welcome.

We invite you to consider the online M.S. in Urban Studies from UNO.

The Master of Science in Urban Studies (MSUS) program at University of Nebraska at Omaha provides critical skills and competencies to people who want to make a difference in society. The MSUS is housed within the School of Public Administration, which offers several concentration and degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels (see the School website, http://spa.unomaha.edu).

Professionals are needed to address the challenges facing large and small urban centers in areas such as development, inequality, and the environment, and the purpose of the Urban Studies program is to prepare people for these roles. For many students, location or work schedule make it difficult to access coursework in a traditional format. The UNO program allows them to participate in a high-quality urban studies program online with well-known scholars and experienced practitioners.

The MSUS program gives students the conceptual knowledge and technical skills they need to understand and analyze the physical, social, economic, and political environment of cities and towns. Students come to the Urban Studies program with a variety of undergraduate backgrounds and career interests.

Graduates from the program take positions in public, nonprofit, and private organizations, in management, planning, technical, and other professional roles, and they have opportunities to work on important issues in contemporary urban society. These can include, for example, encouraging citizen participation and neighborhood activities, developing affordable housing, maintaining and expanding infrastructure, and building local economies.

The program consists of 37 credit hours, 12 courses, plus an internship for students who do not have significant professional experience in their intended field of practice. For the 2008-2009 academic year, tuition was $204.25 per credit hour, plus an additional non-resident distance education tuition fee of $190 per credit hour.

Students are admitted for fall semester and begin by taking the introductory urban studies seminar (UBNS 8000) and a course in research methods (PA 8120). These initial courses are followed by courses in race and ethnicity, public economics, urban planning, geographic information systems, and so on.

Two times during the Urban Studies program, students come to Omaha for a few days to work with faculty and other students. The first on-campus visit takes place during UBNS 8000, the introductory urban studies seminar, and the second occurs during UBNS 8200, the course on community organizing and development.

We hope you find the UNO Urban Studies program interesting, and we encourage you to contact us if you have questions or need additional information. The contact person for the program is Dr. Meagan Van Gelder, who coordinates academic programs for the School of Public Administration; her email address is mvangelder@unomaha.edu.

 

last updated 10/8/2009 by Melanie Kiper, webmaster