2023 Best Urban Studies Schools
Finding the Best Urban Studies School for You
Urban Studies is the #208 most popular major in the country with 1,507 degrees and certificates awarded in 2020-2021.
Today's students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. With more and more schools offering online options, you could even register for a great program on the other side of the country. On top of that, there are a considerable number of trade schools that offer fast-track entry to many fields.
To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Course Advisor has developed this Best Urban Studies Schools ranking. Our analysis looked at 89 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best educational experiences for students.
View our full ranking methodology.
2023 Best Urban Studies Schools in the United States
Check out the urban studies programs at these schools if you want to get the best education that money can buy.
Top 15% Best Urban Studies Schools
Our 2023 rankings named The Graduate Center, CUNY the best school in the United States for urban studies students. The Graduate Center is a moderately-sized public school located in the large city of New York.
Full Urban Studies at The Graduate Center, CUNY Report
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Pennsylvania. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Urban Studies Schools list. UPenn is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.
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A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Stanford University is a great place for urban studies students. Located in the large suburb of Stanford, Stanford is a private not-for-profit college with a fairly large student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of California - Berkeley. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Urban Studies Schools list. UC Berkeley is a very large public school located in the city of Berkeley.
After completing their degree, urban studies graduates from UC Berkeley carry an average student debtload of $15,000.
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The excellent programs at Barnard College helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best urban studies schools in the United States. Located in the city of New York, Barnard is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
Urban Studies majors at Barnard take out an average of $18,650 in student loans while working on their egree.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Barnard College
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Carnegie Mellon University landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best urban studies programs. Located in the city of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
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Tufts University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for urban studies students. It came in at #7 on the list. Located in the large suburb of Medford, Tufts is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population.
Full Urban Studies at Tufts University Report
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With a ranking of #8, Haverford College did quite well on this year’s best schools for urban studies students. Haverford is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Haverford.
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With a ranking of #9, University of Washington - Tacoma Campus did quite well on this year’s best schools for urban studies students. UW Tacoma is a medium-sized public school located in the medium-sized city of Tacoma.
On average, urban studies graduates from UW Tacoma take out $21,157 in student loans while working on their degree.
Read full report on Urban Studies at University of Washington - Tacoma Campus
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Trinity College came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Urban Studies Schools ranking. Located in the medium-sized city of Hartford, Trinity Bantams is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.
Full Urban Studies at Trinity College Report
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University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best schools for urban studies students. It came in at #11 on the list. Located in the large suburb of College Park, UMCP is a public school with a very large student population.
Read full report on Urban Studies at University of Maryland - College Park
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Virginia Tech came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Urban Studies Schools ranking. Located in the city of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech is a public school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Virginia Tech
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With a ranking of #13, Washington University in St Louis did quite well on this year’s best schools for urban studies students. Located in the large suburb of Saint Louis, WUSTL is a private not-for-profit school with a fairly large student population.
Read full report on Urban Studies at Washington University in St Louis
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These are some additional schools worth mentioning that are also great but just didn't quite make the cut to earn our top Best Urban Studies Schools award.
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY |
| 15 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA |
| 16 | University of California - San Diego | La Jolla, CA |
| 17 | The University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX |
Urban Studies by Region
View the Best Urban Studies Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
More Urban Studies Rankings
Rankings in Majors Related to Urban Studies
Urban Studies is one of 12 different types of programs to choose from.
Most Popular Majors Related to Urban Studies
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Political Science & Government | 49,282 |
| Economics | 49,055 |
| Sociology | 38,475 |
| General Social Sciences | 18,997 |
| International Relations & National Security | 14,306 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Andrew Bossi.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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