Urban Studies

  What is Urban Studies?

The urban studies program in UC's College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP) provides students with a flexible but organized way of preparing to be productive participants in contemporary urban life. This baccalaureate degree prepares students for employment in metropolitan areas and organizations in fields such as community development, human services, housing and personnel work, as well as for graduate work in urban studies, law, management, community planning, public administration and the social sciences.

  Success Factors

People who are successful in the urban studies program have verbal learning styles. They are self-motivated students who seek an individually designed program within a broad liberal arts curriculum. Urban studies students possess a heightened social consciousness. This curriculum provides a pre-professional course of study for students who anticipate going on into graduate work in law, management or public administration.

  Career Possibilities

Urban studies is excellent preparation for a career in law and public administration. Graduates find employment opportunities in community development, human services, housing and personnel work. Many also choose to pursue advanced degrees.

  Majoring in Urban Studies

The goal of undergraduate urban studies education in the UC School of Planning is to introduce beginning students to the general knowledge required by the planning profession, as well as to ground students in the liberal arts. This four-year program of study leads to a bachelor of science degree. This baccalaureate degree prepares students for employment in metropolitan areas and organizations and for graduate work in urban studies, law, management, community planning, public administration and the social sciences.

The four-year urban studies program is a broad-based, pre-professional program, leading to a bachelor of science degree. The program focuses on a critical examination of urban life and its issues. An urban orientation is instilled through a 30-credit hour concentration in urban studies, complemented by selected courses in planning. Critical analysis is developed in research methods courses, a formal undergraduate thesis and a capstone seminar.

An independent, self-motivated student is able to develop his or her own urban-focused interdisciplinary degree program of great richness in discussion with the academic advisor. By massing the group electives (30 credits), open electives (27 credits) and thesis work (6 credits), a student can explore in detail an area of personal interest. On the other hand, a student with more wide-ranging interests can use the open electives to study individual subjects of concern. Finally, students have enough flexibility in the program to pursue, simultaneously, a second bachelor’s degree within a number of other university programs.

  Minoring in Urban Studies

While there is not a minor in urban studies, students may choose to earn a certificate in one of the following programs: urban planning, geographic information systems, or historic preservation. Please see the College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning Bulletin at www.uc.edu/bulletins (http://www.uc.edu/bulletins) for further information.

  Curriculum

This curriculum information is intended as a general information guide for students considering enrollment in this program. These online tools are designed to assist you, but are not a substitute for planning with an academic or faculty advisor.

If you are currently confirmed or enrolled, you can check your degree requirements online (http://www.onestop.uc.edu/degree_audit.html). If you are considering transferring to this major from another school use the Course Applicability System (CAS) (https://oh.transfer.org/cas/) to see how credits you have earned will apply to this major at UC. For course descriptions by college, click here (http://www.uc.edu/courses).

 Urban Studies Curriculum (http://www.uc.edu/DegreePrograms/Collage/documents/daap/uc_urst_prog_outline.pdf)

  UC Advantages and Special Opportunities

• The city of Cincinnati, once called the "Queen City of the West" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, provides an excellent array of cultural resources for students who intend to pursue a degree in the visual arts. It offers the energy and assets of a larger city, along with quiet neighborhoods steeped in rich traditions. Cincinnati offers live music venues that range from top-notch symphony and opera companies to a growing pop and rock community. Home to the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Taft Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, the city also enjoys the presence of numerous art galleries and a strong support system among practicing artists. Cincinnati is situated within driving distance of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Atlanta and New York City, allowing DAAP students to take advantage of the rich cultural resources of these cities as well.
  
• The DAAP College Library has an outstanding collection of books, periodicals and visual resources supporting architecture, planning, design, art history and related subjects. Access to library holdings is provided by an automated online catalogue, UCLID, which provides access to the University of Cincinnati Library information database, and through OhioLINK, the holdings of other academic libraries throughout Ohio.
  
• The Computer Graphics Center is a state-of-the-art university facility with hardware that includes PCs, Apple computers and peripherals such as scanners, plotters and digital video-editing suites. Students have access to sophisticated graphics equipment and receive hands-on instruction to augment the use of laptops in the classroom. All computing equipment is linked by high-speed Ethernet to facilitate access across the campus.
  
• The College supports a Rapid Prototyping Center, which is the home of state-of-the-art equipment that allows students to create communication aids for their design projects. Using CAD (computer-aided design) models, students are able to create physical models using three basic methods: 3-D printing, large format laser-cutting and CNC (computer numeric control) devices, including a Kuomo CNC Router. This facility is intended for all DAAP students to use in creating large-scale designs.

  Special Programs

• The urban studies program is part of the UC College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), one of the most comprehensive and well-respected colleges of art and design in the country. Enrollment in DAAP gives students the chance to benefit and learn from other disciplines in the college. Urban studies students regularly study with urban planning students, and they may also enroll periodically in interdisciplinary courses, affording the opportunity to share an area of expertise with students from different disciplines.
  

• Additional learning opportunities include a summer quarter abroad and exchange programs with universities in The Netherlands and Turkey. Through the university’s many certificate programs (similar to a minor area of study), urban studies students can add a specialization in areas such as real estate, area studies, a foreign language, planning and historic preservation.
  

• Computer Requirements: All undergraduate students entering the School of Planning in the urban studies program are required to purchase a personal laptop computer. Each discipline has its own specific requirements for hardware and software. You can review the current requirements at www.daap.uc.edu/compreq (http://daap.uc.edu/compreq). Please note that these requirements may be slightly altered as equipment evolves. The requirements listed on the Web site will always be the most recent and accurate. Therefore, students new to DAAP are encouraged to delay their computer purchase until the summer prior to entering to make the most informed computer purchase. Many of our programs have additional technology requirements for students in the later years of study.

  Admission Requirements

Freshmen

Admission criteria for this program vary based on the relative strength of test scores, class rank and GPA. Please see the Freshman Class Profile for this major in the Quick Facts sidebar on this page for the range of academic credentials typically accepted into this program. Test scores in the lower range may be acceptable with higher class rank and/or GPA.

Freshmen applying to this program should also have completed the following college-preparatory subjects:

• 4 units of college prep English
• 3 units of college preparatory math
• 2 units of science
• 2 units in one language
• 2 units of social studies
• 1 unit of fine arts
• 2 additional college prep subjects

  Transferring to UC Requirements

Students seeking to transfer from another regionally accredited university or college must have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average in previous college work to be considered for admission. Transfer students are encouraged to apply for admission to the urban studies program up through the beginning of the third year. More advanced transfer students will be considered on a case-by-case basis and should contact the School of Planning office.

  Changing Majors within UC Requirements

Students seeking to transfer from other colleges and programs at UC must have at least a 2.5 cumulative grade point average in previous college work to be considered for admission. Transfer students are encouraged to apply for admission to the urban studies program up through the beginning of the third year. More advanced transfer students will be considered on a case-by-case basis and should contact the School of Planning office.

  Graduation Requirements

Students must complete 186 credit hours for graduation. Students must obtain a minimum overall grade point average of 2.0 and, in addition, must have at least a 2.0 grade point average for the senior year to be eligible for graduation. In order to be eligible for graduation with honors, a student must have earned at least a 3.6 grade point average.

  Application Deadlines

Prospective high school students are advised to apply as soon as possible after September 1 of their senior year for assured consideration. Enrollment in the UC College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning is controlled, and therefore admission is selective. Admission to urban planning is on a rolling (first-come, first-served) basis; once all the available seats are filled, the program is closed.

Students seeking transfer from another college or program at UC or another regionally accredited university or college should also apply early in the academic year.

  Accreditation

The University of Cincinnati is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

More information about UC programs as online at www.uc.edu/programs