Department Website
Program Description
Urban studies is an established and interdisciplinary area of inquiry—focusing on cities and their regions, urban social life, cultures, the built and natural environment, economics, politics, and policy—that is strengthened when students are strongly grounded in a traditional academic discipline. It is also an area of inquiry that has traditionally privileged dynamics of class, inequality, and labor. Social and cultural analysis, meanwhile, provides a rigorous framework for thinking about questions of difference along the lines of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and indigeneity. The joint major in Urban Studies and Social and Cultural Analysis introduces students to the study of cities and metropolitan areas as complex sites of difference viewed through the lenses of feminist and postcolonial theory as well as of critical race and ethnic studies.
The major takes full advantage of NYU’s location and builds on the University’s long-standing relationships with key urban institutions, both public and private, ranging from planning agencies to urban arts and culture institutions.
This program of study trains students in geographic information systems (GIS), a powerful mapping tool that many will find useful in their future careers. The major prepares students for careers in urban policy and planning; community organization and advocacy; civic affairs; urban arts and culture; immigration policy and racial/social justice; housing and real estate; scholarly research in urban humanities and social science; and careers in teaching and academia.
Students should consult with advisers in both the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis and the Program in Urban Studies.
Honors Program
This major program of study does not currently offer an honors track.
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 joint major requires twelve 4-credit courses (48 credits) completed with a grade of C or better (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count). It comprises six courses in urban studies (24 credits; students must take crosslisted courses under the URBS-UA rubric) and six in social and cultural analysis (24 credits) as outlined below. All major electives must be chosen from a list of approved courses and/or in consultation with a major adviser.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have acquired:
- Broad knowledge of the development of cities and metropolitan areas in the contexts of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and indigeneity.
- Familiarity with the diversity of social scientific and humanistic theories that inform urban research.
- An understanding of the relationship of urban life to racial and ethnic identity as well as to gender and sexuality—all topics central to both social and cultural analysis and the study of the city.
- The ability to conduct research on urban topics using the methodological tools of social and cultural analysis.
Policies
Program Policies
Double Counting of Courses
Majors may share (double count) two courses with a second major (or a minor), with permission from the other department/program.
Restrictions on Declaring Other Majors and Minors
Students majoring in Urban Studies and Social and Cultural Analysis cannot declare a second major and/or a minor in Africana Studies, American Studies, Asian/Pacific/American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Metropolitan Studies (replaced by the joint Urban Studies majors as of fall 2025), Latino Studies, or Social and Cultural Analysis.
Advanced Standing Credit by Examination
Credits from Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and any other similar examinations cannot count toward the requirements of this major.
Transfer Students
In accordance with College of Arts and Science policy, transfer students must complete at least one-half of this major while in residence at New York University. In addition, at least half of the Urban Studies courses and half of the Social and Cultural Analysis courses for this major must be completed at NYU. Transfer students may petition the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis and/or the Program in Urban Studies (as appropriate) with syllabi and reading lists to count specific transfer courses toward the major.
Note that all transfer students (whether internal or external) must satisfy a residency requirement of 64 credits in College of Arts and Science (-UA) coursework to earn their NYU baccalaureate degree. Although this major may allow (with advisement) some courses in other NYU schools (and at NYU portal campuses) to count as urban studies major electives, transfer students cannot count them toward the 64-credit -UA requirement.
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.