In the Urban Studies program, you’ll dive deep into everything about contemporary city life, urban culture and urbanization, all centered around equality, diversity, inclusion, environmental sustainability and social justice.
New York City is our laboratory, and we’ll guide you in navigating urban systems such as housing, transportation, health care and education. By applying interdisciplinary analysis and research skills to visions of social, economic and environmental change, you’ll learn to view cities as living organisms that impact not only urban residents but the population of the world (not to mention international markets, movements and trends.) As an Urban Studies major, you’ll perform fieldwork in urban communities and the organizations serving them first-hand, allowing you to get first-hand exposure to socially and environmentally relevant careers that you can pursue upon transfer to a baccalaureate program. Urban policy, government, law, civil/public service and administration, real estate, journalism, community organizing and regional or urban planning are all professions that can benefit from a degree in Urban Studies.
Contact Us
Humanities and Social Sciences Chair
Dr. Alia Tyner-Mullings, Professor of Sociology
Urban Studies Program Coordinator
Dr. Alia Tyner-Mullings, Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Philosophy
The Urban Studies program empowers you to explore and understand the government, economics, services and lived experiences of urban communities. Working individually and in teams, you’ll engage with interdisciplinary concepts and practices of urban planning, social research, social justice and the built environment. The best part? You’ll gain and create knowledge about how cities work so you can improve them.
To promote career readiness within the curriculum, the program implements course design and experiences that promote and incorporate the National Association of College and Employers (NACE) Career Competencies:
- Career & Self Development
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Equity & Inclusion
- Leadership
- Professionalism
- Teamwork
- Technology
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of the Urban Studies Program, you’ll be able to:
- Connect everyday urban experiences to theoretical perspectives/frameworks/lenses and research about cities.
- Conduct quantitative, qualitative, and secondary source research to investigate urban problems using various sources (e.g. planning documents, maps, census data, journals, magazines, newspapers, textbooks, photography, interviews and surveys).
- Identify significant occurrences in urban history and explain their relevance to modern cities.
- Analyze how political structures, policy development and governance processes operate in cities.
- Evaluate how multiple stakeholders (individuals/communities/institutions/government agencies) are affected by a particular issue and understand their perspectives.
- Examine, analyze, and engage the interdependence of critical urban social, economic and environmental issues with an emphasis on urban social justice.
Requirements
The associate degree (A.A.) in Urban Studies requires the completion of 60 credits. Please refer to course descriptions for information on pre-requisites and/or co-requisites. For more information on potential paths to degree completion, review the Urban Studies degree map.
Transfer Opportunities
An Articulation Agreement is a written contract or partnership between Guttman Community College and a senior college/university that outlines agreed upon coursework that will transfer over to that particular institution. When you complete your coursework and meet the requirements specified by the receiving institution(s) upon applying, you will be admitted and those completed courses will be applied towards your baccalaureate degree.
The Urban Studies Program has articulation agreements with the following institutions:
- Brooklyn College, CUNY (Sociology: Sociology)
- Hunter College, CUNY (Urban Affairs and Planning: Urban Studies)
- Queens College, CUNY (Urban Studies: Urban Studies)
- John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY (political Science: Urban Policy and Politics/Leadership concentration; Anthropology: Deviance, Crime and Culture concentration; Sociology: Criminology concentration)
- City College, Spitzer School of Architecture, CUNY (Architecture: Urban Studies and the Built Environment).
Students enrolled in the Guttman Urban Studies program are a part of the Urban Academy. a partnership with the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. Urban academy students receive dual acceptance to their community college associate degree program and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies bachelor’s degree programs. Students completing their degree in Urban Studies can seamlessly transfer to our neighbor, CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, without the loss of any credits.
Urban Academy students are 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 while providing a unique college experience focused on academic excellence, social justice, and career success.
Urban Studies Advisory Board
External stakeholders committed to access and excellence in public higher education are vital members of the Guttman community. We value their expertise in Urban Studies, their contributions to the field, and their support for our Program of Study.
Thomas Angotti, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter College, CUNY, and the CUNY Graduate Center
Victor Bach, Ph.D. Senior Policy Analyst, Community Service Society
Lauren DiMartino, J.D. Attorney, Brown Goldstein & Levy
Raliek Gholson ‘17 Guttman Alum, Urban Studies; Hunter College, CUNY (’19), Lead Organizer, IMPACCT Brooklyn
Melinda González Artist, Activist, Member, El Puente CADRE , CoFounder, BombaYo
Shari Jardine Deputy Director for the Center for Global Health from Northwell Health
Jacob Koch Urban Planner, Sustainability Team, Bloomberg Associates
Anne Krassner Sr. Program Manager for Mobility Management, NYC Department of Transportation
Laura Liu, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Global Studies and Geography at The New School
James Rodriguez, Ph.D Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, School of Labor and Urban Studies, CUNY