The Master of Science degree is awarded for completion of 60 credits. A maximum of six credits of graduate-level coursework may be transferred.. Students must maintain a 3.0 cumulative grade point average and fulfill all requirements in a timely manner.
Second Year/Fall |
|
|---|---|
| PGUD 5280 Design & Urban Ecologies Studio 3 | 6 |
| PGUD 5260 Design & Urban Ecologies Methods 3 | 3 |
| Elective
|
3 |
| Elective
|
3 |
| 15 |
Second Year/Spring |
|
|---|---|
| PGUD 5310 Design & Urban Ecologies Thesis | 6 |
| PGUD 5270 Design & Urban Ecologies Methods 4 | 3 |
| Elective
|
3 |
| Elective
|
3 |
| 15 |
| Total Credits | 60 |
Design in Reverse: Urban Forensics. Students in this introductory design studio examine exemplary models of urbanization and review political, economic, environmental, social, and design processes that have led to progressive city developments. They analyze a case study from the United States or abroad and develop design interpretations, representations, and strategies aimed at critically transforming an urban environment.
Design and Urban Ecologies Methods 1Mapping Urban Ecologies. In this course, students learn to work with deep field mapping methods and present their projects visually through assemblages of film, text, interactive media, and print. Using Manhattan as a laboratory, the class explores little-known and often deliberately marginalized processes that affect the production, quality, and use of urban spaces.
Design and Urban Practice Colloquium 1Perspectives on Practice-Based Conflict. Students become familiar with transdisciplinary perspectives on design as they analyze the complex relationships and conflicts between design, art, and the social and environmental sciences. Organized in conjunction with MA Theories of Urban Practice (under development), the colloquium is structured around alternating keynote lectures and group discussions. Guest speakers from across The New School represent the diverse fields of knowledge to be examined over the four semesters of the program.
Collectivity and Sustainable Urban Systems. Students in this studio course develop design frameworks, considering the impact on cities of spatial conceptions, social relations, technology, modes of production, everyday life, and environmental conditions. Students speculate on alternative spatial formations, participatory frameworks, and environmental strategies, as well as models of ownership, property, and social relations. They develop design scenarios at the neighborhood level while considering issues such as the impact of global flows on regional economies and resources. Students develop field analysis tools incorporating online social media and networking, distance learning, and remote sensing.
Design and Urban Ecologies Methods 2Fieldwork and Democracy. A course focusing on citizen empowerment, Methods 2 takes students out of the classroom to work in the field with residents of a New York City neighborhood. As they work, students reassess assumptions about urbanization and democracy and critically examine fieldwork methods, participatory democratic frameworks, and models of neighborhood development. Students learn to conduct remote fieldwork using geographical information system (GIS) mapping, online data mining, and geo-location databases.
Design and Urban Practice Colloquium 2Urban and Environmental Politics. Colloquium 2 features practitioners from the public realm of urban design, planning, and policy both locally and globally. Guests include artists, designers, and representatives from city planning, parks and recreation, transportation, real estate, global organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank, and international nongovernmental organizations. Colloquium topics include contemporary urban politics, spatial justice, environmentalism, and activism. Organized in conjunction with MA Theories of Urban Practice (under development), the colloquium alternates between guest lectures and group discussions.
Spatial Justice and Urbanization. In the third design studio, students work in teams to produce flexible, dynamic time-based sociospatial scenarios aimed at transforming policy, environmental conditions, labor, and economic production models in urban areas undergoing conflict. They address issues including environmental degradation, gentrification, spatial polarization, ethnic segregation, economic injustice, and infrastructural decline. The studio is taught in partnership with grassroots community-based nonprofit organizations, NGOs, municipal organizations, and political institutions. This studio establishes a foundation for thesis work.
Design and Urban Ecologies Methods 3Visualization and Research Technologies. The class explores cutting-edge time-based research, design, and visualization tools that facilitate understanding of urban conditions and development of strategies to transform cities. Students draw on and expand their knowledge of geographical information systems (GIS), 3D modeling, interactive media, surveying, and statistics. Students create multidimensional time-based models and design scenarios in conjunction with Design and Urban Ecologies Studio 3.
Design and Urban Practice Theory LabApproaches to Radical Urban Theory. Theoretical discourses have revolutionized the way we think about the constitution, construction, and future of cities. In this laboratory, students critically examine how theoretical narratives are created. In the first part of the lab, groups of students present in-depth reports on specific approaches to the development of contemporary urban theory. In the second part, students work individually to create their own theoretical readings of contemporary urban processes or forms.
Second Year/Spring
Design and Urban Ecologies ThesisThis course prepares students to construct the project begun in the third design studio. Students submit a written proposal and research materials to support a final project. They are encouraged to work collaboratively and hold group discussions as they continue with their research and develop realistic strategies for urban interventions involving local communities and institutions. They are required to design ways to test and implement these strategies. A thesis can take the form of any design, social or art practice, but must be situated within the interdisciplinary discursive space established during the first three semesters.
Design and Urban Ecologies Methods 4This course is held in conjunction with Design and Urban Ecologies Thesis. Drawing on their research and projections, students develop their own methodologies to design complex systems and processes. By the end of the course, students should be able to present and apply a cohesive methodological framework that can be used to address contemporary urban issues.
Design and Urban Practice History LabCritical Histories of the City. This research-based course introduces students to a cross-section of critical approaches to writing and analyzing urban history. In the first part of the course, groups of students present in-depth reports on specific approaches to historical narratives. In the second part, students work in teams to produce a case study with their own historical reading.
Please note: Students are advised to refer to the current applicable program catalog for degree completion requirements and to confirm their progress in satisfying those requirements with their advisors.
