The Academic Experience of a Lifetime. Offering the only interdisciplinary curriculum in labor and urban studies in the nation, SLU’s academic programs are specifically designed to meet the needs of traditional-age college students as well as adult learners. The School awards undergraduate and graduate degrees along with credit-bearing certificates that provide a direct pathway to degree programs. SLU also collaborates with other CUNY schools to offer a range of college-credit programs designed to provide workers with the academic and technical skills they need for professional advancement. In addition, the School provides unique experiential learning opportunities involving the practical application of skills in organizational and community settings.
The School’s faculty includes renowned scholars in the social sciences, as well as distinguished practitioners in a variety of fields including government, labor, and public service. In addition to its academic programs, SLU sponsors applied research, organizes public forums and conferences, and publishes a national labor journal. The School also has a well-deserved reputation as a community hub for discourse and debate among scholars, policy-makers, and organized labor and allied organizations on a broad range of topics in support of economic and social justice. Through its public forums and civic engagement programs, SLU is educating the community on the issues impacting all New Yorkers.
With its focus on workers’ rights, social change and economic justice, SLU is a place where thinkers and doers come together to create change.
The Urban Academy is a collaboration between the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and partnering community colleges. The Academy’s goals are:
- Produce graduates who are advocates, organizers, policy makers and service providers for diverse urban populations
- Prepare students to compete for job opportunities in public, non-profit, and private agencies as well as community organizations and unions
- Give students sound preparation for graduate study in a range of urban-related, inquiry-based disciplines
- Foster social justice and humanistic values and critical-thinking skills
During their community and senior college experience, Urban Academy students will be connected to the limitless learning and professional opportunities available in one of the most dynamic urban centers in the world. The Urban Academy links students with distinguished faculty at the cutting edge of the complex research and issues underlying today’s cities. The Academy exposes students to experiential learning through unique union partnerships, community organizations, and government agencies. Additionally, students will be able to partake in SLU’s nationally recognized public programming. Urban Academy students receive dual acceptance to their community college urban studies major for their associate’s degree and then are seamlessly transitioned into SLU for their Urban and Community Studies bachelor’s degree.
CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU) has been awarded the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) Grant from the New York State Education Department for 2020-2025. This CSTEP grant funds SLU’s Project LAW (Leadership, Achievement, and Work), which provides eligible minority and underserved students with additional academic preparation for professional school admissions.
The Leadership, Achievement, and Work (LAW) project has two major goals: 1) to prepare qualified underrepresented and economically disadvantaged individuals for entry to and successful matriculation in a program distinctively designed for educating undergraduate and graduate students who aspire to become licensed public interest attorneys in New York State; and 2) to instill in these students, through an emphasis in labor law, the four principles of social justice: equity, access, civic participation, and human rights.
