The Urban Studies Program has a significant number of partnerships with community based organizations, government agencies, and labor unions which provide an extraordinary opportunity for experiential learning as well as financial support as students complete their certificates and/or degrees.

The CWA 1180 Urban Leadership

The Local CWA 1180 Urban Leadership program students who are 1180 members, the opportunity for experiential and applied learning. For this program, students participate in a community service project, and tuition costs for up to 24 credits in the Urban Leadership program are covered by Local 1180.  Members who wish to take additional credits are reimbursed at the rate of $200 per semester. Students in this program achieve a deeper understanding of urban problems and issues; a greater knowledge of government agencies and the delivery of social services, the legislative and budgetary process, and urban workforce issues and problems; and better preparation for leadership in the workplace, union, and community.

Union and Labor Management Partnerships

The School of Labor and Urban Studies partnerships over the years have included unions such as:

NYCHA Resident Leadership Academy

The Resident Leadership Academy is designed to provide training and build leadership skills for residents interested in taking a more active role in civic life within their development and/or community. The program a partnership between the Fund for Public Housing, New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), and the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies. The program’s objective is to develop current and emerging NYCHA resident leaders’ knowledge and skills to assume leadership positions as stewards of public housing; foster transferrable leadership skills that residents can use across their communities; and provide a pathway to higher education. Through this program, participating residents can earn up to 16 college credits.

Credible Messengers

The CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU) partners with the Department of Probation’s Credible Messenger Justice Center to enroll eligible Credible Messengers in the Community Leadership Certificate Program, either undergrad or grad level, dependent on the prospective student’s academic background. Credible Messenger Mentoring is a program where youths in the juvenile justice system are mentored by individuals from similar backgrounds, especially those who were themselves system-involved, to help the youths transform their lives. For participants in this program, the application fee is waived and tuition scholarship moneys are available through the Credible Messenger Justice Center.

Community Semester and Union Semester Internships

Community Semester is an academic and service learning program that provides students with an opportunity to put their passion for social justice to work. Students learn first-hand how community-based organizations fight for environmental justice, housing rights, immigrant rights, tenants’ rights, economic justice, youth engagement, neighborhood resilience, civic justice, and community empowerment by contributing to the movement themselves. With a 28 hour per week internship, participants also enroll as full-time students and complete the Community Leadership Certificate during a single semester. Students share their work and course experiences with fellow Community Semester students as well as with students in the School of Labor and Urban Studies sister program, Union Semester. Community based organization with whom SLU has forged partnerships include Community Voices Heard, Good Old Lower East Side, Hunts Point Alliance for Children, Movement for Justice in El Barrio, Northern Manhattan Coalition for Immigrant Rights, Ocean Bay Community Development Corporation, Riverside Language Program, The New York Immigration Coalition, Urban Justice Center: Street Vendor Project.