Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies
The world is more urban now than in any other era in human history. With this rapid urbanization has come the crucial role of cities as sites of economic development, crucibles of civic citizenship, and spaces of cultural imagination. As an urban studies major at UC Berkeley, you’ll learn to lead change for better urban futures. The interdisciplinary curriculum introduces you to key issues in urban history, transportation planning, and housing. Lecture and seminar classes, plus a capstone experience, focus on cities as sites of economic development, civic participation, social transformation, and cultural imagination. You’ll graduate with the knowledge, tools, and methods required to make our cities more humane and resilient.
About the Program
The urban studies major, housed in the Department of City & Regional Planning in the College of Environmental Design, introduces you to the following bodies of knowledge:
- Historical and contemporary analysis of American and global urbanization, urbanism, urban societies, and urban political economies.
- Conceptual tools, analytical methods, and theoretical frameworks to understand urban environments, such as economic analysis, social science theory, and visualization technologies.
- Forms, functions, and practices of urban planning and design, metropolitan governance, and social movements and social justice, including issues such as transportation planning, community development, and housing.
- Ways of providing more humane, equitable, environmentally sensitive, and efficient settlements and to lead change for better urban futures.
The urban studies major trains you for a variety of future careers and fields of graduate study related to urban studies and planning, including practice-oriented fields such as urban planning, law, nonprofit management, and public policy, as well as research-oriented fields such as geography, sociology, and anthropology. Above all, the intent of the major is to produce urban citizens and global leaders.
About the College of Environmental Design
The Department of City & Regional Planning, established at UC Berkeley in 1948, was one of the founding departments of the College of Environmental Design. When the college was created in 1959, it was the first in the nation to unite the disciplines of architecture, planning, and landscape architecture, leading the way toward an integrated approach to analyzing, understanding, and designing our built environment.
The college emphasizes environmental design as a profoundly ethical practice, inseparable from social, political, economic, and cultural contexts. We’re committed to building an inclusive environment for our faculty, students and staff that respects and reflects the communities in which we live and work.
CED Ambassadors
CED’s admissions ambassadors are happy to help you learn more via:
- Virtual Presentations
- One-on-one conversations
- Webinars, phone calls, email exchanges
- Student panel discussions about the student experience at CED
How to Apply
Applications to the College of Environmental Design are made through UC Berkeley’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Applications are available beginning August 1 and may be submitted beginning October 1. The final deadline to submit your application is November 30. Other important deadlines are available here. A portfolio is not required for admission to CED.