NYU’s Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) in Downtown Brooklyn announced today that the New York State Education Department has approved its curriculum for a new Master of Science and Advanced Certificate in Applied Urban Science and Informatics.

“The intent of CUSP’s educational program is to develop a robust, dynamic, and cohesive educational program that, together with the CUSP research program, defines ‘Urban Informatics’ as an academic discipline,” said CUSP Director Steve Koonin. “We are confident that CUSP’s program will serve the needs of a diverse range of potential students and employers.”

State approval allows CUSP to offer M.S. and Advanced Certificate courses starting in September, 2013.  Beginning December 18th, applications will be available on CUSP’s website: cusp.nyu.edu.

Building on its mission to define the emerging field of Urban Informatics, CUSP will train the next generation of scientists to understand urban data sources and streams; manipulate and integrate varying datasets and data sources; study and use “big data” analytics to drive decision-making; model and understand how cities function; and develop solutions to pressing urban problems that recognize and account for the constraints embedded in complex urban systems.

Slated to begin in fall 2013, the M.S. program will provide students with the mathematics, science, and/or engineering backgrounds the opportunity to engage in the interdisciplinary study of urban science and informatics and to apply their technical skills to urban problems.  The one-year, three semester, 30-credit M.S. program provides students with core courses in urban science, urban informatics, and information and communication technology in cities.  Students will select from multiple policy domains to gain breadth and depth in the application of big data analytics to urban problems. The program also contains a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation leadership, and students will be given the option to study technology entrepreneurship or “change leadership” in an existing organization.  The core of the one-year curriculum is a two-semester project – the Urban Science Intensive – during which students will apply the principles of informatics to address an actual urban challenge in a particular field of study and with a specific city agency.

The Advanced Certificate is a 12-credit program completed over three semesters.  The CUSP program enables students interested in, and capable of, focusing on the structure and development of large-scale data from diverse sources to understand urban problems and their potential operational solutions.  The Advanced Certificate is designed for students holding a relevant master’s degree, holding an undergraduate degree in an appropriate field and currently employed, or for those concurrently enrolled in M.S. programs at NYU, NYU-Poly, and CUSP’s academic partners.

In their final semester, Advanced Certificate students will work alongside M.S. students as part of the Urban Science Intensive.

Following an extensive program design process involving faculty from NYU, NYU-Poly, and CUSP’s academic partners, CUSP educational programs are guided by a desire to provide students with an intensive and immersive experience that crosses disciplinary, academic, corporate, public, and geographic boundaries through exposure to CUSP’s partners and the NYU Global Network University.  This approach, combined with internship and fellowship opportunities, will prepare graduates to work for a range of private firms and public sector agencies, particularly those represented by CUSP industry and agency partners, in positions ranging from urban data scientists to technical management and leadership roles.

“NYU’s CUSP is a unique program that complements IBM’s approach to helping cities leverage technology to become more effective at planning, operations and predicting future problems,” said Jurij Paraszcak, director, smarter cities, IBM Research. “CUSP is defining a new approach by integrating academia, enterprise, and New York City in a living lab, preparing cities worldwide to manage their services with greater efficiency and ultimately improving the quality of life.”

Building on NYU’s existing presence in Brooklyn, CUSP will launch its inaugural programs and host its first class at MetroTech Center as the University continues to transform the former, long-empty Metropolitan Transit Authority facility at 370 Jay Street into the Center’s home. CUSP, one of the winning proposals submitted in response to the City’s Applied Sciences NYC initiative, is projected to generate $5.5 billion in nominal economic activity, creating more than 7,000 jobs, and spinning off 200 companies over the coming decades. 

About New York University’s Center for Urban Science & Progress

CUSP is a university-wide center whose research and education programs are focused on urban informatics. Using NYC as its lab, and building from its home in the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, it integrates and applies NYU strengths in the natural, data, and social sciences to understand and improve cities throughout the world. CUSP offers a one-year MS degree in Applied Urban Science & Informatics. For more news and information on CUSP, please visit https://cusp.nyu.edu. Follow NYU CUSP on Twitter @NYU_CUSP.

CONTACTS: 

Kim Alfred, CUSP
917-392-0859
kim.alfred@nyu.edu