Photo: Jonathan Tannenwald '06
The Graduate Certificate Program
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The Graduate Urban Studies Program offers a Certificate in Urban Studies to be taken in conjunction with a Ph.D. offered by the University through one of the disciplines or professional schools. The Graduate Certificate Program draws on faculty from the various departments of the School of Arts and Sciences and other schools of the University. Their interests, which focus on many areas of the world, include: housing, employment, economic development, finance, social welfare, poverty, education, community organization, history, ethnicity, culture, family, architecture, urban design, planning, law, and policy.The Graduate Certificate Program in Urban Studies is co-directed by Michael Katz and Elaine Simon.
Purpose
How should the new leaders in urban theory, research, policy, and practice be educated?Urbanism is not the subject of any one discipline or profession. It does not honor the boundaries with which scholars and practitioners have divided their respective worlds. At the same time, the disciplines and professions require mastery of theories and tools essential to reasoned, effective approaches to urban-related issues. This tension between disciplinary and interdisciplinary study complements the tension between theory and practice.
By themselves, neither theory nor practice provide the key to the education of urban leaders. Abstracted from practice, theory lacks grounding in an appreciation of the complicated day-to-day interactions and struggles that constitute experience within a city. At the same time, successful practice requires the ability to step back from daily conflicts, to analyze them within a larger framework, to assess the consequences of action, and to apply sophisticated tools to the solution of problems.
Therefore, an appropriate and effective education in urban studies needs to combine mastery of a discipline or profession with interdisciplinary study and to join theory with practice. This combination of theory with practice underlies the design of the Graduate Certificate Program in Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Requirements
Students in the Certificate Program take a yearlong proseminar in Urban Studies (URBS 608) which combines readings from a variety of disciplines with independent research. (Students usually take the proseminar in their first or second year of graduate study.)
The requirements for the Certificate include four additional urban-related courses chosen in consultation with a committee of Urban Studies-affiliated faculty advisors to best meet student’ interests and professional goals. Students are expected to participate in a faculty-graduate student colloquium in urban studies.
Benefits
The Program increases its graduates’ professional options by helping to prepare them for research careers in both academic and policy settings. By providing them with the flexibility to teach within both conventional disciplines and urban-related programs and professional schools, it will enhance their attractiveness in the academic job market. Through its combination of rigorous, disciplinary-based research training with the interdisciplinary analysis of urban issues and the application of ideas to practice, the Program will develop their skills as policy researchers. The Graduate Certificate Program in Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania responds to the need for leadership in urban research, policy, and governance.
Application
Students may apply to enter the certificate program at any time before the end of their second year of study. A maximum of 15 students per year are admitted into the certificate program. Candidates for admission are evaluated on both their academic record and the appropriateness of their interests to the program.
Application to the program requires a letter of interest addressed to Michael Katz and Elaine Simon, a copy of the statement of purpose submitted with the application to the Ph.D. program in which you are enrolled, a resume, and any additional materials you think would demonstrate your interests in and commitment to urban studies.
Inquiries should be addressed to
Elaine Simon
Urban Studies Program
University of Pennsylvania
130 McNeil Building
3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia PA 19104-6209
Phone: 215-898-6948