The Department of Urban Studies at the CUNY School for Labor and Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary program devoted to the study of the city.

Shaped by its long and enduring ties to the labor movement and community-based organizations, the department of Urban Studies is committed to both producing cutting-edge urban research and providing students with the intellectual and practical tools they will need to effect urban change.

Given its location, the department uses New York City as a laboratory to explore how cities—their politics and policies, economy, and social structure— impact workers, working-class communities, and other marginalized groups.

In addition to offering students a strong theoretical background to urban debates, the department also provides students with a wide array of service-learning opportunities and the ability to apply their learning to the real world.

Through both our undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, students gain marketable credentials and skills while promoting social justice and community-based activism.