List of All U.S. Colleges with an Urban Studies Major
Have you ever wondered why Paris’ arrondissements are arranged in a “snail shell” pattern? Do you wish you could make Atlanta’s public transportation system more efficient?  If so, you may want to consider majoring in Urban Studies. Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary field that uses sociology, economics, history, and humanities to study city life and government. Urban Studies majors study the political, economic, social, physical, and cultural landscapes of the city.   In Urban Studies classes, you’ll study why people live in cities, how the landscape and built environment affects behavior, and how to address complex problems like wealth inequality, gentrification, climate change, and educational access.  Topics covered in Urban Studies courses may include some of the following:   You may be a good fit for Urban Studies if you:   There’s no general guideline on whether Urban Studies majors go to grad school or not—some continue on to academic careers in Urban Studies; others go on to complete professional degrees; others do not go to grad school at all.  Majoring in Urban Studies will prepare you for career paths in some of the following fields:     Urban studies is a liberal arts major that doesn’t directly lead to a career, so it’s important to have the support to explore professional options. This generally means a knowledgeable career and academic advisors, and a strong alumni network in urban government, nonprofit, and business fields.   This is related to the point above; having a strong major community means better access to real-life connections and potentially involvement with urban communities.   Urban Studies’ interdisciplinary nature means that there many subjects, frameworks, and focuses within the field. Completing a larger research project helps build knowledge and expertise in a specialized topic for future endeavors.   Having a wide variety of courses will allow you to apply Urban Studies tools to real situations. In many cases, the Urban Studies department will provide a list of approved courses from other departments, along with their own course options. For example, at Brown University, students may fulfill major requirements by taking classes in American Studies, Anthropology, English, Geology, History of Art and Architecture, Political Science, and Sociology (among many other departments).  School City State University of California, Irvine | UC Irvine Irvine California University of Connecticut | UConn Storrs Connecticut Connecticut College New London Connecticut Trinity College Hartford Connecticut Rhodes College Memphis Tennessee University of California, San Diego | UCSD La Jolla California Rutgers University-Camden Camden New Jersey Northwestern University Evanston Illinois Vassar College Poughkeepsie New York College of Charleston Charleston South Carolina California State University, Northridge | CSUN Northridge California University of New Orleans | UNO New Orleans Louisiana University of Missouri‚ Kansas City | UMKC Kansas City Missouri Furman University Greenville South Carolina Ohio University Athens Ohio Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware Ohio University of Michigan Ann Arbor Michigan Rutgers University, New Brunswick | Rutgers New Brunswick New Jersey Brooklyn College Brooklyn New York Manhattan College Riverdale New York Fordham University Bronx New York The State University of New York at Buffalo | SUNY Buffalo Buffalo New York University of Nevada, Las Vegas | UNLV Las Vegas Nevada Stanford University Stanford California Elmhurst College Elmhurst Illinois San Diego State University | SDSU San Diego California Boston University | BU Boston Massachusetts Lipscomb University Nashville Tennessee Tennessee State University | TSU Nashville Tennessee University of Minnesota, Twin Cities | Minnesota Minneapolis Minnesota Lehigh University Bethlehem Pennsylvania Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania Jackson State University | JSU Jackson Mississippi The State University of New York at Albany | SUNY Albany Albany New York New York Institute of Technology | NYIT Old Westbury New York University of Cincinnati Cincinnati Ohio University of Texas at Austin | UT Austin Austin Texas University of California, Berkeley | UC Berkeley Berkeley California Worcester State University Worcester Massachusetts Dillard University New Orleans Louisiana Portland State University | PSU Portland Oregon Morehouse College Atlanta Georgia University of San Francisco | USF San Francisco California San Francisco State University | SF State San Francisco California University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee | UWM Milwaukee Wisconsin University of Pittsburgh | Pitt Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Towson University Towson Maryland Georgia State University Atlanta Georgia University of Nebraska Omaha | UNO Omaha Nebraska Brown University Providence Rhode Island College of Wooster Wooster Ohio Hobart and William Smith Colleges | HWS Geneva New York Saint Louis University | SLU Saint Louis Missouri Washington University in St. Louis | WashU Saint Louis Missouri Wayne State University | WSU Detroit Michigan University of Illinois at Chicago | UIC Chicago Illinois Loyola Marymount University | LMU Los Angeles California University of Minnesota Duluth | UMD Duluth Minnesota Cleveland State University | CSU Cleveland Ohio University of South Carolina Upstate | USC Upstate Spartanburg South Carolina University of Utah Salt Lake City Utah University of Toledo Toledo Ohio Wright State University Dayton Ohio Wheaton College (Illinois) Wheaton Illinois Virginia Commonwealth University | VCU Richmond Virginia University of Pennsylvania | UPenn Philadelphia Pennsylvania University of Southern California | USC Los Angeles California New York University | NYU New York New York Barnard College New York New York Columbia University New York New York Hunter College | CUNY Hunter New York New York City College of New York | CCNY New York New York New School New York New York Trinity University San Antonio Texas Seattle Pacific University | SPU Seattle Washington  Did we miss your school? Email us and let us know!   Colleges don’t usually have specific criteria for Urban Studies majors prior to application. As with other applicants, grades, test scores, extracurriculars, and essays will determine the likelihood of acceptance.  Most selective schools first screen applicants by their grades and test scores using a tool called the Academic Index. You’ll have a good chance of being accepted if your numbers fit or surpass those of previously admitted students.  If your quantitative data looks good, the next step is to make sure your extracurricular activities and essay topics demonstrate that you’re a good fit for the school and the Urban Studies major.  Demonstrating an enduring interest in city life and its challenges will make your application more focused. You might consider volunteering with nonprofits or participating in activism. You should also study economics, history, politics, and environmental science if you can.  If you want to know your personal chances of acceptance, we recommend using our Chancing Engine (it’s free). Unlike other calculators, it takes into account a large portion of your individual profile, including academic stats and more qualitative factors like extracurriculars.Overview of the Urban Studies Major
What to Look for in a College as an Urban Studies Major
Support in finding internships in related fields
A strong major community
Senior project/capstone research project
A wide interdisciplinary curriculum
List of All U.S. Colleges With an Urban Studies Major
What Are Your Chances of Acceptance?
