Metropolitan Studies

Metropolitan Studies at New York University offers an interdisciplinary graduate program dedicated to exploring the social, cultural, economic, and political dynamics of urban environments, with a particular focus on New York City as a one-of-a-kind urban laboratory. This program aims to equip students with comprehensive analytical skills and a multidimensional understanding of metropolitan issues, preparing them to address complex challenges faced by modern cities worldwide. Through a curriculum that blends urban planning, sociology, history, economics, and public policy, students gain a broad perspective on urban development, governance, environment, diversity, and infrastructure. The program emphasizes critical thinking and encourages innovative approaches to urban problems such as housing affordability, transportation, sustainability, social justice, and technological innovation. Students participate in a variety of courses, seminars, and research projects that foster both theoretical knowledge and practical application. The faculty members are distinguished scholars and practitioners committed to mentoring students and advancing scholarship in urban studies. In addition to classroom learning, Metropolitan Studies students have opportunities for internships, community engagement, and collaborations with city agencies and organizations. The program prepares graduates for careers in public administration, urban planning, research, policy analysis, non-profit work, or further academic pursuits. Located in the heart of New York City, the program benefits from direct access to a vibrant metropolis rich with diverse populations, cultural institutions, and ongoing urban development projects. Students engage actively with city stakeholders and gain firsthand experience of contemporary urban issues. Overall, Metropolitan Studies offers an in-depth exploration of urban life and equips students to become innovative leaders and practitioners capable of shaping resilient, equitable, and sustainable cities in the future.

Introductory Core

Concepts in Social and Cultural Analysis
SCA-UA 1 Offered every semester. 4 points.
A gateway to all majors offered by the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. Focuses on the core concepts that intersect the constituent programs of SCA: Africana studies, American studies, Asian/ Pacific/American studies, gender and sexuality studies, Latino studies, and metropolitan studies. Surveys basic approaches to a range of significant analytical concepts (for example, property, work, technology, nature, popular culture, consumption, knowledge), each considered within a two-week unit.

Field Colloquium in Metropolitan Studies
SCA-UA 6 4 points.
Topics vary by semester.

Social and Cultural Analysis 101  
SCA-UA 101 Offered every year. 4 points.
Introduces theories, methods, and political trajectories central to the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis (SCA). SCA addresses how individuals and populations structure their worlds and navigate the resulting social, cultural, and political terrain. It privileges scholarly work with an intersectional approach, drawing on theoretical insights from such fields as social geography, feminism and queer studies, ethnic studies, urban and metropolitan studies, critical race theory, labor studies, and cultural studies.

Approaches to Metropolitan Studies
SCA-UA 601 Offered every fall. 4 points.
Explores the historical geography of capitalist urbanization with attention to North American and European cities, to colonial and postcolonial cities, and to the global contexts of urban development. Topics: urban politics and governance; suburban and regional development; urban social movements; urban planning; the gendering of urban space; and racial segregation in urban space.

Research Core

Advanced Research Seminar
SCA-UA 90 Prerequisite: any of the following: Social and Cultural Analysis 101 (SCA-UA 101), or Concepts in Social and Cultural Analysis (SCA-UA 1), or Field Colloquium in Metropolitan Studies (SCA-UA 6), or Approaches to Metropolitan Studies (SCA-UA 601). Offered every semester. 4 points.
Students write a 20-25 page research paper with a focus on a specific research method. Topics vary by semester; see Albert for details.

Honors Program

Senior Honors Seminar
SCA-UA 92 Prerequisites: 3.65 GPA or higher (both overall and in the major), and either Social and Cultural Analysis 101 (SCA-UA 101) or Concepts in Social and Cultural Analysis (SCA-UA 1), and either Field Colloquium in Metropolitan Studies (SCA-UA 6) or Approaches to Metropolitan Studies (SCA-UA 601), and permission of the department. Offered every fall. 4 points.

Senior Honors Thesis
SCA-UA 93 Prerequisites: Senior Honors Seminar (SCA-UA 92), 3.65 GPA or higher (both overall and in the major), and permission of the department. Offered every spring. 4 points.

Internship Program
The 4-point internship program complements and enhances the formal course work of the metropolitan studies major. Students intern at agencies dealing with a range of issues pertaining to metropolitan studies and take a corequisite seminar that enables them to focus the work experience in meaningful academic terms. The goals of the internship are threefold: (1) to allow students to apply the theory they have gained through course work, (2) to provide students with analytical tools, and (3) to assist students in exploring professional career paths. The internship is open to juniors and seniors and requires an interview and permission of the director of internships.

Internship Fieldwork
SCA-UA 40 Corequisite: Internship Seminar (SCA-UA 42). Offered every spring. Ten hours of fieldwork are required. 2 points.

Internship Seminar
SCA-UA 42 Corequisite: Internship Fieldwork (SCA-UA 40). Offered every spring. 2 points.

Elective Courses

Urban Cultural Life
SCA-UA 608 4 points.
Through walking tours of neighborhoods and attendance at cultural events, students explore New York from the Village to the outer boroughs. An interdisciplinary perspective on the attributes that constitute urban culture and community.

Law and Urban Problems
SCA-UA 610 Offered every fall. 4 points.
Focuses on such areas as housing, zoning, welfare, and consumer affairs, emphasizing the underlying social, economic, and political causes of the problems and the responses made by lawmakers and courts. Readings are drawn from the law and social science.

Community Empowerment
SCA-UA 613 4 points.
Empowerment is defined as those processes, mechanisms, strategies, and tactics through which people, as well as organizations and communities, improve and gain mastery over their lives. It is personal as well as institutional and organizational. We address these issues in a wide variety of community settings.

Gender in the Urban Environment
SCA-UA 621 4 points.
Explores how the anonymity of cities provides spaces for alternative sexualities and how urban structures also inscribe and regulate normative gender and sexuality. Topics: capitalism and globalization; migration and urbanism; social and artistic movements; the cultural politics of neoliberalism; queer spaces and communities; urban consumption and wealth; racial violence; and housing.

New York City in Film
SCA-UA 623 4 points.
Analyzes how New York has been portrayed in some classic films, as well as how these stories have helped shape the city’s image of itself. Emphasizes how each film originated at distinct moments in both the city’s history and the history of filmmaking. Combines the perspectives of urban studies and film studies and places films within their cultural, political, and artistic content.

Landscapes of Consumption
SCA-UA 625 4 points.
From the late 19th century to contemporary America. Examines classic theoretical works that probe the relationships between people, things, and cities and discusses changing forms and practices of consumption and urbanism. Empirical case studies: the development of the department store, the fashioning of the commodity city, the work of shopping, and the emergence of a thriving urban debt industry.

Urban Environmentalism
SCA-UA 631 4 points.
Environmental issues in cities and towns: their causes and how to remedy them. Larger questions about the relationship between human society and the natural world in the urban context. Utilizes the analytic tools of sociology and ideas from economics, political science, philosophy, geography, and natural science to develop a theoretical framework for understanding these issues.

Climate Change and Environmental Justice
SCA-UA 632 Identical to ENVST-UA 405. 4 points.
Addresses the natural and social impact of global warming in the context of the climate justice movement. Examines how populations are unevenly affected by climate change, and how this imbalance is being addressed by advocates of decarbonization.

Independent Study
SCA-UA 997, 998 Prerequisite: permission of the program director. 2 to 4 points per term.

Related Courses

The following courses count as electives for metropolitan studies majors and minors. See the departmental or program sections in this Bulletin for course descriptions and prerequisites.

AFRICANA STUDIES

Black Urban Studies
SCA-UA 115 4 points.

Hip Hop and Politics
SCA-UA 157 4 points.

The Postcolonial City
SCA-UA 166 4 points.

AMERICAN STUDIES

Couture/Culture: Fashion and Globalization
SCA-UA 253 4 points.

ASIAN/PACIFIC/AMERICAN STUDIES

Filming Asian America: Documenting Community
SCA-UA 361 4 points.

“Chinatown” and the American Imagination: A Field Research Course
SCA-UA 370 4 points.

The Immigrant Imagination
SCA-UA 371 4 points.

GENDER AND SEXUALITY STUDIES

Sex and the City
SCA-UA 420 4 points.

LATINO STUDIES

Latino/a Art and Performance in NYC
SCA-UA 532 4 points.

The Latinized City, New York and Beyond
SCA-UA 540 4 points.

COLLEGE CORE CURRICULUM

Expressive Culture: Images—Architecture in New York Field Study
CORE-UA 722 4 points.

ECONOMICS

Urban Economics
SCA-UA 751 Identical to ECON-UA 227. 4 points.

HEBREW AND JUDAIC STUDIES

Jerusalem: The City, The Shrine
SCA-UA 865 4 points.

IRISH STUDIES

The Irish and New York
SCA-UA 758 Identical to HIST-UA 180, IRISH-UA 180. 4 points.

SOCIOLOGY

Cities, Communities, and Urban Life
SCA-UA 760 Identical to SOC-UA 460. 4 points.

URBAN DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE

Shaping the Urban Environment
SCA-UA 762 Identical to ARTH-UA 661. 4 points.

History of City Planning: 19th and 20th Centuries
SCA-UA 769 Identical to ARTH-UA 663. 4 points.

STEINHARDT SCHOOL OF CULTURE, EDUCATION, AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

American Dilemmas: Race, Inequality, and the Unfulfilled Promise of Education
SCA-UA 755 Identical to TCHL-UE 41. 4 points.

Requirements

• Contact information for the counselor or other school representative who will complete your Common Application School Report and submit your official high school transcript.
• Contact information for one teacher (or two, maximum) who will complete the Teacher Evaluation form.
• Nonrefundable $70.00 application fee. Students who are unable to pay the application fee can request a fee waiver.
• Official score reports (see NYU’s standardized testing requirements).
• English language testing if you have not completed at least 3 years of study where English is the sole language of instruction and English is not your native language.
• Official transcripts of all college work that you have received academic credit for.
• An audition, portfolio, or other additional requirement that might be necessary for the program you’re applying to.
• The Common Application Mid Year Report with updated transcript. This should show your first semester senior year grades. Have your counselor submit the report by March 1 through the Common Application.
• Submit original or certified copies only. A certified copy has an original signature of the registrar or other designated school official, or the institution's seal. Include an official English translation if the document isn't in English. 

Scholarships

• All students are automatically considered for academic (merit-based) scholarship with no separate application required. For financial need-based scholarships, students must submit all required financial aid applications by the deadlines. Scholarship awards are based on eligibility and the availability of funds. Most scholarships at NYU are based on a combination of need and merit and require that applicants submit their financial aid applications on time for consideration.
• NYU Award Package
• Financial Aid. All students should apply every year for financial assistance. NYU requires the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE application (for all new freshmen and returning international students, to be considered for institutional [non-government] financial aid), the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (for eligible new freshmen and continuing students, to be considered for federal financial aid), and, for residents of New York State, the New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) application.

The Master of Arts in Metropolitan Studies at New York University is a distinctive interdisciplinary program designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the complex social, economic, political, and cultural issues that shape metropolitan areas, particularly focusing on New York City as a dynamic case study. The program emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary research and analysis, integrating perspectives from urban planning, sociology, geography, history, economics, public policy, and environmental studies to prepare graduates for careers in urban planning, policy analysis, research, and community development.

Students enrolled in the program benefit from a curriculum that combines theoretical knowledge with practical skills. Core coursework covers topics such as urban history, urban economics, transportation and infrastructure, housing and community development, environmental sustainability, and social justice. These courses aim to develop critical thinking and analytical abilities necessary to address contemporary urban challenges. The program also offers elective courses that allow students to specialize in areas such as urban design, public policy, environmental planning, or social advocacy, aligning academic pursuits with personal career goals.

A key component of the Metropolitan Studies program is experiential learning. Students have opportunities to participate in fieldwork, internships, and collaborative projects with city agencies, non-profit organizations, and private sector partners. These experiences enhance real-world understanding and foster professional connections within the metropolitan field. Additionally, students engage in independent research under faculty supervision, culminating in a master's thesis that contributes original insights into urban issues.

The program is academically rigorous and curated to serve students with a background in social sciences, urban studies, or related fields. It often attracts a diverse student body, including recent graduates, mid-career professionals, and international students, all unified by an interest in urban phenomena and a commitment to improving metropolitan quality of life. Graduates of the Metropolitan Studies program go on to work in various sectors such as city government, urban planning firms, research institutes, non-profit organizations, and international agencies focused on urban development and policy.

NYU's strategic location in New York City enhances the program's richness, providing students with unrivaled access to a vibrant urban environment for research, internships, and community engagement. The faculty comprises leading experts in urban studies, many of whom are actively involved in ongoing research projects that influence city planning and policy. The program also encourages interdisciplinary dialogue through seminars, conferences, and collaborative initiatives, fostering a well-rounded academic experience.

Overall, NYU's Metropolitan Studies program equips students with analytical tools, practical experience, and a deep understanding of urban issues necessary to contribute to sustainable, equitable, and innovative urban development worldwide.