The Undergraduate Certificate in Urban Studies draws from classes in sociology, geography, history, political science, economics, urban studies, and urban planning to explore issues related to cities, suburban communities and metropolitan regions such as transportation, education, housing, population shifts, crime, discrimination, and more.
Certificates are similar to minors in terms of credit requirements but draw on coursework from multiple fields of study rather than from a single department.
Eligibility
The Urban Studies Undergraduate Certificate program is open to all students seeking a bachelor's degree from UWM, to students who previously have received a bachelor's degree from UWM or any other accredited college or university, and to those who do not plan to pursue a college or university degree (non-degree students) but who have a strong interest in this subject. To be admitted to the University as non-degree students, individuals must meet regular University admission requirements. Students currently involved in baccalaureate studies who complete the requirements of the program successfully will be awarded the certificate at the time of graduation. Post-baccalaureate and non-degree students will receive the certificate upon successful completion of the program requirements.
Requirements
- Completion of 18 credits in approved urban studies courses with a minimum GPA of 2.500.
- Completion of URB STD 250 (Exploring the Urban Environment), URB STD 193 (First-Year Seminar), or URB STD 360 (Perspectives on the Urban Scene).
- Of the 18 credits:
- 6 must be in the humanities;
- 6 in the social sciences; and
- 9 must be at the 300 level or above taken in residence at UWM.
- No more than 9 credits from any one department outside Urban Studies may count toward the certificate.
- A maximum of 6 credits in independent study may be taken. In the senior year, a student may plan an independent study course to synthesize previous work in urban studies.
- An internship in URB STD 289 or URB STD 489 is recommended highly.
- While students may elect courses outside the College of Letters and Science to count toward the certificate, at least 12 credits must be completed in L&S courses, at least 6 of these at the 300 level or above.
- Credits earned at other institutions in equivalent urban studies programs and accepted by UWM as transfer credits may count in partial fulfillment of the certificate requirements.
Urban Studies Approved Courses
The following courses in the College of Letters and Science are approved to count toward the Urban Studies Certificate. Each semester, the Advisory Committee will review and approve variable content course sections for the Certificate. Contact the Urban Studies Program for the most current list of approved courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| AFRIC 125 | Economics of the Black Community | 3 |
| AFRIC 300 | Urban Violence | 3 |
| AFRIC 319 | African American Urban History | 3 |
| AFRIC 341 | Black Politics and City Government | 3 |
| AFRIC 416 | Race and Social Justice in the United States | 3 |
| ANTHRO 431 | Cities and Culture | 3 |
| ARCH 190 | Special Topics: (only with topic "Field School") | 1-3 |
| ARCH 302 | Architecture and Human Behavior | 3 |
| ARCH 304 | Contemporary Criticism and Urbanism | 3 |
| ARTHIST 425 | The Age of Pilgrimage and Crusade: Romanesque Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 426 | The Age of the Great Cathedrals: Gothic Art and Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 431 | Renaissance Architecture in Italy | 3 |
| ARTHIST 459 | American Architecture | 3 |
| ARTHIST 462 | Frank Lloyd Wright | 3 |
| BUS ADM 441 | Diversity in Organizations | 3 |
| CRM JST 291 | Current Issues in Criminal Justice: | 1-3 |
| CRM JST 310 | Race, Ethnicity, and Justice | 3 |
| ED POL 111 | Introduction to Community Change and Engagement | 3 |
| ED POL 113 | The Milwaukee Community | 3 |
| ED POL 114 | Community Problems | 3 |
| ED POL 203 | Communities and Neighborhoods in America | 3 |
| ED POL 630 | Race, Ethnicity, and Public Policy in Urban America | 3 |
| GEOG 114 | Geography of Race in the United States | 3 |
| GEOG 140 | Our Urban Environment: Introduction to Urban Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 215 | Introduction to Geographic Information Science | 3 |
| GEOG 247 | Quantitative Analysis in Geography 1 | 3 |
| GEOG 441 | Geography of Cities and Metropolitan Areas | 3 |
| GEOG 443 | Cities of the World: Comparative Urban Geography | 3 |
| GEOG 464 | Environmental Problems | 3 |
| GEOG 520 | Physical Geography of the City | 3 |
| GEOG 525 | Geographic Information Science | 4 |
| GEOG 540 | Globalization and the City | 3 |
| GEOG 564 | Urban Environmental Change and Social Justice | 3 |
| GEOG 625 | Intermediate Geographic Information Science | 4 |
| HIST 192 | First-Year Seminar: (Living in Ancient Rome or The Burbs: History of American Suburbs) | 3 |
| HIST 200 | Historical Roots of Contemporary Issues: (Making of the American Ghetto) | 3 |
| HIST 303 | A History of Greek Civilization: The Greek City-State | 3 |
| HIST 307 | A History of Rome: The Republic | 3 |
| HIST 308 | A History of Rome: The Empire | 3 |
| HIST 404 | Topics in American History: (Approved topics: Big City Life Viewed Through HBO’s 'The Wire'; A Tale of Two Cities: Milwaukee and Los Angeles) | 3 |
| HIST 436 | Immigrant America Since 1880 | 3 |
| HIST 440 | History of the American Working Classes | 3 |
| HIST 446 | African Americans Since the Civil War | 3 |
| HIST 450 | The History of Milwaukee | 3 |
| HIST 460 | The History of Poverty in America | 3 |
| HIST 463 | History of the American City | 3 |
| HIST 595 | The Quantitative Analysis of Historical Data 1 | 3 |
| POL SCI 213 | Urban Government and Politics | 3 |
| POL SCI 243 | Public Administration | 3 |
| POL SCI 390 | Political Data Analysis 1 | 3 |
| POL SCI 450 | Urban Political Problems | 3 |
| POL SCI 452 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| PUB ADM 243 | Public Administration | 3 |
| PUB ADM 452 | Administrative Law | 3 |
| SOC WRK 306 | Introduction to Social Welfare Policy | 3 |
| SOC WRK 630 | Families and Poverty | 2-3 |
| SOCIOL 224 | Race and Ethnicity in the United States | 3 |
| SOCIOL 235 | Social Change in the Global Economy | 3 |
| SOCIOL 261 | Introduction to Statistical Thinking in Sociology 1 | 3 |
| SOCIOL 323 | Perspectives on Latino Communities | 3 |
| SOCIOL 324 | Race and Ethnicity in Global Contexts | 3 |
| SOCIOL 325 | Social Change | 3 |
| SOCIOL 330 | Economy and Society | 3 |
| SOCIOL 350 | Environmental Sociology | 3 |
| SOCIOL 377 | Urbanism and Urbanization | 3 |
| THEATRE 305 | The Theatrical Experience: (With topic: Out and About in Milwaukee) | 3 |
| URBPLAN | All U and U/G courses | |
| URB STD | All U and U/G courses |
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If a student takes one of these quantitative courses, it is not recommended to take another from this group because of their similarity.