## [Undergrad Major in Urban Studies](/urban) - Why Urban Studies? - Program Overview - Applying ##### Why Urban Studies? Urban Studies furthers understanding of 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. Co-taught with [UBC's Department of Geography](https://geog.ubc.ca/), the major in Urban Studies combines foundational and applied knowledge with progressively advanced community-engaged learning. The first of its kind in British Columbia, this 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 #### If you’re reading these words, ###### you are unique in the history of humanity and the planet. 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. The challenges and opportunities of the world are now urban problems and possibilities, and debates about urban futures have only been heightened during the latest global health pandemic. Cities are at the forefront of global responses to climate change; urban policy is seen as a key catalyst for transitioning to a sustainable and just society; and the data and technologies available to understand and shape urbanization are leaping forward – now, more than ever, we need people who are deeply trained to be city-makers. ### 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? ![Student showing map-viewing machine to fellow student](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2025-10/ben-showing-map-machine.jpg.webp?itok=Z6kSyz_K) ### Urban Studies student Ben Torry: "I was studying Sociology while taking some Urban Studies courses and felt a lot of what we discussed in Sociology applied to Urban Studies and the urban environment we find ourselves in daily. Even if you do not feel you can commit to doing the Major, the Urban Studies Minor is a very flexible program and can compliment many degrees UBC offers." 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 With these tools, graduates will have a professional identity premised on a strong ability to critically integrate urban interventions with broader efforts to address complex societal challenges. 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 ![Man with rolled-up sleeves, gesturing as he speaks to students](/sites/default/files/inline-images/image.png) “Simply aggregating what we know doesn’t get us to, ‘How do we get to new innovations?’ ‘How do we systematise today’s biggest challenges and learn what transformation can truly look like?’” **James Connolly, Co-Chair, UBC Urban Studies program** 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. Because you don’t want to leave UBC with only a completely general knowledge base: you want to be able to tell an employer, ‘This is what I’m deeply proficient in’, and have that expertise be the answer to their biggest problems. You'll prepare to shape the vision for future cities through roles as thought leaders, analysts, and advocates. While you have the chance to gear your degree to your own lens and goals, by the time you graduate, you'll have done the following: #### Inquire about urban life: Critically interpret what shapes human settlement, historically and into the future. Learn from the global community of cities and cultures, about planning models, community engagement, and alternative ways of organizing urban life. #### Learn urban practice: Design effective strategies for positive change in cities. Understand how infrastructure and spatial patterns affect one another. Acquire professional-level skills in making policy arguments, gathering and interpreting research findings, and advocacy. #### Participate in urban research: Crtically analyse and then apply state-of-the-art theories, policies, and practices about cities and how they change. Expose new possibilities for the future of urbanisation. Develop analyses and strategies for critical interpretation. #### Collaborate with urban communities: Undertake participatory research. Engage with competing views on how cities evolve. Navigate the ethical implications of collaboration. Understand how place, space, and scale impact urbanisation to create uneven outcomes for communities. ### Community partnerships In the Urban Studies Capstone, students reflect on, draw from, and build upon the skills they have developed through the Urban Studies program by participating in this community-engaged learning process with local organisations involved in shaping urban life across our region. Students and partners collaboratively scope research questions, which students answer using a variety of methods, from interviews to workshops to spatial analysis. [Browse our library of Urban Studies capstone projects](/urban-studies-capstone-projects) ###### Watch this interview of a student giving her capstone: ##### Program Overview ## Curriculum ### 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. This is where you choose your own lens, perspective, and approach with respect to Urban Studies. We recommend you make these choices in collaboration with your undergraduate advisor. As a general guideline, choose a combination of courses reflecting broad knowledge, specific skills, and your own goals. ### An introduction to BUS 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. Engage with critical Indigenous and critical race scholarship, with the option of an additional regional focus on Latin America. #### The Nature of Cities Explore the ecological dimensions of urbanization, and the vital role of cities in managing global environmental change. What does urban green planning look like, and what can we learn from movements for environmental justice and social 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. Consider the city as a terrain for the manifestation and mediation of social justice; learn how inequalities are currently (re)produced. Examine the role of cities and urban politics in the Gobal South. #### Technology and Cities Interrogate how new data and technology changes what it means to inhabit and plan cities. How are cities being transformed by socio-economic innovation and the growth of citizen-generated data? What does it mean to live in a “smart city”? Gain highly versatile technical skills in Geographic Information Science; learn graphical methods of data input and analysis, with an emphasis on data visualization techniques. #### Cities and Communities Examine the meaning of community and social justice in urban contexts. How do places and environments both reflect and shape social life? Consider how land use and the establishment of distinct neighbourhoods interacts with urban trends and public policy. Learn about the evolution, practice and future of urban planning and development, with an emphasis on housing, transportation, and urban design. Students will gain relevant professional experience through community-engaged projects in several courses, as well as a community-engaged capstone and optional [Arts Co-op experiences](https://artscoop.ubc.ca/). #### Electives Electives can be courses (whether within SCARP, UBC Geography, or elsewhere at UBC) that relate to your interests and can count towards your MCRP program course requirements. Urban Studies is a broad interdisciplinary field, and there are endless potential courses that may serve to broaden your understanding of the field, or help you gain skills that will enrich your approach and inform your lens on the subject. That being said, SCARP and UBC Geography have diverse, enriching course offerings for a comprehensive lens on the field. Please talk to your undergraduate advisor, who may have advice or guidance based on you and your approach. Please note: - Some courses require you contact the course instructor and/or department offering the course for permission to be registered - Course offering and availability are subject to change by the unit offering the course. - You may not earn credit for two courses with significant and pre-defined content overlap. ### 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)\* GEOG 250 / URST 200"*Cities*"(3)PLAN 211"*City-Making: A Global Perspective*"(3)​​​​\*Students may elect to also take GEOS 270 and PLAN 221, which would count for program credit if the student is admitted to the program. See approved list of focus area courses for more information about these two courses. ##### Requirements upon admission ###### Program core (12 credits): PLAN 231"*Methods of Urban Community Engagement*"(3)GEOG 371"*Research Strategies in Geography*"(3)GEOG 451 / URST 451Urban Studies Capstone I(3)PLAN 452 / URST 452Urban Studies Capstone II(3)###### Focus area: choose your path (30 credits): You must choose at least one GEOG and one PLAN course from each Focus Area. Read more about the Focus Areas in the section below. #### Focus Areas ##### Indigenous Urban Life GEOG 395"*Culture, Nature, and Coloniality in Latin America*"(3)GEOG 432"*Radical Traditions of Decolonization and Liberation*"(3)PLAN 321"*Indigeneity and the City*"(3) ##### The Nature of Cities GEOG 310 / ENST 310"*Environment and Sustainability*"3GEOG 311 / ENST 311"*Urban Environments*"3GEOG 313 / ENST 313"*Environmental Justice and Social Change*" (Prerequisite: GEOG 121)3GEOG 351 / URST 351"*Urban Environmental Politics*"3GEOG 423"*Development of Environmental Thought*"3PLAN 351"*Green Cities*"3 ##### Globalizing Cities GEOG 352 / URST 352"*Urbanization in the Global South*"(3)GEOG 353"*Geographies of Migration and Settlement*"(3)GEOG 364"*Globalization, Cities, and Regions*" (Prerequisite: one of GEOG 121, 122)(3)PLAN 331"*The Just City in a Divided World*"(3) ##### Technology and Cities GEOS 270"*Geographic Information Science*"(3)GEOB / GEOS 370"*Advanced Geographic Information Science*" (Prerequisite: One of GEOB 270, GEOS 270. Or third-year standing in ENSC or GEOS (or GEOB) specializations, with introductory knowledge of GIS)(3)PLAN 341"*Smart Cities: Concepts, Methods and Design*"(3)PLAN 221"*City Visuals*"(3) ##### Cities and Communities GEOG 350"*Urban Worlds*"(3)GEOG 357"*Society, Culture and Space*"(3)PLAN 361"*Community Planning in a World of Diversity*"(3)PLAN 425"*Urban Planning Issues and Concepts*"(3) ##### Applying ##### Please review all information on requirements before you proceed here. #### Application schedule Applications open:January 01Applications close:March 31Admission 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)\*, including: -GEOG 250 -PLAN 211 - A statement (500 words maximum) indicating motivations for applying [Once applications open, you can apply here (understand all the above first!)](https://geog.air.arts.ubc.ca/urban-studies-application/) ![Youth holding up "Geographers for Climate Justice" sign](/sites/default/files/styles/card_focal_point_sm/public/card-images/2022-10/GEOG-About-Banner-V2-1.jpg.webp?h=c9a3a702&itok=PTO01Com)### [UBC's Department of Geography,](https://geog.ubc.ca/) in the Faculty of Arts, is a world-leading research department, and home to outstanding teaching practice. They strive for a critical and ethical approach to the world and our place within it. Learn more about our partner department here! ### [Interested? Questions?](mailto:urban.studies@ubc.ca) This page comprehensively describes what to expect and where to begin. Read through and something is still unclear? Reach out! ## Learn more - [I'm ready to apply](https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bdzKWq6sxovEkm2) - [SCARP courses](https://scarp.ubc.ca/courses) - [UBC Geography courses](https://geog.ubc.ca/courses/)