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Urban Studies
Develop the urban research skills valued by municipalities, NGOs, federal and provincial governments, and private sector employers. Understand the city, its functions and its dynamics, offering insights into today's social, economic and environmental challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Urban studies courses are offered in the evenings at Simon Fraser University's Harbour Centre campus in Vancouver. The Urban Studies Program offers both full-time and part-time options for its master's and diploma programs.* Students receive an education in economic, geographic, political, and social analysis techniques that enable them to address real-world urban problems.
The program focuses on Vancouver as a city, but also includes the study of other urban areas in the past and present.
* Students may apply to the master's and graduate diploma program in urban studies simultaneously. They can also apply to transfer from the diploma program to the master's program later.
Program Options
Learn more about the different degrees and programs available to you at Urban Studies
Undergraduate options
Certificate and Diploma
Graduate options
Master
Certificate and Diploma (Graduate)
Career Pathways
Urban studies is for graduate students who are aspiring and practicing professionals (e.g. planners, managers, researchers, analysts and activists) seeking to develop the urban research skills that are vlaued by municipalities, NGOs, federal and provincial governments and private sector employers.
Possible career paths include:
- Urban and regional planner
- Public admnistration
- Government policy analyst or researcher
- Manager in private business or the non-profit sector
- Consultant in the public or private sector
- Local and international development agencies
- Education and academia
"I chose Urban Studies at SFU because I was adamant about conducting industry-relevant research, and sought a program with a strong tradition of faculty and graduate students engaging with the city that it is located in."
