Urban and Community Studies Minor
The minor in Urban and Community Studies is an interdisciplinary minor with a focus on educating citizens on the multiple dimensions of urban and community life and preparing students for careers in public and community service. While available with any undergraduate major, this minor provides an especially appropriate complement to majors in the social sciences, as well as departments and schools that emphasize human services such as Human Development and Family Sciences or Education.
The minor is offered by the Department of Geography, Sustainability, Community, and Urban Studies.
Requirements
The minor requires passing 15 credits at the 2000 or above level. A writing course is not required for the minor, but students may register for these sections if offered.
- Required Core: GSCU 2101 Introduction to Urban and Community Studies
- Core: Two of the following with no more than one per department (cross-listed courses count towards the non-GSCU department):
Course List Course Title Credits ECON 2439 Urban Development and Policy 3 ECON 2456 Economics of Poverty 3 GSCU 2545 The American Suburb: History, Power, Design 3 GSCU 2660/URBN 2600 Work and Economic Justice 3 GSCU 2700 Globalization 3 GSCU 2800E Introduction to Sustainable Cities 3 GSCU 3100 Urban Geography 3 GSCU 3600 Urban and Regional Planning 3 GSCU 3650E/URBN 3400E Urban Parks and Sustainability 3 HIST 2541/2541W/GSCU 2541/2541W The History of Urban America 3 HIST/AFRA 2564 African American History Since 1865 3 HIST 3554 Immigrants and the Shaping of American History 3 HIST 3674/LLAS 3220 History of Latinos/as in the United States 3 POLS 3842 Public Administration 3 POLS 3632/3632W/GSCU 3632/3632W Urban Politics 3 PP 4034 Social Policy 3 SOCI 2820 Sociological Perspectives on Poverty 3 SOCI 2901/2901W/GSCU 2901/2901W Urban Sociology 3 SOCI 3425 Social Welfare and Social Work 3 - Supporting: Two additional courses selected from Group 2 or the following list:
Course List Course Title Credits ANTH 3150/3150W Migration 3 ECON 2431 Economics of Taxation and Government Spending 3 ECON 2927 Information Technology for Economics 3 ECON 3431/3431W Public Economics 3 ECON/GSCU 3439 Urban and Regional Economics 3 EDLR 3547/3547W Introduction to Sport Based Youth Development 4 GSCU 2400 City and Community in Film 3 GSCU 2410Q Research Methods and Analysis in Urban and Community Studies 3 GSCU 2420/2420W Qualitative Methods in Urban and Community Studies 3 GSCU/CE 2500 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems 4 GSCU 2998 Variable Topics 3 GSCU 3184 Seminar in Urban Problems 3 GSCU 3194/3194W Urban Semester Field Work Seminar 3 or GSCU 4981 Internship: Field Study or GSCU 4991 Internship: Seminar GSCU 3250 Race, Sex, Space, and Place 3 GSCU 3500Q Geographic Data Analysis 3 GSCU 4993 International Study 1-6 GSCU 4995 Special Topics 1-6 GSCU 4999 Independent Study 1-6 HIST 2520 Connecticut: A History of the World Around Us 3 HIST/AAAS 2530 Asian American Experience Since 1850 3 HIST/AMST 2550 Crime, Policing, and Punishment in the United States 3 HIST/AFRA/HRTS 2563 African American History to 1865 3 HIST/GSCU 2650 History of Urban Latin America 3 HIST 3102 Topics in Public History 3 HIST/AFRA/AMST/MUSI 3568 Hip Hop, Politics and Youth Culture in America 3 HDFS 2001 Diversity Issues in Human Development and Family Sciences 3 HDFS 3110 Social and Community Influence on Children in the United States 3 HDFS 3510 Planning and Managing Human Service Programs 3 HDFS 3530 Public Policy and the Family 3 HDFS 3540 Child Welfare, Law and Social Policy 3 NRE 3265 Sustainable Urban Ecosystems 3 POLS 2972Q Quantitative Analysis in Political Science 3 POLS 2622 State and Local Government 3 POLS/HRTS 3212 Comparative Perspectives on Human Rights 3 POLS 3406/3406W Globalization and Political Change 3 POLS 3617 American Political Economy 3 POLS/AFRA 3642 African-American Politics 3 POLS 3662/LLAS 3270 Latino Political Behavior 3 PP/GSCU 2100 Survey Research Methods 3 PP 3020W Cases in Public Policy 3 PP/AFRA 3033/POLS 3633 Race and Policy 3 SOCI 2301/2301W Criminology 3 SOCI 2510/2510W/AFRA 2510 Ethnicity and Race 3 SOCI/AFRA/HRTS 2530 African Americans and Social Protest 3 SOCI 2651/2651W Sociology of Families 3 SOCI 2655/2655W Sociology of Carework 3 SOCI 2670/2670W Sociology of Religion 3 SOCI 2680/2680W/WGSS 2680/2680W Sociology of Sexualities 3 SOCI 2705E Sociology of Food 3 SOCI 2709E/2709WE Society and Climate Change 3 SOCI 2907 City Life 3 SOCI 3201 Methods of Social Research 3 SOCI 3459W Aging and Society 3 or HDFS 3245 Aging in American Society SOCI 3601/3601W Sociology of Gender 3 SOCI/GSCU 3903 Urban Problems 3 STAT 2215Q Introduction to Statistics II 3
Students interested in pursuing a minor in Urban and Community Studies are advised to complete 1000-level courses in the social sciences which may be prerequisites for courses in the Urban and Community Studies minor. These include but are not limited to:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| GSCU 1100 | Global Urbanization | 3 |
| GSCU 1130/1130W | Exploring Your Community | 3 |
| GSCU 1200/1200W | Site and Sound: Understanding Cities Through Popular Music | 3 |
| GSCU 1600 | Cities of Imagination | 3 |
| ECON 1201 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| POLS 1602 | Introduction to American Politics | 3 |
| PP 1001 | Introduction to Public Policy | 3 |
| SOCI 1001 | Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| SOCI 1251 | Social Problems | 3 |
| STAT 1000Q/1100Q | Introduction to Statistics I | 4 |
They should also plan on enrolling in GSCU 2101 Introduction to Urban and Community Studies as soon as possible.
