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Special Programs
Given the interdisciplinary emphasis
and flexibility of the Cities program, it is rare
that the programs of any two Cities
majors will be the same. Recurrent
emphases, however, reflect the strengths
of the major and incorporate the creative
trajectories of student interests. These
include:
 Architecture and Architectural History
Planning and Policy
Praxis - Volunteerism and Internships
Concentration in Environmental Studies
Concentration in Latin American and Iberian Studies
3-2 Program in City and Regional Planning
Study Abroad and Off Campus
Career Discovery
Other Programs
Architecture and Architectural History
Students interested in architectural and urban design should pursue the studio courses (226, 228) in addition to regular introductory courses. They should also select appropriate electives in architectural history and planning to provide a broad exposure to architecture over time as well as across cultural traditions. Affiliated courses in physics and calculus meet requirements of graduate programs in architecture; theses may also be planned to incorporate design projects. Those students focusing more on the history of architecture should consider related offerings in the Departments of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology,
East Asian Studies, and
History of Art and should carefully discuss selections with regard to study abroad in the junior year. Those preparing for graduate work should also make sure that they develop the requisite language skills. These students should consult as early as possible with Carola Hein, Daniela Voith, or Jeffrey Cohen, especially if they wish to pursue graduate study outside of the United States. See the Architecture program webpage for further information.
 Planning and Policy
Students interested
in planning and policy may wish to
consider the 3-2 Program in City and
Regional Planning offered with the
University of Pennsylvania. Their study plan should
reflect a strong background in economics
as well as relevant courses on social divisions,
politics and policy-making, and
ethics. As in other areas of interest, it is
important that students also learn to balance
their own experiences and commitments
with a wider comparative framework
of policy and planning options and
implementation. This may include study
abroad in the junior year as well as
internships. Students working in policy
and planning areas may consult with Juan Arbona or Gary McDonogh.
Praxis - Volunteerism and Internships
The Cities Program is deeply committed to synthesizing the theoretical and analytic study of the classroom with the experience and problems of real cities. Through exercises in our first classes, Philadelphia becomes an urban laboratory in which students must examine buildings, neighborhoods, policies and solutions, in dialogue with planners, activists and citizens. For more advanced students, we encourage development of this experiential component of their knowledge through volunteer work, summer projects and internships.
Volunteerism, in fact, represents a community service experience that many students already bring to the Cities program from high school and work in their own communities. This experience, which can be fostered by a number of Bi-Co programs, enriches discussions and even leads to theses dealing with Habitats for Humanity or issues in education and the environment.
More formal internships tend to emerge around summer opportunities. Many students have taken advantage of their summers to explore career issues with local planners, work with architects, explore the worlds of journalism or join the struggles of community development organizations. While often this means a return to hometowns across the United States, students have also explored opportunities as diverse as working with a medical clinic in rural Pakistan or organizing squatter communities in Buenos Aires. The Bolton Junior Fellowship, established through a donation from the Elisha Bolton foundation, provides supplemental funding for one junior major to complete an unpaid internship or service-based research each year. Recipients have worked with housing development in Boston, grassroots credit in Washington Heights, New York City, and architecture and planning in Barbados. These advanced internships also underpin many senior theses, as students recombine praxis and theory to rethink problems they have dealt with in a "hands-on" environment.
Within the curriculum, City 450 (Urban Internships) allows students to work on an internship in the Philadelphia area under supervision of a Cities professor under the guidelines established by the Praxis program. Here, the range of interests among majors has translated into an equally wide range of internships, working with local Hispanic community organizations, fighting for environmental legislation, dealing with welfare reform, organizing changing neighborhoods and working for Philadelphia Magazine. Often these internships become foundations for career choices as well as lifetime civic commitments after graduation. Students wishing to take advantage of these opportunities should consult with the advisers and the Praxis Office before the beginning of the semester.
Concentration in Environmental Studies
The Cities Program participates with other departments in offering a concentration in Environmental Studies. Students interested in environmental policy, action or design should take CITY 175 and GEOL/CITY 103 for credit in the major. Once they follow up with Bio 220 (which may count as an allied course), they can develop their concentration with courses in architecture, policy and other fields in Cities as well as choosing relevant electives in natural sciences, social sciences and humanities. Paperwork for the concentration generally should be filed at the same time as the major work plan. Students also should consider carefully their options with regard to study abroad in the junior year and thesis topics that bridge the major and concentration. Early consultation with Ellen Stroud and the director of Environmental Studies is advised in the planning of courses.
Concentration in Latin American and Iberian Studies
The Cities Program has just inaugurated a cooperative arrangement with this Haverford-based concentration. This concentration entails competence in Spanish and completion of Spanish/General Programs 240 at Haverford as well as classes inside and outside the major chosen in consultation with Professor Roberto Castillo Sandoval at Haverford and Cities advisors. The thesis topic should also reflect interest in Latin American and Iberian topics. This concentration also has links to a five-year cooperative M.A. program in Latin American Studies at Georgetown. Students interested in the concentration should contact Juan Arbona or Gary McDonogh as well as Roberto Castillo Sandoval.
 3-2 Program in City and Regional
Planning
Over the past two decades, many planning students have entered the 3-2 Program in City and Regional Planning,
offered in conjunction with the
University of Pennsylvania. This arrangement with the Department of City and Regional Planning allows a student to earn an A.B. degree with a major in the Growth and Structure of Cities at Bryn Mawr and a degree of Master of City Planning at the University of Pennsylvania in five years. Students interested
in this program should meet with
the major advisers early in their sophomore
year.
Study Abroad and Off Campus
Programs for study abroad or off campus
are also encouraged, within the limits of
the Bryn Mawr and Haverford rules and
practices. In general, a one-semester program
is preferred, but exceptions are
made. The Cities program regularly
works with off-campus and study-abroad
programs that are strong in architectural
history, planning and design as well as
those that allow students to pursue social
and cultural interests. Students interested
in spending all or part of their junior year
away must consult with the major advisers
and appropriate deans early in their
sophomore year.
Career Discovery
"Career Discovery" is a six-week summer program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Participants choose from one of three concentrations: architecture, landscape architecture, and urban planning and design. Participants "commit themselves fully to a path of intense studio work, seminars and lectures, workshops, and field trips. Deeply immersed in a culture that is both demanding and rewarding, they experience what education and work are like in the design and planning professions." Participants learn basic sketching, drafting, and analysis techniques, then apply these skills to three intensive studio projects. Participants "pin-up" each of their projects and present them to a jury. The program is comparable to one semester of Architectural Design. For more information, visit the Career Discovery website.
Other Programs
Additional trajectories have been created by students who coordinate their interests in Cities with law, mass media, medicine, public health or the fine arts, including photography, drawing and other fields. The Cities program recognizes that new issues and concerns are emerging in many areas. These must be met with solid foundations in the data of urban space and experience, cogent choices of methodology, and clear analytical writing and visual analysis. In all these cases, early and frequent consultation with major advisers and discussion with other students in the major are an important part of the Cities program.
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