The Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice Department offers a major in Urban Studies which will lead to an Associate in Arts degree. Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary field that introduces students to a variety of topics and issues in urban community development. The program draws on a variety of study areas, including sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology, to analyze our global economy and culture. You will learn:
- How urban problems arise and how they have been previously addressed
- Where cities come from, how they are organized, how they grow, thrive and decline
- How to plan cities of the future
- How to construct meaningful, inclusive, secure, and sustainable places
The program will prepare you for a range of future careers in fields such as:
- public administration
- law
- urban planning
- social work
- education
- business administration
- political analysis
- non-profit community work
- research
- fundraising
The Urban Academy
Students in the Urban Studies program are part of the Urban Academy. The Urban Academy is a collaboration between the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and partnering community colleges. Urban Academy students receive dual acceptance to their community college urban studies major for their associate’s degree and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies.
Students completing this program can transfer seamlessly into the B.A. degree program in Urban Community Studies at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies without the loss of credits.
During their community and senior college experience, Urban Academy students will be connected to the limitless learning and professional opportunities available in one of the most dynamic urban centers in the world. The Urban Academy exposes students to experiential learning through unique union partnerships, community organizations, and government agencies. Additionally, students will be able to partake in the School of Labor and Urban Studies’ nationally recognized public programming.
Transfer Options
BMCC has articulation agreements with several four-year colleges to allow you to seamlessly continue your education there.
Explore Careers
BMCC is committed to students’ long-term success and will help you explore professional opportunities. Undecided? No problem. The college offers Career Coach for salary and employment information, job postings and a self-discovery assessment to help students find their academic and career paths. Visit Career Express to make an appointment with an advisor, search for jobs or sign-up for professional development activities with the Center for Career Development. Students can also visit the Office of Internships and Experiential Learning to gain real world experience in preparation for a four-year degree and beyond. These opportunities are available to help BMCC students build a foundation for future success.
Contact
Professor Shirley Leyro
Program Coordinator
sleyro@bmcc.cuny.edu.
Related Communities
Requirements
Urban Studies Academic Program Maps
Required Common Core
| English Composition | 6 |
| Mathematical and Quantitative Reasoning1 | 3 |
| Life and Physical Sciences1 | 3 |
| TOTAL REQUIRED COMMON CORE | 12 |
Flexible Core2
| Creative Expression | 6 |
| Individual and Society | 3 |
| Scientific World1 | 3 |
| U.S. Experience in Its Diversity | 3 |
| World Cultures and Global Issues | 3 |
| TOTAL FLEXIBLE COMMON CORE | 18 |
| TOTAL COMMON CORE | 30 |
Curriculum Requirements
- This course studies the social world and how it has evolved over time, as well as how individuals are influenced and structured by social interactions in small groups and by larger social forces. The course covers major sociological theories and research methods, and key concepts such as culture, socialization, social class, race/ethnicity, gender, technology, social inequality, and social change.
- Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary field that introduces students to a variety of topics and issues in urban community development. Through a variety of lenses which draw on sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology students will learn how to analyze our global economy and culture. In this class students learn where cities come from, how they grow, thrive, and decline, how they are organized, how urban problems arise, how they have been previously addressed, and how to plan cities of the future. Students will study and learn about topics that are frequently the subject of debates on urban life such as diversity, poverty, sustainability, segregation, environmental change, underemployment, gentrification, homelessness, community planning, health services, and urban politics.
- More than half of earth’s people currently reside in urban settlements, and that figure is projected to grow. Urban life presents unique opportunities and challenges. This course will focus in-depth on a particular topic related to urban life, from a variety of perspectives in the social sciences including Sociology, Political Science, and Criminal Justice. The topic may change each semester, and will be announced in advance. Possible topics include: Contemporary Urban Problems; Government, Politics, and the Policy-Making Process; and Community Organizing and Community Organizations. Students might also get an opportunity to intern at a local organization or public office.
Prerequisite: URB 100
Footnotes
- These credits can be satisfied by taking STEM variants in the Common Core.
- No more than two course in any discipline or interdisciplinary field can be used to satisfy Flexible Common Core requirements.
- Choose two (2) courses from CRJ 101, CRJ 102, CRJ 204, ECO 111/AFL 111, EDU 202, GEO 241, HUM 101, HUM 411, POL 110, POL 111, POL 220, SOC 110, SOC 111, SOC 152/LAT 152, SOC 154/AFN 154, SOC 161/AFN161, SOC 200, or SOC 240.
- Choose three (3) courses from the following disciplines: anthropology, geography, criminal justice, economics, history, human services, philosophy, political sciences, psychology and sociology.
- Students are encouraged to select from ENG 3xx, HED xxx or modern languages courses.
