• Global Urban Futures (Graduate Minor)

  • Overview

    The Global Urban Futures graduate minor is offered through the Studley Graduate Programs in International Affairs in the Schools of Public Engagement.

    Students enrolled in this graduate minor will be introduced to current debates and policy issues related to the future of cities in both industrialized and developing countries. Global Urban Futures addresses the multiple challenges of rapid urban demographic growth, urban poverty and inequality, and the consequences of climate change for cities.

    By 2030, 70 percent of the world's people will be living in urban areas. The urban population produces about 80 percent of GDP while generating more than 70 percent of greenhouse gases. Cities are sites of both opportunity and despair, with growing slums, unemployment, and insecurity. How can these "facts on the ground" be transformed into sources of hope?

    Courses provide overviews of urban issues, explorations of selected subjects such as slums, smart cities, and global images of metropolitan futures, and opportunities for field experiences in selected countries through the International Field Program.

    Curriculum

    This graduate minor requires successful completion of 9 credits. The required core course for this minor is Urban Century. In addition to the core course, students must select two electives from the chart below.

    Course availability may vary from semester to semester. Some courses may be in development and offered at a later time. Students seeking to pursue alternative coursework in other subject areas to fulfill the minor should consult with their advisors.

    Subject AreaCourse OptionsRequirements
    Core CourseNINT 5191 Urban Century3 credits
    Urban InfrastructureGPOL 6120 Cities and Urban Mobility 
    NINT 5163 Pipeline Politics  
    0-3 credits
    Slums and HousingPSDS 5516 Empowered Neighborhoods: Community Advocacy and Housing Justice
    NEPS 5022 Environmental Justice: Race, Class, and the Environment
    NURP 5004 Housing Finance and Real Estate Development
    0-6 credits
    Urban FuturesPGAR 5513 Theories of Urban Form
    PSCE 5053 Writing About the City
    PGUD 5020 Urban History Lab
    0-6 credits
    Urban PolicyNURP 5008 Political Economy of the City
    NINT 5155 Tools for Urban Environmental Management

    NPUP 6002 Rules and Regulations: Studying Urban Institutional Arrangements
    0-6 credits

    Learning Outcomes

    A student who has completed this graduate minor should be able to demonstrate:

    • Understanding of the linkages between cities, policy, and global issues such as the global economy, climate change, poverty, inequality, migration, and gender equality.
    • Familiarity with major urban thinkers and practitioners such as Saskia Sassen, Richard Sennett, Enrico Moretti, David Harvey, Charles Correa, Sheela Patel, and Edgar Pieterse.
    • Familiarity with "reading neighborhoods" through field research exercises in diverse neighborhoods of New York and other cities designated for international practice, such as Cape Town, Buenos Aires, Mumbai, and Havana.

    Faculty

    Michael Cohen, Professor of International Affairs
    Margarita Gutman, Professor of International Affairs​ and Urban Studies
    William Morrish, Professor of Urban Ecologies, Parsons
    Antina von Schnitzler, Associate Professor of International Affairs

    Eligibility

    The Global Urban Futures graduate minor is available to graduate degree students across The New School. 

    Students can retroactively apply successfully completed courses toward a minor upon declaring or applying.

    After a student successfully completes a minor's requirements, the minor will appear on the student's academic transcript at graduation.

    For questions about this minor, please contact Michael Cohen, Professor of International Affairs, at cohenm2@newschool.edu.

  • Take the Next Step

    Contact your Student Success advisor to discuss how a minor will fit with your degree requirements.

    Declare or change a minor on my.newschool.edu in the Academics tab. Note that some minors require an application.

  • Take The Next Step

Submit your application

Undergraduates

To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.

Undergraduate Adult Learners

To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

Graduates

To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.

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