Metropolitan Studies (BA)

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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 points 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 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 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.