Program Overview

Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies Students

Urban studies gives students a robust understanding of contemporary cities from various perspectives: social, physical, political, cultural, environmental, and economic. Through a flexible multi-disciplinary curriculum, students use New York City as an urban laboratory. Students become capable of tackling cities’ complex challenges with research training and excellent communication skills.

Our majors assemble a customized mix of urban courses in addition to the core courses that anchor the major. Students can take classes in a diversity of departments, including Africana, Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Anthropology, Geography, History, Sociology, and more. The program also allows students to propose other courses for approval beyond the existing course list, enabling them to build a major that suits their interests and goals.

The Urban Studies program is housed in Hunter’s renowned Urban Policy & Planning department, which also includes highly regarded graduate programs in urban planning and urban policy and leadership. The undergraduate and graduate programs share faculty and facilities and foster interchanges among advanced and beginning students through department-wide events.

Our graduates are sought by a wide range of employers citywide. Urban studies alumni have pursued careers in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in government, non-profit leadership, urban planning, social work, municipal budgeting, advocacy, real estate, economic development, law, business, and journalism.

4 + 1 Master of Science in Urban Policy & Leadership (MSUPL)

Advanced Urban Studies majors with a minimum GPA of 3.6 may apply for a 4 +1 opportunity with the department’s Master in Urban Policy and Leadership (MSUPL, 36 Credits). This option permits students in their senior year to begin graduate study and count up to 12 credits of graduate studies toward their undergraduate degree. Please contact the Program Director for more information.

Urban Studies Program Director, 2025-2026: Owen Gutfreund

Supplemental Opportunities and Resources

Urban Studies students can concurrently pursue an 18-credit undergraduate minor in Public Policy at the historic Roosevelt House. They also have the option to receive a Certificate in Public Policy at Roosevelt House by taking nine additional credits (for a total of 27 credits). Students in the Public Policy programs have an opportunity to interact first-hand with policy experts and practitioners, both in the classroom and outside. Learn more here.

Urban Studies students can apply for the JFEW scholarship, a two-year program allowing qualified candidates to explore public policy and public service careers. Upon acceptance, scholars receive tuition assistance, mentorship, a paid summer internship in New York, a multi-day service trip outside of NYC, dedicated workshops, and invitations to special events at Hunter College.

As students advance, they work with a Methods Coach, another graduate scholar who advises them on qualitative and quantitative research methods as they prepare for their capstones.

Urban Studies Methods Coach, 2025-2026: Miranda Strominger, mstrominger@gradcenter.cuny.edu

All Urban Studies students have access to a Professional Development Mentor, a current student at the CUNY Graduate Center who can advise them on their career goals and facilitate access to professional opportunities.

A website of undergraduate professional development resources can be found here.

MUPTA Website (for Macaulay students)

MUPTA Instagram

Study Abroad Opportunities

Urban Studies students can take advantage of many of Hunter’s study abroad opportunities depending on their interests. Below is a non-exhaustive list:

Preparation for Graduate Training

Urban Studies majors are well-prepared to pursue professional graduate studies in urban planning, law, social work, public administration, architecture and design, and other fields. Students conduct independent research for the program’s capstone, training them for graduate-level thesis projects. Students should discuss their professional goals with the adviser in their junior year to plan their programs accordingly.

Urban Studies Program Learning Outcomes:

After completing this major, students will be able to:

  1. Demonstrate complex analytical and problem-solving capabilities, drawing on multiple disciplines
  2. Demonstrate familiarity with the range and complexity of current urban issues
  3. Clearly explain complex material using multiple formats (written, visual, oral)
  4. Incorporate multiple perspectives, interpretations, and considerations of fairness, equity, and justice into problem-solving

Departmental Honors Eligibility Criteria

Overall GPA: 3.5 and above. Major GPA: 3.7 and above.

Career Resources for Urban Studies Majors

We mentor our students as they rise through the program. We have also developed a website to help our majors navigate job seeking with an Urban Studies degree.

Curriculum/Course Requirements

The Urban Studies major consists of components A, B, and C as listed below. All URBS courses also fulfill the Hunter General Education Requirement (GER), as follows:

  • URBS 101, and 201 meet writing requirement and fulfill GER 2B
  • URBS 310, 402, 403 and 409 fulfill GER 3BC

Courses not listed may be selected with special permission of the urban studies program adviser.

  • URBS 10100 Urban Life: Personal and Observational View
  • HUM 20100- Arts in New York City/Exploration in the Arts

And any two of the following basic urban-content courses:

  • AFPRL 10200 – Latino Communities in the U.S.
  • AFPRL 20500 – African American Politics of Social Change
  • EDU 25000 – Diversity and Equity in Education
  • GEOG 24100 – Population Geography
  • GEOG 24300 – Urban Geography
  • JS 21500 – Mapping Jewish New York
  • POLSC 21200 – Urban Politics
  • SOC 21100 – Urban Sociology
  • SOC 21700 – Race and Ethnicity
  • SOC 21800 – Social Inequality
  • SOC 24100 – Social Statistics

  • URBS 20100 Metropolitan Landscapes
  • URBS 31000 Research Methods and Policy Analysis
  • URBS 40200 – Urban Studies Capstone/Studio (should be taken in final semester)

Any three of the following upper-level electives:

  • AFPRL 32100 – Caribbean Migration and NYC
  • AFPRL 38400 – Poverty in Society
  • ANTHC 30251 – Space, Place and Culture: NYC
  • ANTHC 30252 – Space and Place
  • ANTHC 31300 – Race, Culture, and Power
  • ANTHC 32000 – Urban Archaeology
  • ARTH 35100 – New York City Architecture
  • ECON 33000 – Economic Development
  • GEOG 32800 – Urban Environmental Problems
  • GEOG 35700 – Geography of NYC and Vicinity
  • GEOG 37000 – Sustainable Development
  • GEOG 38300 – Environmental Economics
  • HIST 31700 – History of the American City
  • HIST 3412L – Civil Rights, Hip-Hop and Racial Justice
  • HIST 35300 – History of New York City
  • HIST 35900 – Immigration and Ethnicity
  • NFS 36100 – Food Policy
  • PH 30100 – Community and Public Health
  • SOC 31900 – Criminology
  • SOC 32500 – Criminal Justice and Public Policy
  • SW 37000 – Community Organizing Internship
  • URBS 40900 – Urban Studies Internship
  • URBS 403xx – Special Topics in Urban Studies