Urban Affairs

Types of Degrees Urban Affairs Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many urban studies/affairs graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	327
Doctor’s Degree	44
Graduate Certificate	23

What Urban Affairs Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to urban affairs and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Urban Affairs Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in urban affairs should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Skills for Urban Affairs Majors

A major in urban affairs prepares you for careers in which the following skill-sets are crucial:

• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Abilities for Urban Affairs Majors

Urban Affairs majors often go into careers where the following abilities are vital:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

What Can You Do With a Urban Affairs Major?

People with a urban affairs degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Compliance Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Investment Fund Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Regulatory Affairs Managers	8.0%	$107,480
Social Sciences Professors	9.8%	$71,600
Urban and Regional Planners	12.8%	$73,050

Who Is Getting a Master’s Degree in Urban Affairs?

This major is dominated by women with about 66% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of urban affairs majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	19
Black or African American	65
Hispanic or Latino	47
White	147
International Students	25
Other Races/Ethnicities	24

Geographic Diversity

Students from other countries are interested in Urban Affairs, too. About 7.6% of those with this major are international students.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Urban Affairs

Some degrees associated with urban affairs may require an advanced degree, while others may not even require a bachelor’s in the field. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for urban affairs careers below.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED)	1.6%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	1.2%
Some College Courses	0.2%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	1.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	35.3%
Master’s Degree	42.6%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	1.1%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession.	2.6%
Doctoral Degree	14.1%

Online Urban Affairs Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	0	0
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	3	0
Bachelor’s Degree	18	2
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	37	1
Post-Master’s	4	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	14	0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	1	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Andrew Bossi under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.