Program Overview

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Introduction to the Undergrad Major in Urban Studies

The Undergrad Major in Urban Studies is a program that focuses on understanding the forces that shape cities and how to redirect those forces. Urbanisation has shaped and continues to shape the processes of social and environmental change. The major in Urban Studies combines foundational and applied knowledge with progressively advanced community-engaged learning.

Why Urban Studies?

Urban Studies furthers understanding of the forces that shape cities and how to redirect those forces. The program provides students with the training and technical skills necessary for future careers in urban-oriented professions. Graduates will be awarded a Bachelor of Arts.

Why Urban Studies Matters

You are part of the first generation to live in an urban world. While there are many individual cities that can be traced back hundreds or thousands of years, it was only a few years ago that the world crossed the fifty-percent threshold: for the first time ever, the majority of people in the world live in an urban area. Over the next century, all of the world’s net population growth will take place in urban regions, and nearly every aspect of economic, social, political, technological, and environmental change is urbanizing.

Students in Urban Studies Explore Questions Such As:

• How do different cities reflect different societies and histories? How do urban processes change societies through innovation, rural-to-urban migration, and social and political movements?
• How have the cities produced through histories of industrial capitalism and colonialism shaped our relations to one another and to nature? How can today’s cities help create more sustainable and equitable futures?
• How do cities concentrate the greatest achievements of human creativity — art, literature, technology, architecture, engineering — into legacies that shape the lives of future generations?
• How are separate cities integrated into regional, national, and transnational networks through flows of people, commodities, money, and ideas?

Why Should I Choose Urban Studies?

Apply specialised skills such as technical data analysis, dialogue and engagement practices, political- and policy-oriented communication, and/or development finance strategies, to broad challenges focused on:

• Renaturing cities
• Globalizing cities
• Indigenous urban life
• Technology and cities
• Community engagement in cities

Program Overview

The Urban Studies program gives you understanding and networking connections to several other disciplines, and provides pathways to graduate planning programs and other opportunities. Students taking the Major in Urban Studies will also have a wide range of potential career paths after graduation, including:

• Urban and regional planning
• Local and federal government
• Environmental design
• Social and community service
• City administration
• Urban agriculture
• Social policy research
• Green building
• Housing innovation
• Decarbonisation in cities
• Public engagement consulting
• Real estate and development

Why Urban Studies at UBC

The Major in Urban Studies was built in consultation with industry professionals, made up of everything city halls, government ministries, transport authorities, and more need from professionals in the coming years. With a degree forged after industry needs, you’re on track to become a competitive professional with a unique breadth of tangible skills and excellence in your chosen area.

Program Structure

There are four courses you must take to give you some core competencies in the field (two "method" courses and two "studio" courses). Beyond this, as part of your program you will choose courses from a series of Focus Areas (two courses in each). This will allow you to personalize your degree while maintaining solid breadth.

Focus Areas

• Indigenous Urban Life: Examine Indigenous urban geographies and place-making – particularly the multiple, complex, and contested ways urban Indigeneity is constituted in Canada today – with opportunities for field trips and hands-on learning.
• The Nature of Cities: Explore the ecological dimensions of urbanization, and the vital role of cities in managing global environmental change.
• Globalizing Cities: How are current planetary shifts in economy and society shaping urbanization? Explore the impact of immigration policy, changing global demographics, and economic development on urban life and futures.
• Technology and Cities: Interrogate how new data and technology changes what it means to inhabit and plan cities.
• Cities and Communities: Examine the meaning of community and social justice in urban contexts.

Program Requirements

In order to earn your degree, you must complete at least 120 B.A.-eligible credits, at least 72 within the Faculty of Arts. Among these must include the following:

• Required courses:
  • Requirements prior to admission (6 credits)
  • Requirements upon admission
    • Program core (12 credits)
    • Focus area: choose your path (30 credits)

Required Courses

• Requirements prior to admission (6 credits):
  • GEOG 250 / URST 200
  • PLAN 211
• Requirements upon admission:
  • Program core (12 credits):
    • PLAN 231
    • GEOG 371
    • GEOG 451 / URST 451
    • PLAN 452 / URST 452
  • Focus area: choose your path (30 credits)

Application Schedule

Applications open: January 01 Applications close: March 31

Admission to the Program

Admission to the program is by application. Students will normally apply at the end of Year 1 for Year 2 entry. Your application will include:

• A copy of your overall transcript
• Grades from Gateway Courses (if you have taken them)
• A statement (500 words maximum) indicating motivations for applying

Conclusion

The Undergrad Major in Urban Studies is a program that provides students with the training and technical skills necessary for future careers in urban-oriented professions. The program combines foundational and applied knowledge with progressively advanced community-engaged learning, and provides pathways to graduate planning programs and other opportunities. With a degree forged after industry needs, you’re on track to become a competitive professional with a unique breadth of tangible skills and excellence in your chosen area.