Master of Science
Applied Urban Science and
Informatics Curriculum

The one-year, three-semester, 30-credit MS program combines core courses in urban science and informatics with technical discipline and urban domain specializations.

Late Summer
City Challenge Program
An introduction to research and ongoing projects at CUSP, and an overview of urban informatics and city operations. This week-long intensive will also introduce you to fellow students, city agencies, and CUSP partners.
Semester 1 (Fall) — Foundation

  • Foundations of Urban Science (3 credits)
  • Urban ICT and City Operations (3 credits)
  • Introduction to Urban Informatics (3 credits)
  • Discipline Specialization (1st course) (3 credits)

total: 12 credits

Optional “Winter Week” Program with CUSP Partner

Semester 2 (Spring) — Specialization

  • Entrepreneurship/Innovation Specialization (3 credits)
  • Discipline Specialization (2nd course) (3 credits)
  • Domain Specialization (3 credits)
  • Urban Science Intensive I (3 credits)

total: 12 credits

Semester 3 (Summer) — Application

  • CUSP Seminar on the Science of Cities (or elective) (3 credits)
  • Urban Science Intensive II (3 credits)

total: 6 credits

Note: An optional internship with a city agency or partner is possible during semesters 2 and 3.

Specializations

As a student you will select specializations in three areas – discipline, domain, and entrepreneurship – and, based on the chosen specialization, select from a list of pre-approved courses from CUSP and across NYU and NYU-Poly schools and departments, including the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, the Stern School of Business, and the Wagner School of Public Service, among others.

Domain Specialization

(3 Credits)
You will choose to specialize in one urban domain that will serve as the basis for your Urban Science Intensive project. You will select one domain course from the following domain specializations:

  • Transportation and mobility
  • Buildings and the built environment
  • Public health, security, and emergency response
  • Environmental sustainability

Discipline Specialization

(6 Credits)
In addition to domain specialization, you will select a discipline that will guide your applied work in the program. At a high level, the program is targeted at building “big data” skills such as data acquisition, integration, and analysis. You will have the opportunity to select two courses within the selected specialization area:

  • Data management and curation
  • Visualization
  • Data science
  • Decision models and optimization
  • Simulation and computational methods
  • Social media and citizen science
  • Geographic information systems

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Leadership specialization

(3 credits)
The applied nature of the program will help you develop entrepreneurial management and leadership skills that you can use in diverse organizational environments. As some students will aspire to work in larger, more complex organizations, such as our agency or industry partners, and others will have entrepreneurial goals, you will be given the option to specialize in:

  • Entrepreneurship in urban technologies
  • Change leadership and innovation management