The Urban Studies Minor seeks young urban enthusiasts eager to broaden their horizons through exposure to multidisciplinary urban courses. From the myriad of cultures, people, and economic opportunity that exist in cities to the nuts and bolts of what makes cities sustainable and attractive places to be, this minor is a holistic look at what students need to pursue careers in 21st century urban centers.
The Minor in Urban Studies is designed for students who are interested in applying their passions of urban topics to a curriculum that can help prepare them for careers involved in the opportunities and problems that cities present, not only in the United States but around the world. Students have the opportunity to take a wide array of courses that provide an interdisciplinary approach to understanding urban issues; varying urban perspectives are offered through social, political, economic, and environmental lenses, which include classes taught through MET and SED in addition to CAS.
Minor Requirements
A total of six (4-credit) courses are required, all completed with a grade of C or higher.
- At least ONE must pertain to Physical Infrastructure or Urban Environment topics (below)
- At least ONE must pertain to Social, Economic and Political topics.
- The six total courses must come from at least THREE different departments.
All rules pertaining to CAS majors will apply. MET courses cannot count toward the minor.
In addition to meeting the course requirements, students are strongly encouraged to attend one lunch discussion each semester hosted by the Initiative on Cities. These sessions will be specially scheduled and open only to those in the minor, with the goal of creating a cohort and fostering relationships among interested students and between students and the Initiative. Students will also be invited to all Initiative events, conferences and seminars.
Physical Infrastructure or Urban Environment Topics
Art History Courses
CAS AH 311 Arab Cities: Architecture, History, Politics
CAS AH 328 Modern Japanese Architecture
CAS AH 364 Art and Architecture in Madrid: 1561–Today (Madrid Study Abroad)
CAS AH 381 London Architecture and Urbanism (London Study Abroad)
CAS AH 383 Paris Architecture and Urbanism (Paris Study Abroad)
CAS AH 387 Boston Architecture and Urbanism
CAS AH 398 20th-Century Architecture
CAS AH 531 Tokyo: City and Concept
CAS AH 554/CAS AM 555/CAS HI 569 Boston Architectural and Community History Workshop (cross-listed)
CAS AH 584 Greater Boston: Architecture and Planning
CAS AH 587 Green Design
American Studies Courses
CAS AM 371 Seeing and Reading Boston: 1630-Present
CAS AM 376 Housing America
CAS AM 385 American Buildings & Landscapes
CAS AM 501 Reading Boston – Conversations About the Real and Imagined City
Archaeology Courses
CAS AR 150 Archaeology of Cities
CAS AR 438 Seminar: Pompeii
Biology Courses
CAS BI 306 Biology of Global Change
CAS BI 523 Marine Urban Ecology
Earth and Environment Courses
CAS EE 365 An Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
CAS EE 400 Environment and Development: A Political Ecology Approach
CAS EE 475 Urban Ecology
CAS EE 505 Geographic Information Systems
CAS EE 512 Urban Climate
Cross College Challenge Courses
HUB XC 410 B1 Data Science for Good: Data, Housing, and Justice
HUB XC 420 A1 City Stories
HUB XC 433 B1 Environmental Equality and Urban Tree Canopies
Kilachand Honors College Courses
KHC EC 103 Housing Policy: An Economic Perspective
KHC RH 105 The Lived City
Questrom Courses
QST FE 469 Real Estate Finance
QST LA 360 Real Estate Law
Social, Economic, and Political Topics
African American Studies Courses
CAS AA 207 Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
CAS AA 310 History of the Civil Rights Movement
Art History Courses
CAS AH 527 Istanbul: From Imperial Capital to Global City
American Studies Courses
CAS AM 202 What’s Boston?
Anthropology Courses
CAS AN 220 Urban Anthropology
CAS AN 308 Food, Culture & Society
CAS AN 309 Boston: An Ethnographic Approach
CAS AN 344 Modern Japanese Society: Family, School, and Workplace (Area)
Economics Courses
CAS EC 325 The Economics of Poverty and Discrimination in the United States
CAS EC 328 Urban and Regional Economics
CAS EC 363 Race and the Development of the American Economy
CAS EC 364 Economic Policy: A British Perspective (London Study Abroad)
History Courses
CAS HI 190 History of Boston
CAS HI 226 Cities and Cultures
CAS HI 227 Living in the City
CAS HI 246 London: Imperial City to World City
CAS HI 251 Culture Capital: The History of Popular Culture in London (London Study Abroad)
CAS HI 253 London at War (London Study Abroad)
CAS HI 260 The Venetian Republic
CAS HI 261 The Venetian Republic: 697–1797
CAS HI 268 Postcolonial Paris
CAS HI 316 American Urban History
CAS HI 365 Shanghai: The Key to Modern China (Shanghai Study Abroad)
CAS HI 390 Mecca to Dubai: Cities in the Middle East
CAS HI 440 Refugee Hollywood
CAS HI 500 Topics in History
CAS HI 568 The Modern Metropolis: Approaches to Urban History
Spanish Courses
CAS LS 576 Topics in Spanish American Literature: Buenos Aires Through its Tales (Buenos Aires Study Abroad)
Political Science Courses
CAS PO 141 Introduction to Public Policy
CAS PO 313 The Politics and Policy of HBO’s The Wire
CAS PO 316 Race and Politics of Criminal Justice Policy
CAS PO 330 W1 Special Topics: Urban Politics in the Global South
CAS PO 517 Urban Politics and Policy
CAS PO 519 Inequality and American Politics
CAS PO 524 Local Policy Analysis Lab
CAS PO 529 Globalization and Contemporary Capitalism in Advanced Industrialized Nations
Sociology Courses
CAS SO 211 Confronting Racial, Cultural, Gender, and Social Identities in Urban Classrooms
CAS SO 232 Sociology and Inequality
CAS SO 242 Globalization and World Poverty
CAS SO 244 Urban Sociology
CAS SO 280 Global Urban Studies
CAS SO 306 Boston’s People and Neighborhoods
CAS SO 335 Sociology of Race, Class, and Gender
CAS SO 347 Los Angeles: Case Study of a Global City (Los Angeles Study Abroad)
CAS SO 483/SO 883 Gentrification Studies
CAS SO 490 Global Health: Politics, Institutions, and Ideology
College of Fine Arts Courses
CFA AR 569 Art, Community, and Social Engagement
College of Communication Courses
HUB Social Justice Courses
HUB SJ 101 Social & Racial Justice: Systems and Structures
Questrom Courses
QST SI 250 Ideas to Impact
Wheelock College Courses
*SED ED 410 Social Context of Education *2-credit course
*SED ED 412 Civic Context of Education *2-credit course
SED YJ 201 Intro to Youth Justice & Delinquency