, social, and cultural vitality as well as landscapes transformed by human planning and design
- Distinguish between varied urban concepts, practices, and research methods that emerge from different disciplines, interests, ideologies, and traditions
- Employ spatial thinking and conceptualize the metropolis at a variety of scales — from street-level exchanges to regional systems to global networks and flows
- Apply critical analysis to primary sources such as maps, planning documents, agency reports, interviews, observations, literary texts, photographs, films, data sets, architectural plans, and buildings
- Recognize cities as sites of contestation and engagement over governance, rights, citizenship, and social justice
Curriculum
Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.
| Subject Area | Sample Courses | Credits |
|---|
| 1 Fundamentals Course |
UURB 2100: Urban Worlds
ULEC 2620: Urban Worlds
| 3 |
| 1 NYC Experiential Learning Elective | COURSES*
UURB 3010: Sensing the City
UURB 3301: City in Motion
UURB 3601: Urban Journalism
UURB 3610: Gentrification and the Media
| 3-4 |
| 3 UURB Electives** | COURSES*
UURB 3111: Freedom Cities: Black Geographies and Social Activism
UURB 2411: Urban Planning, Design, and Social Justice
UURB 3010: Sensing the City
UURB 3112: Ethnographic Writing Workshop
UURB 3210: Spatial Thinking with GIS
UURB 3400: Culture Cities
UURB 3601: Urban Journalism
UURB 3610: Gentrification and the Media
UURB 3629: The Suburbs: Divided We Sprawl
UURB 3xxx: Pandemics of Harlem
UURB 4521: Political Economy of the City
UURB 4524: African Cities
| 9-12 |
| TOTAL | | 15-19 |
*This is just a partial listing, as elective course offerings vary from semester to semester and may include courses with other prefixes. Please consult Urban Studies Course Bulletin for a complete course listing.
**At least two elective courses must be at the 3000 level or higher.
Eligibility
Students must earn a grade of C or higher in all courses taken to fulfill the minor.
The Urban Studies minor is available to undergraduate students across The New School, with the exception of students enrolled in the BA in Urban Studies.
Please meet with your Student Success advisor to discuss how a minor will fit in with your overall degree requirements. If you have additional questions about requirements for the Urban Studies minor that cannot be answered by your Student Success advisor,
please consult:
Advisor for Urban Studies
Joseph Heathcott
[email protected]
Academic Advisor for Global, Environmental, and Urban Studies
Christina McElderry
64 West 11th Street, room 120
[email protected]
646.909.2260
How to Declare or Change a Minor
General guidelines for declaring a minor are available here. Current students can declare or change a minor by logging in to my.newschool.edu, clicking on the Academics tab,
and then clicking on the link to Major/Minor Declarations.