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Certificate of Graduate Study

Urban Policy

Program of Study

programofstudy

You can earn this graduate urban policy certificate as a standalone credential or as an add-on to one of the master’s or doctoral programs in social sciences at UAlbany.

Those who enroll typically want to broaden their understanding of urban policy making and analysis to support academic projects or advance their careers in public administration, city planning, or community development.

 

Core Courses

  • Urban Community Development
  • Urban Policy in the United States

 

Elective Courses

This urban policy program gives you the option to take electives in Africana studies, anthropology, economics, public administration, political science, and/or sociology, as well as in urban development and planning. Choose three courses from the approved list in the Graduate Bulletin. 

Sample electives:

  • International Development Planning for Jobs, Housing, and Community Service
  • Local Economic Development Strategies and Techniques
  • Metropolitan Governance and Planning
  • Parks, Preservation, and Heritage Planning
  • Planning History and Philosophy
  • Planning Law
  • Planning Processes, Plans, and the Design of Communities
  • Transportation History and Policy
  • Urban and Metropolitan Transportation Planning
  • Urban Community Development
  • Urban Design and Public Space
  • U.S. Housing Policy


Additional Information

See the Graduate Bulletin for details.

For more information, contact Dr. Catherine Lawson at [email protected].

Career Paths

Certificate students already working in the public and private sectors often move into policy-related positions or pursue promotion after finishing the program. 

Other students go on to earn graduate degrees and become employed as social science researchers and instructors in colleges and universities.

Sample job titles:

  • Public transportation director
  • Economic development program manager  
  • Offender reentry employment analyst
  • Policy research associate
  • State housing policy specialist
  • Urban planning advisor

 

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career
Admissions Requirements
Deadlines
  • Fall: Rolling
  • Spring: Rolling
  • Summer: Not Available

There is no departmental assistantship consideration for this program.

Required Application Materials
  • Transcripts from all schools attended
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • Statement of goals
admissions