Program Overview

Urban Studies Program

The Urban Studies program is designed to empower students to explore and understand the government, economics, services, and lived experiences of urban communities. Through interdisciplinary analysis and research skills, students will learn to view cities as living organisms that impact not only urban residents but the population of the world.

Program Description

In the Urban Studies program, students will 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 students in navigating urban systems such as housing, transportation, healthcare, and education.

Career Opportunities

As an Urban Studies major, students will perform fieldwork in urban communities and the organizations serving them first-hand, allowing them to get first-hand exposure to socially and environmentally relevant careers that they 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.

Philosophy

The Urban Studies program empowers students to explore and understand the government, economics, services, and lived experiences of urban communities. Working individually and in teams, students will engage with interdisciplinary concepts and practices of urban planning, social research, social justice, and the built environment.

Career Competencies

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, students will 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.
• 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 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.

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. 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)

Urban Academy

Students enrolled in the Guttman Urban Studies program are 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.

Urban Studies Advisory Board

External stakeholders committed to access and excellence in public higher education are vital members of the Guttman community. The Urban Studies Advisory Board includes:

• 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, Co-Founder, 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