Major/Minor Requirements
The Urban Studies Program consists of courses selected from the offerings in various academic departments such as political science, history, sociology, architectural studies, social work, and African-American and Latino studies.
MAJORS:
Students majoring in Urban Studies are required to complete eight courses in the department, four of which are requirements. The following four categories of courses are required of all majors:
1. Introduction to Urban Studies Requirement
One of the following courses:
Historical Change: Urban Perspective (HIST 1950)
Urbanism (VART 1101)
Urban Politics (POSC 2102)
Urban Sociology (SOCI 3602)
Urban Community Development (SOCI 2610)
2. Urban Studies Internship
One-semester internships for credit are offered in Political Science, Sociology, African-American Studies, Social Work, and Architecture. Students may chose to work as tutors, youth leaders, specialists in housing, urban and economic development, as well as counselors and advocates or they may work in architecture and planning firms.
Sample Internships:
Urban Studies Internship (URST 4800)
New York City Internship (POSC 3120)
Environmental Internship (ENVP 4900)
Sociology Internship (SOCI 4900)
Sociology Internship: Community Organizations (SOCI 4902)
Urban Studies Internship (URST 4800), Environmental Internship (ENVP 4900), or Tutorial Course (4999)
If you enroll in one of these courses, you should meet at the start of the semester with the instructor during office hours to discuss the community service project, organization, government agency, business, or other work project (involving at least 40 hrs of work) you wish to intern with, and arrange for the internship on your own. You should also discuss with the instructor relevant readings and the 15-20 page paper due at the end of the semester, on the basis of which a grade will be assigned for the course. You are not required to meet regularly with the instructor, but the instructor is available during weekly office hrs to discuss your internship work and paper. You can do your internship in the summer, and then enroll in an internship tutorial course in the fall semester and write your paper. In most cases, it is recommended that your paper be divided into five sections.
1. (A) A description of the institution where you worked, their mission and function, and ongoing projects at the moment. This can include some historical background on the institution and reference to internal documents describing its purposes and long-range goals. You may also want to interview your employer briefly to help with this. (B) A description of the work that you did, or the project(s) with which you were involved, and results. You may want to include some samples in the main text, or in appendices (see below); graphics are also good, as are links to relevant web pages if any.
2. Your evaluation of the significance of both the institution's work (1A) and your particular work (1B) for urban studies and policy, including what needs to be done next, any changes that should be made, etc. This part can draw upon and integrate previous course work in the urban studies program.
3. A broader evaluative context. This is the part in which you would say something about what your work, and the institution's broader goals, meant to you, and how it affected your understanding of urban studies and policy, as well as your personal priorities for future study and career development. Also, what should be the future mission of the kind of institution in which you worked; are there related organizations that need to be developed to address new problems or issues?
4. A bibliography (if relevant).
5. Appendices (if relevant): For example, you could attach documents from the institution, samples of any written work that you did during the internship, etc. You could also attach a letter or review from a supervisor, if this was provided to you.
The paper should be written as a professional work that you could use as a writing sample for application to graduate school or show a future employer as part of your dossier. It could even consist in part of a PowerPoint presentation if you wished to develop one.
3. Research Methods
As preparation for research in the Urban Studies Seminar, majors are required to take SORU 2690, Urban Research Methods, but may substitute a research skills course directly connected to their particular program of study with the permission of the Director.
Sample Research Methods Courses:
Urban Research methods (SOCI 2690)
Methods of Social Research (SOCI 2850)
4. Senior Thesis Seminar
This Urban Studies Research Seminar (URST 4980), required of all Urban Studies majors in the second half of the senior year, allows students to complete the required senior thesis in their area of interest or concentration. The Senior Thesis may also be completed as a tutorial (URST 4999) with any of the participating faculty in Urban Studies.The research project is designed in conjunction with the instructor and may be an individual effort or a group endeavor. Formal presentation of the research findings is required for completion of the seminar.
Urban Studies majors are free to choose the remaining 4 courses according to their interests and career goals from electives offered by the department.
MINORS:
Students minoring in Urban Studies are required to complete six courses in the department, including the following three requirements:
1. Introduction to Urban Studies
2. Urban Studies Internship
3. Research Methods
Minors are free to choose the remaining three courses according to their interests and career goals from electives offered by the department.
