Environment 1 (EV1), room 347
519-888-4567, ext. 33463
For the first time in history, more people in the world live in and around cities than in rural areas. Today, just over half the global population is urban, and the United Nations predicts that this proportion will continue to grow rapidly. In the latest national census, 81% of Canadians identified as urban.
As city populations continue to grow in Canada and around the world, important economic, environmental, and social opportunities and challenges need to be addressed. The goal of urban studies at Waterloo is to educate students to lead this transition to an increasingly urbanized world.
Waterloo offers an Urban Studies Minor, open to all undergraduate students. Based in the Faculty of Environment, the minor draws from various disciplines to address urban issues and explore solutions and opportunities from different perspectives. It will provide you with the skills to:
The Urban Studies Minor will prepare you to pursue professions in both the public and private sectors and increase your competitiveness for graduate programs in a variety of fields.
Core courses in the minor will allow you to explore the wide variety of topics within the urban studies field and provide you with an introduction to four major themes:
You will then select one theme of focus, allowing you to gain a more in-depth understanding of the issues and explore solutions to urban problems within this theme. You'll choose the rest of your electives for the minor based on your chosen theme. Choose from courses in economics, planning, ecology, environmental studies, geography, sociology, political science, international development and more.
Students enrolled in any degree program may pursue the Urban Studies Minor.
The Urban Studies Minor requires successful completion of 10 courses, with a minimum cumulative average of 65%.
See the Undergraduate Calendar for full course requirements.
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Office of Indigenous Relations.