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. Sociology is organized around a series of problems and broad social, political, and economic forces that profoundly affect urbanization and shape the lives of urbanites, including racial and ethnic structures, labor and social class, power and inequality, demography and population mobility, neighborhoods and families, and organizations and institutions. Social theory and sociological methods—especially quantitative analysis and social statistics; demography; and ethnography—provide valuable tools for urban inquiry (many of which were forged by sociologists’ engagement with urban life and society). The joint major in Urban Studies and Sociology introduces students to different approaches to the study of cities and metropolitan areas and provides an overview of the diversity of social scientific and humanistic theories that inform much urban research.
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 for quantitative analysis 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; immigration policy and social justice; housing and real estate; scholarly research in the social sciences; statistical and data analysis; and careers in teaching and academia.
Students should consult with advisers in both the Department of Sociology and the Program in Urban Studies.
Honors Program
Students with both a cumulative and major GPA of at least 3.65 (or who have permission of the director of undergraduate studies) may apply to the Department of Sociology’s honors program, which (like the non-honors track in Urban Studies and Sociology) requires twelve 4-credit courses (48 credits).
Students may apply for the honors program in the spring of their junior year. Applications are announced via email to all Sociology students and linked on the department’s website.
The honors program consists of two semesters (two 4-credit courses) over the span of one year (fall and spring). Each student develops an original research project and writes a thesis based on that research. The honors sequence of SOC-UA 950 Senior Honors Research Seminar (fall) and SOC-UA 951 Senior Honors Research Seminar (spring) counts as two of the three elective courses in sociology for the joint major with Urban Studies. Students must complete both semesters to be eligible to graduate with honors.
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).
Upon completion of program requirements, students are expected to have acquired:
Broad knowledge of the development of cities and metropolitan areas.
Familiarity with the diversity of social scientific and humanistic theories that inform urban ethnographic (and other) research.
An understanding of the relationship of urban life to race, stratification, class and social structure, socioeconomic status, and other topics central to both sociology and the study of the city.
The ability to conduct research on urban topics using sociological theory and such sociological research methods as urban ethnography, demography, and statistical analysis.
Policies
Program Policies
Policies Applying to the Major
For the six required courses in Urban Studies, students must take crosslisted courses under the URBS-UA rubric. Of the two required Urban Studies electives, at least one must focus on global content and not on the US.
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 Sociology cannot declare a second major and/or a minor in Africana Studies, American Studies, Asian/Pacific/American Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Latino Studies, Metropolitan Studies (replaced by the joint Urban Studies majors as of fall 2025), Social and Cultural Analysis, Sociology, or Global Public Health and Sociology.
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 six Sociology courses for this major must be completed at NYU. Transfer students may petition the Department of Sociology and/or the Program in Urban Studies (as appropriate) with syllabi and reading lists to count specific transfer courses toward the major. The total of approved transfer courses from other schools and approved and substituted courses from other NYU social science departments used for sociology requirements shall not exceed two (8 credits).
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.