Join the Urban Academy for a college experience focused on:
- social justice
- academic excellence
- career success
Join while earning your AA in community college and then continue for your BA at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies (SLU). The Urban Academy Map to Academic and Career Success includes:
- Dual admission to Urban Studies majors at community colleges and SLU;
- Coordinated advisement and faculty mentorship for seamless transition from associate’s degree to bachelor’s degree;
- Internship and scholarship opportunities through our Community Semester, Union Semester, fieldwork, diversity, and other scholarships;
- Individualized career planning (resume development, mock interviews, etc.);
- Courses and seminars by community college faculty and SLU faculty;
- Small group discussions with union, community, and government leaders;
- Digital badges for social media platforms
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.
The SLU Urban and Community Studies BA is unique in its fusion of urban public policy and administration with civic engagement, community studies, and labor studies. This interdisciplinary degree provides students with an integrated perspective that centers on the lives of working class urban populations in all its diversity.
The SLU Urban and Community Studies BA is unique in its fusion of urban public policy and administration with civic engagement, community studies, and labor studies. This interdisciplinary degree provides students with an integrated perspective that centers on the lives of working class urban populations in all its diversity.
Requirements and Degree Programs Offered
Eligibility: 2.5 GPA and enrolled in an associate’s degree program in an approved major:
Becoming an Urban Academy Student
To become an Urban Academy Student, apply to one of the approved majors at a partnering community college. By enrolling in and successfully completing a degree program of the CUNY Urban Academy, you will also be admitted into the Urban and Community Studies BA degree program of the School of Labor and Urban Studies. The first 60 credits are taken at a partner community college and the student earns an Associate’s Degree. An additional 60 credits are taken at the School of Labor and Urban Studies for the completion of a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Community Studies.
Note: No additional application is necessary beyond registering for the eligible programs listed in the section above.
