THE BARNARD–COLUMBIA URBAN STUDIES PROGRAM
Major Curriculum, 2016–17
Kimberley Johnson
Program Director
Lehman Hall 405; x4-8522
ijohnson@barnard.edu
Kathryn B. Yatrakis
Columbia College Adviser
Hamilton Hall 208; x4-2441
kby1@columbia.edu
Coretta Grant
Faculty Department Assistant
Milbank 503; x4-4073
cgrant@barnard.edu
The Urban Studies program enables students to explore and understand the urban experience in all of its richness
and complexity. It recognizes the city as an amalgam of diverse peoples and their social, political, economic, and
cultural interactions within a distinctive built environment. Students study the evolution and variety of urban
forms and governance structures, which create opportunities for, as well as constrain, the exercise of human
agency, individual and collective. They explore the place of the city in different historical and comparative
contexts, as well as in the human imagination.
Majors build an intellectual foundation that combines interdisciplinary coursework and a concentration of study
within a single field. Through the two-semester junior colloquium, students study urban history and contemporary
issues, and at the same time hone their interdisciplinary, analytical and research skills. This shared experience
prepares them for their independent research project in their senior year. We encourage our majors to use New
York City as a laboratory, and many courses draw on the vast resources of the city and include an off-campus
experience.
Student Learning Objectives:
Having successfully completed the major in Urban Studies, the student will be able to:
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Apply concepts or methods from more than one social science or adjacent discipline to analyze an urban
issue or problem.
Describe the distinctive social, cultural, and spatial features of cities and illustrate their impacts on the
urban experience.
Apply basic skills of empirical reasoning to an urban problem.
Explain how the idea of the city varies in different historical and comparative contexts.
Demonstrate familiarity with a particular disciplinary approach to the city as an object of study.
Demonstrate an understanding of the history and variety of urban forms and governance structures.
Articulate a well-defined research question, conduct independent research using primary sources and a
variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, and write a substantive research paper.
Communicate ideas effectively in written or oral form.
Organize and present group research projects.
For the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on our program, please see our website at http://urban.barnard.edu/
This document was last updated 2/13/2016
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Major Curriculum
The major in Urban Studies is comprised of six curricular requirements:
Urban-related Social Science (3 courses)
One course dealing primarily with urban subject matter from each of three of the following disciplines:
A
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Anthropology
Economics
History
Political Science
Sociology
All ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and ‘C’ courses must be approved by the Director.
Many courses offered through Urban Studies may count towards Requirement A. For example,
Introduction to Urban Sociology counts as a Sociology course, Community Building counts as a Political
Science course, etc.
You must complete at least two of your A Requirement courses before taking the Junior Colloquia. It is
recommended that majors fulfill this requirement before their junior year. Intro to Urban Studies can
count as any ‘A’ course.
Urban-related Non-Social Science (1 course)
B
One course dealing primarily with urban subject matter from a discipline not listed above in
Requirement A (such as Architecture, Art History, English, Environmental Science, etc.). All ‘A,’ ‘B,’ and
‘C’ courses must be approved by the Director.
Methods of Analysis (1 course)
C
One course in Methods of Analysis, such as URBS V3200 — GIS Methods and Urban Case Studies. All ‘A,’
‘B,’ and ‘C’ courses must be approved by the Director.
Specialization (5 courses)
D
Five or more courses in a specialization from one of the participating departments. The options
between Columbia, General Studies, and Barnard students vary somewhat, as outlined below.
Columbia College students must take five courses from one of the following
departments: Anthropology; Architecture (must take Perceptions of Architecture and Architecture
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Representation: Abstraction); Economics (must take Micro- and Macroeconomics); Environmental
Science, History, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, or Sustainable Development (must be
approved by department). Your selection of courses must be approved by your adviser. If you wish to
specialize in a different department, consult with Dean Yatrakis.
General Studies students must take five courses from one of the following
departments: Anthropology, Architecture, Economics, Environmental Science, History, Political
Science, Psychology, Sociology, or Sustainable Development. Your selection of courses must be
approved by your adviser. If you wish to specialize in a different department, consult with the Director.
Barnard College students must complete a five-course specialization, as described below. To specialize
in a department that does not appear below, consult with the Director. Barnard students can double
count one ‘A,’ ‘B,’ or ‘C’ course toward their Specialization, with approval by the Director.
Barnard specializations:
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Africana
Studies

(for Barnard
students)
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Anthropology
(for Barnard
students)
One (1) of the Africana Studies introductory courses, either AFRS BC2004
— Introduction to African Studies, AFRS BC2005 — Caribbean Cultures
and Societies, or AFRS BC2006 — Introduction to the African Diaspora
One (1) course on Harlem, e.g. AFRS BC3528 — The Political Economy of
Harlem, ENGL BC3196 — Home to Harlem: Literature of the Harlem
Renaissance, AFRS BC3550 — Gay Harlem
One (1) Africana Studies colloquium (AFRS BC3110 — Critical Race Theory,
Diasporas of the Indian Ocean, and The New Black)
Any two (2) other Africana Studies courses
Three electives at the 3000-level or above. Plus, two introductory courses prior to
the senior year:
ANTH V 1002x Interpretation of Culture or ANTH V 1007y Origins of Human Society
ANTH V 3040x Anthropological Theory I or ANTH V 3041y Anthropological Theory II
Architecture,
Urban
Planning
(for Barnard
students)
Economics
(for Barnard
students)
One introductory studio course (either V1020, V3101 or V3103), any three history
and theory courses, and one additional architecture course, either a studio or
history/theory.
1) BC1002 Intro to Microeconomics or BC1003 Intro to Economic Reasoning or
W1105 Principles of Economics
2) BC3035 or W3211 Intermediate Microeconomics
3) W4228 Urban Economics
4) Two of the following electives:
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ECON BC3019 or
W4400
Labor Economics
ECON BC3011
Inequality and Poverty
ECON BC3012
Economics of Education
ECON BC3029 or
W4321
Economic Development
ECON W4438
Economics of Race in the U.S.
ECON W4465
Public Economics
Education
(for Barnard
students)
Consult the Education program.
A minimum of five English courses, three of which must be qualifying Barnard or
Columbia courses:

English

(for Barnard
students)

Environmental
Science
and
Sustainable
Development
(for Barnard
students)
One from either Chaucer (ENGL BC3154 or 3155), Shakespeare (ENTH
BC3136, ENGL BC3163 or 3164), or Milton (ENGL BC3167).
Two additional courses in literature before 1900, including ENTH BC3137,
certain seminar courses from ENGL BC3129 through ENGL BC3137 if the
seminar topic is historically appropriate (please check with the English
Department), ENGL BC3141, and ENGL BC3154 – 3180. (For more details,
visit the English department's Substitutions page, at
http://english.barnard.edu/requirements/substitutions)
Two electives from ENGL BC3103 – 3810 (excluding 3191).
Five courses selected from the following, including no more than 2 courses at the
1000 level. Consult the Environmental Science Department with questions about
additional course selections.
EESC BC1001
Introduction to Environmental Science I with lab
EESC BC1002
Introduction to Environmental Science II with lab
EAEE E1100
A Better Planet by Design
EESC V1201
Environmental Risks and Disasters
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EAEE E2002
Alternative Energy Resources
EESC V2100
EES: Climate with lab
EESC V2200
EES: Solid Earth with lab
EESC W2330
Science of Sustainable Development
EESC BC3016
Environmental Measurements
EESC BC3019
Energy Resources
EESC BC3025
Hydrology
EESC BC3026
Case Studies in Land Use Dynamics
EESC BC3032
Agricultural & Urban Land Use
EESC BC3033
Waste Management
EESC BC3040
Environmental Law
ENVS BC3045
Responding to Climate Change
EESC BC3043
Water, Sanitation & Health
EESC BC3200
Ecotoxicology
URBS V3310
Science, Technology and Urban Environments
EAEE E4001
Applied Industrial Ecology
EEEB G4130
Restoration and Urban Ecology
PUBH W3100
Fundamentals of Global Health
SDEV W3410
Urbanization and Sustainability
SDEV W3200
Global Food Systems
SDEV W3360
Disasters and Development
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History
(for Barnard
students)
SDEV W3400
Demography of Human Populations
SDEV W3300
Challenges of Sustainable Development
Four courses in an area of concentration (for example American History or
European History) and one course outside of the area of concentration. At least
one of these three courses must be a seminar.
Political
Science
Any five Political Science courses.
(for Barnard
students)
Five courses in Psychology (at least three credits each), plus a 1.5 credit laboratory
section.
Courses must include:
Psychology
(for Barnard
students)



PSYC BC1001 Introduction to Psychology;
BC1101 & 1102 Statistics;
and one lecture course chosen from the groups (A, B, and C) listed for the
major (see the Psychology website for details:
http://psychology.barnard.edu/requirements/major).
Substitutions can be made with permission of the Psychology Department chair.
Sociology
(for Barnard
students)
1) SOCI BC1000 The Social World
2) Any four 3000-level courses
Junior Colloquia (2 courses)
In the junior year, two colloquia are required:
E
• URBS V3545 Junior Colloquium (I): The Shaping of the Modern City
• URBS V3546 Junior Colloquium (II): Contemporary Urban Issues
You must take at least two of your three ‘A’ courses before taking the Junior Colloquia.
If you intend to study abroad during your junior year, see the Director during your sophomore year to
plan your program.
For the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on our program, please see our website at http://urban.barnard.edu/
This document was last updated 2/13/2016
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Senior Seminar (2 courses)
In the senior year, a senior thesis written in conjunction with a two-semester research seminar, chosen
from the following four options:
1.
Senior Seminar in Urban Studies: The Built Environment (URBS V3992x-93y)
Emphasizes the study of the built environment of cities and suburbs, and the related debates.
Seminar readings, class presentations, and written reports culminate in major individual
projects that combine written work and design work. Readings will include architecture, urban
design, urban planning, and urban history.
2.
Senior Seminar in Urban Studies: New York Field Research (URBS V3994x-95y)
Students engage in a social research project from conceptualization to final report, using New
York City as a research laboratory. Working individually and in small groups, under the
guidance of the faculty coordinator: students clarify basic theoretical issues related to the
research problem; find ways of making a series of empirical questions operational; collect
evidence to test hypotheses; analyze the data using a variety of social science techniques; and
produce reports of basic findings.
3.
Senior Seminar in Urban Studies: International Topics (URBS V3996x-97y)
A year-long research seminar for students who wish to conduct a senior thesis project that
focuses on cities outside of the United States. Topics relating to the rapid urbanization of Latin
America, Africa, and Asia are particularly welcome. Seminar meetings will include discussion of
relevant readings, as well as occasional class presentations and peer-editing assignments.
4.
Senior Research Seminar in the department of specialization)
With approval by the Director.
F
For the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on our program, please see our website at http://urban.barnard.edu/
This document was last updated 2/13/2016
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