Metropolitan Studies (BA)

Department Website

Program Description

The interdisciplinary program in metropolitan studies, housed in the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (SCA), studies urban spaces in relation to the rural and suburban contexts that help to define them. With the New York metropolitan area as their laboratory, students use course work, internships, and research investigations to examine how social institutions and policy initiatives address demographic concerns and matters of infrastructure. Studying with faculty and scholars active in government, community, and nonprofit agencies, students develop a critical understanding of the way cities, suburbs, and rural areas are produced, as well as key problems they experience in tension with each other.

An accelerated B.A./M.P.A. and B.A./M.U.P. arrangement exists with NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. For more information, see the section on preprofessional, accelerated, and specialized programs in this Bulletin.

Language and Linguistic Competency

The type of rigorous intercultural study promoted within the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis requires students to recognize the complex modes of communication at work both within and across different social groups. The department therefore strongly encourages its students to develop advanced skills in language and linguistics by any of the following means: taking elective courses in sociolinguistics; studying a language other than English beyond the minimum level required by the College of Arts and Science; studying languages especially germane to the department’s fields of study; pursuing community-based internship fieldwork necessitating the development and use of specific language skills; or undertaking study or research away in contexts entailing the exercise of key language or linguistic capabilities.

Honors Program

Majors who have completed 48 credits of graded work in CAS and have a 3.65 GPA or higher (both overall and in the major) are encouraged to register for SCA-UA 92 Senior Honors Seminar in the fall semester of their senior year. Upon successful completion of the seminar requirement, students will be eligible to register for SCA-UA 93 Senior Honors Thesis in the spring. Information about the honors program can be found at as.nyu.edu/sca.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU.  For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply. 

Program Requirements

The major requires nine 4-credit courses (36 credits) completed with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count) as outlined below.

Course List

Course	Title	Credits
General Education Requirements
First-Year Seminar		4
EXPOS-UA 1	Writing as Inquiry	4
Foreign Language 1		16
Quantitative Reasoning		4
Physical Science		4
Life Science		4
Texts and Ideas		4
Cultures and Contexts		4
Expressive Culture		4
Major Requirements
SCA-UA 101	Social and Cultural Analysis 101	4
SCA-UA 601	Approaches to Metropolitan Studies	4
Select six designated metropolitan studies electives, of which four must be taught by SCA faculty 2		24
SCA-UA 90	Advanced Research Seminar	4
Electives
Other Elective Credits		44
Total Credits		128

¹

The foreign language requirement is satisfied upon successful completion through the Intermediate level of a language. This may be accomplished in fewer than 16 credits, but those credits must then be completed as elective credit.

Sample Plan of Study

Plan of Study Grid

1st Semester/Term		Credits
SCA-UA 601	Approaches to Metropolitan Studies	4
Foreign Language I		4
Texts and Ideas		4
First-Year Seminar		4
	Credits	16
2nd Semester/Term
SCA-UA 101	Social and Cultural Analysis 101	4
Foreign Language II		4
Cultures and Contexts		4
EXPOS-UA 1	Writing as Inquiry	4
	Credits	16
3rd Semester/Term
Major Elective (#1 of 6) 1		4
Foreign Language III		4
Quantitative Reasoning		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
4th Semester/Term
Major Elective (#2 of 6)		4
Foreign Language IV		4
Expressive Culture		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
5th Semester/Term
Major Elective (#3 of 6)		4
Physical Science		4
Other Elective Credits		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
6th Semester/Term
Major Elective (#4 of 6)		4
Major Elective (#5 of 6)		4
Life Science		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
7th Semester/Term
Major Elective (#6 of 6)		4
Other Elective Credits		4
Other Elective Credits		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
8th Semester/Term
SCA-UA 90	Advanced Research Seminar	4
Other Elective Credits		4
Other Elective Credits		4
Other Elective Credits		4
	Credits	16
	Total Credits	128

¹

All chosen from designated Metropolitan Studies Electives; of the six courses, four must be taught by SCA faculty.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have developed:

1. Critical thinking tools for the analysis of social, cultural, and political formations.
2. Familiarity with theories for the study of race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, space, and nation.
3. Proficiency in written and oral communication.
4. The ability to produce original research on topics relevant to the major using textual/literary, archival, ethnographic, and/or quantitative research methods.
5. Engagement and familiarity with primary texts in Metropolitan Studies.

Policies

Program Policies

Double Counting of Courses

Majors

Majors may share (double count) two courses with a second major, with permission from the other department/program.

Minors

Minors may share (double count) one course with a major or a second minor, with permission from the other department/program.

NYU Policies

University-wide policies can be found on the New York University Policy pages.

College of Arts and Science Policies

A full list of relevant academic policies can be found on the CAS Academic Policies page.