FAQs

The History, Theory & Urbanism concentration in the Architecture major is for students who want to graduate with an Architecture major but with specific coursework in urbanism. In sophomore year, students intended to major in Architecture are required to take all the prerequisite courses ARCH 1500, 2000 and 2800. 

Urban Studies major is for students who are interested in studying the built environment without becoming an architect. There is no prerequisite courses for the major, and you can convert many courses taken outside of the department to count towards the major. So, with less required courses, you will be able to fully engage with the Urban Labs in your junior year, and have more liberty to take elective courses.

Besides the general Yale College fellowships such as CIPE, Richter, etc., you can apply for the Friedman Family Travel/Research Fellowship, which is dedicated to supporting student research in urban studies. Depending on your research, you might also be eligible for fellowships in other specific fields of study. Every semester, we host a fellowship application workshop to introduce various fellowship opportunities across different fields.

As part of the senior requirement, You can pursue a yearlong senior project of your interest. If you decide to conduct an independent research, you will take ARCH 490, Senior Research Colloquium in the fall to develop your topic; you will complete your project in the spring semester by taking URBN 491, Senior Project. 

You have the option of pursuing a yearlong senior project or enroll in an advanced seminar (*ARCH 400–490?). The senior project may be a written paper or a project that could encompass a variety of media. The primary adviser must be a member of the *architecture faculty?. Students enrolled in an advanced seminar should produce a final paper of twenty to twenty-five pages in addition to existing course work. The seminar should be selected in consultation with the DUS. Note that students pursuing this option must also take an additional elective.

You are required to take 13 course credits - which could be less than 13 courses, since each Urban Lab is 1.5 credits.

The 13 course credits need to include 3 survey courses, 1 ARCH course, 3 method courses (one of which is the Urban Lab), and 4-6 electives.

As an interdisciplinary field, Urban Studies has many overlaps with other disciplines. You can certainly double major, and you will work closely with the DUS to discuss coursework. 

As long as you fulfill the course credit requirements for the major, you are welcome to take any course in Yale College as Credit/D/Fail. This is a great way to explore in the fields you are not familiar with. According to the rules of Yale College Programs of Study rules and regulations, you may take as many as (2) courses Credit/D/Fail in a single term, and up to (4) courses Credit/D/Fail towards your degree.

You can find a list of courses through this link (link to Elective Course Options page). If there is a course you think might be qualified for an Urban Studies course credit but is not on the list, you can submit a petition form to the DUS to discuss coursework.

Currently, the Urban Studies major share courses with Anthropology Department, American Studies Department, History Department, and History of Science, Medecine, and Public Health. There are faculty members you can reach out to in each department above if you are interested in furthering or deepening your exploration in that field. See Faculty Directory through this link (link to Faculty page on the website).

Currently, urbanism concentration is available in the following majors: American Studies, Environmental Studies, and Ethics, Politics and Economics. The Urban Studies major differs from these programs because it focuses on understanding and exploring urban issues through spatial terms and methods. Students in Urban Studies major are offered with two special Urban Lab courses. The Urban Labs emphasize on cultivating skills to represent, analyze, construct, and speculate on critical urban conditions - both locally and globally - through various mediums.

There is no prerequisite course for the major, but you are required to meet with the DUS to discuss your intended course of study, as well as complete an Intent to Major in Urban Studies Survey that you can find through this link. You will also be asked to provide a short Statement of Intent, a 5-10 page Writing Sample from a Yale College class, and a copy of your Yale College Academic Record (unofficial copies are acceptable).

Within the urban studies major, there are four classes you could take as introductory courses to the field: 

URBN 2000 Scales of Design (spring); 

URBN 2800 American Architecture and Urbanism (spring);

URBN 3410 Globalization Space (spring); 

URBN 3450 Civic Art: Introduction to Urban Design (fall)

You are also encouraged to explore specific topics in an interdisciplinary setting by taking courses with other departments:

AMST 196 Race, Class, and Gender in American Cities (fall);

ANTH 414 Hubs, Mobilities, and World Cities (spring);

EVST 226 Global Environmental History (spring);

HSHM 211 Global Catastrophe since 1750 (spring)

These courses will also count towards your course credit requirement for the major.