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.

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.