The major in Urban Science and Society provides students with a deep understanding of the richness, complexities and interrelationships of the urban world and urban life. It focuses on an investigation of cities and urban life in their physical, environmental, social, cultural, economic, and political manifestations, the critical role of cities in society, the causes, prevalence, and consequences of urban challenges, and the theory and practice of addressing these challenges. The program is broadly interdisciplinary, drawing from different disciplinary frameworks, insights, perspectives, approaches, and tools to analyze and understand urban dynamics, processes, issues, problems, and policies. Through a comprehensive program of study that includes coursework and community-based experiences, the major prepares students for careers and graduate studies in many fields including community development, education, social work, urban design, urban planning, law, business, architecture, real estate, law, public health, public administration, law enforcement, community organization, communications, and journalism. It can be pursued as a single major or combined with many majors at William Paterson University such as political science, sociology, criminal justice, anthropology, history, business, communication, liberal studies, and environmental science.
The world is more urban now than in any other time in human history. Today, about half of the world's population lives in urban areas and that proportion is projected to grow in the coming years. In the United States, about 80% of the population lives in urban areas. With this rapid urbanization and globalization, the importance of cities continues to grow. Most of our living, work, recreational spaces, cultural institutions and cultural activities, modern politics, and economic activities, exist within and are shaped by the context of cities and their surrounding metropolitan regions. But cities also present us with many social, cultural, economic, political, and environmental problems and challenges. As such, understanding the human condition is now inevitably an urban question. The major in Urban Science and Society provides students with a deep understanding of the richness, complexities and interrelationships of the urban world and urban life. It focuses on an investigation of cities and urban life in their physical, environmental, social, cultural, economic, and political manifestations, the critical role of cities in society, the causes, prevalence, and consequences of urban challenges, and the theory and practice of addressing these challenges. The program is broadly interdisciplinary, drawing from different disciplinary frameworks, insights, perspectives, approaches, and tools to analyze and understand urban dynamics, processes, issues, and policies. The variety of courses in the major allows students to explore topics such as the origins and spread of cities, historical and contemporary patterns of urbanization at local, regional, national and global scales, city forms, urban economic growth and decline, migration race, ethnic and gender relation in cities, types of urban economies, forms of urban governance, power structures of cities, urban social movements, public education, public health, housing, land-use planning, poverty, racial and ethnic relations, transportation, crime, and community development. Through a comprehensive program of study that includes coursework and community-based experiences, the major will prepare students for careers and graduate studies in many fields including community service, education, social work, urban design, urban planning, law, business, architecture, real estate, law, public health, public administration, law enforcement, community organization, communications, and journalism.