Global Metropolitan Studies
Interdepartmental Graduate Group
Program Office: 226 Wurster Hall, (510) 643-9440
Co-Directors: Jason Corburn, PhD (School of Public Health and Department of City and Regional Planning) & James Holston, PhD (Anthropology Department)
Program Website: Global Metropolitan Studies
Overview
The 21st century will be an urban century with more people around the world residing in metropolitan regions than in any other form of human settlement. This urbanization is taking place in both the global North and the global South. Its implications are widespread: from environmental challenges to entrenched patterns of segregation to new configurations of politics and social movements. The Global Metropolitan Studies Initiative is concerned with this urban condition. Bringing together numerous faculty, this multidisciplinary endeavor supports research and houses graduate and undergraduate curricula. It is one of a handful of "strategic" initiatives selected by the UC Berkeley campus to mark a new generation of scholarship and to consolidate an emerging academic field.
Undergraduate Program
Currently, there is no undergraduate major or minor in Global Metropolitan Studies. Interested students should consider the existing major in Urban Studies administered by the Department of City and Regional Planning .
Graduate Program
The Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies is for selected Berkeley PhD students with interest in metropolitan and regional issues. Students may come from any discipline across campus.
For information regarding curriculum and program requirements, please see the program's website .
GMS 200 Global Metropolitan Studies: Introduction to Theories, Histories, and Methods 3 Units
Department: Global Metropolitan Studies
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Fall
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of lecture/seminar per week.
Prerequisites: Ph.D. student in Global Metropolitan Studies Designated Emphasis, or consent of instructor.
The investigation of modern cities presents great challenges for social and urban theory. This seminar addresses these challenges through a multidisciplinary perspective that structures the discussion in terms of a history of metropolitan transformations, global urbanization, and the production and regulation of cities as spaces of contestation and creativity.
GMS 201 Research Seminar in Comparative Urban Studies 3 Units
Department: Global Metropolitan Studies
Course level: Graduate
Term course may be offered: Spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Ph.D. candidate in Global Metropolitan Studies Designated Emphasis or consent of instructor.
This core seminar for the Designated Emphasis in Global Metropolitan Studies offers an in-depth examination of contemporary research topics, data and methods, recent research findings, and challenges in specific subfields of international urban studies. Emphasis will be placed upon the discussion and improvement of students' dissertation chapters.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes. Instructor: Post
GMS C203/POL SCI C203 Urban and Subnational Politics in Developing Countries 4 Units
Department: Global Metropolitan Studies; Political Science
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall and spring
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: 2 to 3 hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing.
This course will consider the political and institutional environment in which efforts to address metropolitan problems are developed, the financial and institutional vehicles used to provide services of different types, and the role of political parties and other forms of political organization in the development and allocation of services. Emphasis will be placed upon fertile areas for research within the social sciences.
GMS 299 Independent Study or Research 1 - 12 Units
Department: Global Metropolitan Studies
Course level: Graduate
Terms course may be offered: Fall, spring and summer
Grading: Letter grade.
Hours and format: Hours to be arranged. Hours to be arranged.
Prerequisites: Restricted to GMS Designated Emphasis Ph.D. students.
Individual study or research program; must be worked out with GMS faculty in advance of signing up for credits.
Course may be repeated for credit. Course may be repeated for credit when topic changes.
Print this page.
The PDF will include all information unique to this page.
All pages in Academic Catalog.