Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Urban and Community Studies BS - Areas of Specialization
View of Boston's Back Bay skyline, at night across the Charles River from Memorial Drive in Cambridge. Photo by Eric Hill
In addition to common requirements, UCS students choose a field of specialization. The three tracks are:
1. Urban and Community Development
This track is designed for students who are interested in community development, community organization, and urban planning and management. The track examines the roles of public, private and nonprofit sectors in the functioning of cities and suburbs and the special importance of public policy in linking these sectors. Special emphasis is placed on housing, land use and transportation, finance, education, public health, criminal justice, urban security, urban sprawl, and environmental issues.
2. Communities in Global Perspective
This track is designed for students who are interested in regional economic and cultural issues in international settings. It considers the impacts of globalization and their implications for international, national, and local planning practice. The track explores urban-rural dynamics, urbanization in the developing world, and relationships between cities of both high- and low-income nations. Finally, it analyzes non-governmental organizations involved in urban and rural development.
3. Community: Race, Class, and Gender
This track is concerned with the practical implications of how urban and regional communities are organized with respect to ethnicity, race, class, and gender. The track prepares students to analyze how competing interests shape these issues and how interconnected political, economic, social, and environmental forces affect places ranging from neighborhoods to entire regions. It pays special attention to such issues as urban poverty, racial segregation, crime, gender inequalities, educational challenges, the division of labor, tribal sovereignty, the immigrant experience, and urban family life.
To fulfill the Track requirement, students choose seven courses (28 c.u.) within the track of their choice. Courses that count toward the different tracks are:
Track 1: Urban and Community Development
Social Order of the City (0526-442)
Rochester: People, Politics, and Planning (0526-443)
Population and Society (0515-449)
Cultural Resource Management and Historic Preservation (0510-450)
Sustainable Communities I (0508-491)
Urban Economics (0511-440) (prereq: Principles of Microeconomics 0511-211)
Public Finance (0511-444) (prereqs: Principles of Microeconomics 0511-211 and Principles of Macroeconomics 0511-402)
Major Issues in CJ System: Crime/Justice in the Community (0501-405)
U.S. Housing Policy (0515-454/SOCI-310)
Urban Deviance (SOCI-330)
Urban Poverty (0515-455/SOCI-345)
Track 2: Communities in Global Perspective
Cultures in Globalization (0510-440)
City and Countryside (0526-444)
Sustainable Development (0510-449)
The Archaeology of Cities (0510-508)
Cultures of Latin America (0510-442)
Social Movements in the Global Economy (0510-444)
Transfer of Technology and Globalization (0515-451)
Economics of Less Developed Countries (0511-448)
Politics of Developing Countries (0513-446) (prereq: American Politics 0513-211 or International Relations 0513-214 or equivalent)
Track 3: Community: Race, Class, and Gender
Immigrants in the U.S. (0510-443)
Native North Americans (0510-446)
Sociology of Work (0515-443)
Social Inequality (0515-506)
The Changing Family (0515-441)
Women, Work, and Culture (0515-447)
Minority Group Relations (0515-448)
African American Culture (0515-482)
Hispanic American Culture (0515-483)
Social Policy and Aging (0515-515)
Urban Economics (0511-440) (prereq: Principles of Microeconomics 0511-211)
U.S. Housing Policy (0515-454/SOCI-310)
Urban Poverty (0515-455/SOCI-345)