Urban and Regional Studies (URS) provides an interdisciplinary learning setting where students can gain insights into some of the major challenges facing urban areas, as well as their linkages with wider regions and rural spaces. Current faculty in URS provide insights drawing on Anthropology, Economics, Engineering, Management, Geography, Health Studies, History, Politics, and Sociology. Students can gain a better understanding of issues such as the cultural politics of place, economic development, income inequality, gentrification and renoviction, governance and leadership, homelessness, housing policy, identity politics of/in place, land use conflict, public health, public and private economics, regional history, sustainable transportation, sustainable development, urban politics, and the relationship between identity, place, and community. Research in URS attempts to develop connections between urban and regional theory and analysis on the one hand, and development of urban and regional politics and practices on the other. In pursuing this diverse field of study, URS students will have the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge, resources, and collaboration of supervisors from four faculties and eight departments.
The MA and MSc interdisciplinary degrees in urban and regional studies gives graduate students access to the expertise of diverse, nationally and internationally recognized researchers from a variety of faculties and disciplines in a coherent, thematic framework.
Graduates of the program will come away with a nuanced understanding of topics relating to urbanization and regional development, and the ability to apply interdisciplinary methods and perspectives to research in this field.
PROGRAM MILESTONES
Establishing a faculty supervisory committee
Completing coursework
Preparing, presenting, and defending a thesis research proposal
Completing thesis research and writing, and defending the work
