Submitted by: Nancy S. Barrett, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Recommendation to the Board of Governors ESTABLISHMENT OF A BACHELOR OF ARTS WITH A MAJOR IN URBAN STUDIES Recommendation It is recommended that the Board of Governors approve the proposal from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Department of Geography and Urban Studies to transition the Comajor in Urban Studies to a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Urban Studies effective fall 2007. Background Exploring contemporary cities and urban trends is essential to understanding and addressing some of today's most pressing problems. In a growing number of countries, complex systems of urban settlement house the overwhelming majority of the population and dominate their residents' social, economic, cultural, and intellectual lives. In the U.S., in particular, exploring the development and transformation of metropolitan places is essential to understanding some of the most significant dynamics affecting the nation. Especially pertinent are the powerful forces of suburbanization, political fragmentation, and residential segregation along lines of race and class that reshaped our society in the latter half of the 20 th century. These forces structure the resources, activities, and opportunities that unite and divide Americans. Wayne State s Detroit location gives this university a powerful vantage point from which to advance among students a deeper appreciation of these complex dynamics. Understanding those dynamics lies at the heart of addressing some of the greatest challenges of this region and others like it. Scholars and professionals working in a wide range of substantive areas and occupational settings need a firm intellectual grasp of the contexts and consequences of urban structural patterns and development trends. This creates a pressing need for serious urban scholarship and education, especially in the Detroit region, where the developments that have occurred in all our cities have had an especially dramatic impact. The creation of an undergraduate major in urban studies at Wayne State University speaks directly to this need. The nation, state, and metropolitan region will all benefit as more future professionals approach their career choices and engage their communities from perspectives informed by a sophisticated and relevant understanding of the causes and consequences of metropolitan development patterns. The department has done research to evaluate student interest at Wayne State University. The Department of Geography and Urban Planning studied enrollment for the basic Urban Studies course, US 2000- Introduction to Urban Studies. US 2000 saw enrollment grow 59 percent over a five year period. The results of a survey conducted by the Department of Geography and Urban Planning also show a broad potential demand for the program. The department forecasts that a program with 60 majors and a dozen graduates per year should be achievable within four or five years. All the evidence indicates that the construction and promotion of a significant and active
Urban Studies Page 2 Urban Studies Program will respond to and serve an underlying, growing demand among Wayne State students for such an education. A new major in Urban Studies will contribute directly, substantially, and explicitly to Wayne State University s Strategic Vision and help to fulfill a number of critical components of the University's Strategic Plan. The program will also actively support the urban mission of the University and the goals of the Department of Geography and Urban Planning. Student demand for urban studies curricula is growing throughout the nation. A survey of leading Urban Studies Programs in the United States conducted by the Department of Geography and Urban Planning found that each of the five top-ranked programs reported significant gains in student enrollment over the last five years. Prominent universities formerly without urban studies programs, most notably Stanford University, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, have recently added them, and existing programs are expanding. The two large Urban Studies Programs located closest to Detroit, and in cities similar to Detroit, are at Cleveland State University and the University of Pittsburgh. Both of these programs are well established and have recently experienced substantial growth in enrollment. The Department of Geography and Urban Planning conducted an extensive review of undergraduate programs in Urban Studies and related fields (such as Urban Planning, Urban Affairs, and Urban Policy Studies) in the United States and Canada. That review confirmed our confidence in the structure of the proposed curriculum and demonstrated clearly that it faces no external competition in our geographic region. The Department contacted relevant departments at all universities and colleges in Southeastern Michigan and in the Toledo and Windsor metropolitan areas that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. This reconnaissance found no undergraduate programs in Urban Studies, with the exception of WSU s present Urban Studies Co-Major Program. Furthermore, there are no programs that are closely related to Urban Studies in the State of Michigan or within the Windsor or Toledo metropolitan areas with two exceptions: the undergraduate majors in Urban Planning at Eastern Michigan and Michigan State Universities. These programs are traditional planning programs with a professional orientation, and thus not directly competitive with the interdisciplinary Urban Studies Program proposed here. Furthermore, we found no urban concentrations or certificates offered within more traditional departments such as Political Science or Sociology. Given the dearth of Urban Studies programs in the state and region, Wayne State University's program will not represent a duplication of services, will fulfill an important regional curricular need, and experience little competition for students from neighboring institutions. In fact, the proposed program should be able to draw from nearby out-of-state areas as well as from southeast Michigan. Thus, a unique opportunity exists for the Department of Geography and Urban Planning and Wayne State University to fill a niche that enjoys a growing demand in the educational marketplace and to do so before another institution in the region moves in this direction.
Urban Studies Page 3 Elimination of the Urban Studies Co-Major Program Upon approval and implementation of the Urban Studies Program, the Urban Studies Co-Major program will be phased out. The first step of this process will be to cease promotion of the Co- Major and "close the books" to new registrants. Since the proposed Urban Studies Major curriculum is inclusive of the Urban Studies Co-Major Program's requirements, the elimination of the Co-Major program should not represent a problem for co-majors who wish to graduate with their Urban Studies Co-Major and not declare a major in Urban Studies. Related Programs at Wayne State University The proposed undergraduate Urban Studies Program is unique within Wayne State University both in structure and curricular emphasis. It will be the only cohesive urban curriculum available to undergraduates at the University. At the same time, it will complement and broaden the student audience for a variety of existing curricular options both because of its multidisciplinary content and structure and because such a range of departments already offer undergraduate courses with general and specific urban relevance. The Urban Studies Program will forge relationships with numerous academic and professional programs to coordinate required and elective course offerings for the Major and Minor. In so doing, it will contribute to demand for urban oriented courses in those departments and avoid duplication of existing courses or programs. The most similar current offering is the Political Science Department s Bachelor of Public Affairs, which differs from the proposed program in several significant ways. The Public Affairs degree is a professional curriculum offered as a distinct degree, not a Major within the Bachelor of Arts degree. It consists of a core curriculum drawn entirely from courses within the Department of Political Science, along with an Area of Concentration, which also consists primarily of Political Science courses. One of these concentrations addresses Urban Policy and Management. A maximum of four credits in this Area of Concentration may be taken from other disciplines. The proposed Urban Studies Program is targeted to a different student audience. It provides a much more broadly interdisciplinary curriculum and engages students in many more dimensions of urban life. The Urban Studies major will focus on urban areas, issues and scholarship, thus minimizing overlap with the public policy analysis and management focus of the Bachelor of Public Affairs. Curriculum Requirements The Urban Studies Program requires that students complete at least 38 credit hours of course work in Urban Studies to qualify for the major. This number is on the high side of the number specified for most majors in the social sciences and humanities offered at the University, which typically require 32-36 credits taken within the major. The number is warranted by the multidisciplinary nature of the program; students gain significant exposure to a range of
Urban Studies Page 4 disciplinary fields in addition to completing a cluster of explicitly interdisciplinary courses in Urban Studies. Majors in Urban Studies will complete 28 credit hours by taking the Urban Studies Core Curriculum. The Core Curriculum includes both interdisciplinary courses in Urban Studies offered by the Department of Geography and Urban Planning and disciplinary courses in anthropology, economics, geography, political science, and sociology, offered primarily in other departments (see Figure 1). Figure 1 Urban Studies Core Curriculum Majors in Urban Studies must complete the following courses for a total of 28 credits US 2000 - Introduction to Urban Studies. 3 cr. (Cross-listed as PS 2000, GPH 2000, SOC 2500, and HS 2000). This course is currently designated as a four credit course. US 4510 - The Urban Project. 3 cr. (GPH 4510). This course is currently listed as Cities and Regions and is designated as a four credit hour course. US 4010 - Urban Studies Capstone Research Seminar. 3 cr. [Reactivation of US 401 Urban Studies Pro-Seminar] ECO 5800 - Urban and Regional Economics. 4 cr. (UP 5820). Student taking this course must first complete ECO 2010 - Principles of Microeconomics, 3-4 credits GPH 3130 - Introduction to Urban Geography. 4 cr. PS 2240 - Introduction to Urban Politics and Policy. 4 cr. Students must complete one of the following four research methods courses: GPH 6420 Quantitative Techniques. 4 cr. CJ 4860 Research Methods in Criminal Justice. 4 cr. PS 3600 Methods of Political Inquiry. 4 cr. SOC 4200 Methods of Social Research. 4 cr. In addition, students must take one of the following three courses: ANT 5060 - Urban Anthropology. 3 cr. (SOC 5540). Students taking this Course must complete ANT 21000 Introduction to Anthropology, 3-4 credits, or obtain The consent of the instructor. SOC 5500 - Urban and Metropolitan Living. 3 cr. (U P 5210) SOC 5570 - Race Relations in Urban Society. 3 cr. (AFS 5570)
Urban Studies Page 5 Urban Studies Majors will generally complete the remaining 10 credit hours required by taking courses selected from an approved list of Urban Studies Electives (see Figure 2). This list comprises courses offered across the University that include significant urban content and that are most closely related to the material included in the Urban Studies Core Curriculum. However, the Department has compiled a more comprehensive list that includes all courses in the University that pertain to cities (see Appendix I). Urban Studies Majors can select one or more electives from this comprehensive list with the permission of their assigned faculty advisor. Both lists will be updated periodically. Whenever possible, Urban Studies majors will be encouraged to participate in study abroad or other travel-based educational experiences. Opportunities currently available through CLAS include the Salford-WSU exchange (GPH 3991), which allows students to spend up to a year studying in Great Britain, as well as study tours arranged through the Department of Geography and Urban Planning and other departments in the College. Figure 2 Selected Urban Studies Electives AFS 3160 - Black Urban History. 4 credits (HIS 3160). ANT 3110 - Detroit Area Minorities: Arabs, Hispanics, and African Americans. 3-4 cr. ANT 3200 - Lost Cities and Ancient Civilizations. 3 cr. (HIS 3200) ECO 6810 - Political Economy of the Urban Ghetto 3 cr. (SOC 6850) (UP 6670) GPH 3600 - Introduction to Geographic Information Systems. 4 cr. GPH 5650 - Metropolitan Detroit. 4 cr. GPH 5700 - Urban Canada. 4 credits (GEG 5700) (U P 5700). GPH 6830 Advanced GIS Applications HIS 2050 - United States Since 1877. 3-4 cr. HIS 5220 - The Changing Shape of Ethnic America. 3-4 cr. HUM 1030 - Exploring the Arts in Detroit. 4 cr. P S 3250 - Detroit Politics: Continuity and Change in City and Suburbs. 4 cr. (HIS 3240). P S 5220 - Issues in Urban Public Policy and Management. 4 cr. (UP 5150). SOC 3510 - The Nature and Impact of Population on Society. 3 cr. U P 3530 - Urban and Regional Planning. 3 cr. (GPH 3530, US 3530).
Urban Studies Page 6 Admission Requirements Admission requirements for the Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Urban Studies will be satisfied by the general requirements for undergraduate admission to the University. There will be no prerequisites for admission to the program. These policies are consistent with those of the programs within the University that are most closely related to Urban Studies. Graduation Requirements Candidates for a bachelor's degree with a major in Urban Studies must complete 120 credits of course work, including satisfaction of the General Education Requirements of the University as adopted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. All course work must be completed in accordance with the academic procedures of the University and the College governing undergraduate scholarship and degrees. Program Administration As a degree program in the Department of Geography and Planning, the Urban Studies Program is administered under the direction of the Department Chair. The Chair reports to the Associate Dean (who oversees academic matters on behalf of the Dean) and ultimately to the Dean. Prior to becoming part of the Department of Geography and Urban Planning, the Urban Studies Program had a Director typically a tenured faculty member who taught several courses in the program, advised all students, and was responsible for student recruitment. When the Program became part of the Department, the position of Director was retained informally. The fortunes of the Program, especially the number of enrollments, have depended on the energy and attention of the Director. The Program has grown in recent years because the Interim Director made student recruitment and advising high priorities; his administrative responsibilities have been very modest. The responsibility for developing the curriculum for the proposed new Major has been assumed by the full Departmental faculty under the direction of the Chair. This arrangement has worked well, and will be continued. Curriculum development, course scheduling, and identification of appropriate faculty to teach the required courses will continue to be done by and/or under the direction of the Chair. The Chair will also be responsible for working with the College Publicity and Marketing Specialist (see below) on the development of new promotional materials and overseeing program monitoring and evaluation. As discussed earlier, faculty who teach in the core courses will share the responsibility for advising students to spread the load more broadly (especially important as the program grows) and to give students some choice among advisors with different interests and specialties. However, the Chair will designate one of these as the Senior Advisor, who will be responsible for playing the lead faculty role in student recruitment, developing special activities for students in the Major, and certifying to the Chair that students in the Major have fulfilled all the requirements for graduation. Student files will be maintained by the Department s Administrative Assistant (who maintains all other student files).
Urban Studies Page 7 Important support roles are also played by two types of individuals outside the Department but within the College. First, the Academic Services Officers and Counselors play critical roles in recruiting transfer students from the region s community colleges and in helping students navigate the administrative procedures of the larger university (such as admissions and financial aid). As discussed earlier, they have already been doing this for the Urban Studies Co-Major Program. Second, the College s Publicity and Marketing Specialist will be of great help in developing new promotional materials for the Program. Budget and Resource Requirements No new expenditures are required or requested. Accreditation No accreditation review is required for the Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Urban Studies. The degree will be reviewed as part of the Academic Program Review of the department. Approvals The proposal for the Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Urban Studies was approved by the Chair and the faculty in the Department of Geography and Urban Planning and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Faculty Council and dean. Because it is not an interdisciplinary program across schools/colleges, it does not need the approval of the Academic Senate.