The MS Design and Urban Ecologies is a 60-credit applied research and design-oriented program that reframes through a critical transdisciplinary approach the study of cities and the production of new forms of urbanization with a social and environmental justice focus.
Drawing from design, planning, policy, political economy, activism, and community advocacy, this action-based program envisions the creation of new transformative urban practices addressing the complex ecologies of cities and current urban challenges.
curriculum MS DUE
CRITICAL EXPLORATIONS AND HANDS ON LEARNING
Exploring different urban methodologies, students examine the production of cities, the processes that impact and transform them, the people that shape and inhabit them, the metropolitan regions to which they are connected, and the ecological systems that sustain them. Through seminars and studios, the program engages students in conversions and collaborations with those influencing urban change, from common citizens, activists, and community leaders to urban experts, policymakers, and elected officials.
JUSTICE-CENTERED
Aligned with The New School’s commitment to social justice, students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines work closely with marginalized groups, underrepresented communities, and under-resourced organizations. Using critical research, they devise design strategies, visualization techniques, and participatory instruments to develop and implement leading-edge projects that facilitate ongoing and new collective efforts and urban visions.
graduate minor
Enhance your graduate experience with cross-disciplinary study at The New School—the only university combining a top-ranked design school, a renowned social research graduate school, a performing arts college, and diverse professional programs. Our graduate minors offer structured pathways into disciplines beyond your primary field, exposing you to new ideas, research methods, and practices.
GLOBAL URBAN STUDIOs
The program offers optional Global Urban Studio Intensives during the summer and winter. Students collaborate with graduate peers from partner universities in cities such as New Delhi, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Venice, São Paulo, and more.
Anthropology and Design
Capitalism Studies
Civic Service Design
Creative Community Development
Design Studies
Global Mental Health
Global Urban Futures
Impact Entrepreneurship
Managing for Social Justice
Methods and Concepts of Political Economy
Migration Studies
Mindfulness and Complentative Studies
Transmedia and Digital Storytelling
2.CREATE YOUR OWN PATHWAY
Hands on laboratories and seminars with NYC’s communities and experts
Students conduct comprehensive research and frame thesis project on Studio 3 and develop, along with community partners, an actionable project during the Thesis Studio.
Sequencial courses offering a wide array of research and visualization methodologies
Studios where students, guided by faculty, develop their thesis project Electives from the
thesis projects
INDUSTRIOUS INTERMEDIARIES: DISPLECMENT, COMMUNITY BUILDING, AND INDUSTRAIL REHABILITATION IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Jason Azar
NATIONAL
DELIVERING THE LAST MILE: DELIVERISTAS’ WORKER CENTERS AND COMFORT STATIONS
Roberta Werthein
GROUNDING THE DATA-BASED CITY: A PROPOSAL FOR GRASSROOTS PRACTICES IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Emily Bowe
RE-SITE-ING REPARATIONS: LOCATING HARM AND CAPACITING REPAIR IN EVANSTON, ILLINOIS
Jason Brown
TOWARDS FOOD SOVERAIGNITY: CRITICAL AGROECOLOGY AND COOPERATIVE FARMING IN NORTH CAROLINA
Emily Sloss
FINDING A COMMON LANGUAGE IN OUR LOCAL FINANCIAL TOOLS: ECONOMIC RESILIENCY AS HOUSING INTERVENTIONS IN LOS ANGELES
Lyric Kelkar
URBAN ECOLOGIES IN SAN ROQUE, QUITO
REGENERATIVE GROWTH: SOWING A COMMUNITY EMMEDED FOOD ECONOMY IN EAST NEW YORK
Ashley Leher
THE NEXT WORLD MAKING: BUILDING WITHIN AND BEYOND MUTUAL AID TOWARDS “LIBERATED LIFE WAYS” IN NEW YORK CITY
Daniella Castillo
ENDENGE(RING) IMMIGRANT SPACE: EXPLORING COLLABORATIVE STORYTELLILNG TO REDISCOVER LITTLE PAKISTAN IN BROOKLYN
Sana Akram
NAVIGATING THE SEA OF GENERICA: TOWARDS ABOLITIONIST LAND USE ACTIVISM IN GOWANOUS
Jordan Packer
Global
WOMEN INTERMEDIARIES OCCUPYING SPACE PRODUCTION: NETWORKS OF KNOWLEDGE AND CARE IN MEXICO
Jacqueline Castañeda
RESISTING EXCLUSIONS, ORGANIZING AGAINST DISPLACEMENT IN RAPIDLY URBANIZED NEW DELHI
Sruti Penumatsa
RESILIENCE PLAN FOR MARGINAL PROTECTION STRIPS: IN RISK OF FLOOD, EROSON, AND LANDSLIDE IN RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
Mariana Kiwi Barros
BEYOND POLDEREN: EXPOSING THE VOIDS OF ENVIRONEMTANL JUSTICE IN THE NETHERALANDS
Claudia Rot
Global Studios
DESIGNING INFRASTRUCTURES OF INCLUSION IN RIO DE JANEIRO
Studio 2021
APPROPIATING PUBLIC SPACE: THE CASE OF HONG KONG’S FOREIGN DOMESTIC WORKERS
Studio 2018
TO THE WATER: A LOOK AT THE FUTURE OF HONG KONG’S FLOATING LIFE AND OTHER STORIES
Studio 2016
CAREER PATHS
NON-PROFIT CORPORATIONS AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS
NATIONAL, REGIONAL, AND LOCAL PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTES
URBAN AND ARCHITECTURE CONSULTING FIRMS AND CORPORATIONS
SOCIAL IMPACT AND URBAN STRATEGY STARTUPS
ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS
SHIFTING
Mateo Fernández-Muro, Tait Mandler, Gamar Markarian, Masoom Moitra, Maria Morales, Sinead Petrasek, and Alexandera Venner
