Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Studies
Addressing the Challenges of Contemporary Urban Life
In the Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Studies (B.S. URS) program, students develop the insights, knowledge, and technical skills needed to understand cities in all their diversity, richness, and splendor, and address the myriad challenges of contemporary urban life. The program's small size (about 25–30 graduates each year) encourages students to work closely with professors. Sharing academic interests and concerns, professors and students learn from one another both inside and outside the classroom.
Urban and regional studies (URS) classes ask how a vast spectrum of social and economic forces have changed cities; what these changes mean for people in their daily lives; and how citizens, community groups, and planners can work together to make productive, sustainable, safe, lively, and livable places.
- B.S. URS Curriculum and Requirements
- B.S. URS admissions and application information
- More on what URS students are learning
Global Study Opportunities
In addition to on-campus studies in Ithaca, URS students are encouraged to take advantage of the university's resources for international research and education. Most URS students choose to participate in AAP's semester-long Cornell in Rome program, usually during the spring semester of junior year. While there, students take classes in art, architecture, and urban planning, all emphasizing the convergence of artistic, cultural, and architectural ideas unique to Europe. Other URS students choose to tackle research problems that relate to development in Asia, Africa, or Latin America. A semester-long URS New York City program, based at the AAP NYC studio in lower Manhattan, is currently in development.
