Website: http://www.camden.rutgers.edu/dept-pages/urban/index.php
Program Director: Dr. Lorraine C. Minnite, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy and Administration, and Director of Urban Studies Program; Ph.D., CUNY
Urban Studies Advisory Committee:
Gail Caputo, Associate Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice, and Director of the Graduate Program in Criminal Justice; Ph.D., Rutgers
Carla Giaudrone, Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, and Director of Latin American Studies Program; Ph.D., New York
Richard Harris, Professor, Departments of Political Science and Public Policy and Administration, and Senior Research Fellow, Walter Rand Institute; Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Lauren Silver, Assistant Professor, Department of Childhood Studies; Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Robyne Stevenson Turner, Associate Professor, Department of Public Policy and Administration; Ph.D., Florida
Affiliated Faculty:
Gloria Bonilla-Santiago, Board of Governors Service Professor of Public Policy and Administration, and Director, Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership; Ph.D., CUNY
Wanda Garcia, Associate Director, Center for Strategic Urban Community Leadership; Director, Rutgers Centers of Excellence; M.S.W., Rutgers
Adjunct Faculty and Part-Time Lecturers:
Steve Dixon, M.A., Skidmore College
Thomas Knoche, M.R.P., North Carolina
Robert Russo, M.A., Wayne State
Emeritus Faculty:
James A. Dunn, Ph.D., Pennsylvania
Russell S. Harrison, Ph.D., North Carolina
Michael Lang, Ph.D., London School of Economics
Jon Van Til, Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
The program in urban studies offers a diverse curriculum that focuses on urban history, politics, planning, economics, and demography and addresses a wide range of contemporary issues affecting cities around the world. As urban populations grow, so do the challenges. Whether it is the global economic crisis or natural disaster, urban studies majors learn about complex issues that prepare them to be problem solvers.
Students study cities and how they function, grow, and prosper or decline. The program is interdisciplinary, so students take courses in other departments as well, such as criminal justice, sociology, political science, and history. Classes in urban studies cover topics about how cities are planned, population trends, and urban policy issues like housing, sustainability, and environmental justice. Students develop a range of skills including how to conduct community-based participatory action research, policy analysis, and the use of mapping to facilitate community engagement. Some courses provide field experience and community engagement appropriate for preprofessionals.
The program offers a range of other options to students, including:
1. Double majors, which allow the student to develop an urban studies major in addition to a major in another discipline or professional field
2. Minors, which permit majors in other departments to gain a broader understanding of urban issues. Minors complete six courses in the program, including one in each of the four core concentrations.
3. The bachelor of arts/master of public administration (B.A./M.P.A.) five-year, dual-degree program for urban studies provides direct access to the master's program in public policy and administration at Rutgers Graduate School–Camden. Interested students may apply for this program during the second semester of their junior year.
