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We recognize that in a globalized world, power on individual, community, and systemic levels are interconnected. With that in mind, we teach critical thinking, cultivate leaders, and engage in purposeful research and action in urban communities.
If you are passionate about making a positive impact on the world, Worcester State University will provide you with the necessary tools to do just that, geared toward the workplaces of today. This program will help you develop an in-depth understanding of the complex challenges facing our increasingly urban and diverse world by taking what you learn in the classroom and putting it into practice. Because we are one of the few Urban Studies departments in New England, Worcester State students stand out as creative problem solvers seeking to understand and provide solutions for urban residents locally and globally.
Our Mission:
- Teaching: we challenge students to think creatively and write critically about urban issues, and to solve problems using theoretical and applied approaches.
- Research: we emphasize ethical collaborative action research involving faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and the community.
- Action: we engage students through a variety of intergenerational and intercultural community endeavors.
- Personal Development: we facilitate the growth of individual skills such as empathy, reflection, confidence, and self-advocacy, and other tools necessary to succeed professionally in a globalized world.




































Institutes & Inititatives
Why study at Worcester State?
- Access to extensive community relationships
- Urban Affairs Honors Society
- 4+1 opportunity for BS + MS
- Fieldwork
- Urban Studies Club
- Teaching Garden
- Opportunities to present research at conferences
- Social Work & Human Services
- Nonprofit Management & Community Organizing
- Public Administration & Policy
- Public Management
- Urban Planning & Community Development
- Doctoral Degree Preparation
- American Metropolitan Evolution
- Human Identity and Urban Environment
- Immigrant City
- Technology & Public Policy
- Women’s Studies
- Social Work
- Urban Planning
- The Queer City
- Urban Anthropology
- Group Conflict in the Urban Community
- Crime and the City
- Urban Housing Dilemma
- Refugees in American Society
- Environmental Systems
See the diverse career paths that this degree can prepare you for.
Explore a wide range of professional opportunities with your degree from Worcester State in fields including social work, human services, research, education policy, and more.
Where will your Worcester State degree take you?



Meet Your Faculty

Timothy E. Murphy
Dr. Timothy Eugene Murphy is Associate Professor and Chair of Urban Studies at Worcester State University. His research focuses on belonging, middle-sized cities, global middle classes, gender, sexuality, queerness, youth, artists, and Latin America [...]

Thomas Conroy
I am an urban historian specializing in urban exclusion historically and contemporarily. My scholarly work involves looking at marginal though often numerical superior populations who are often systematically excluded from power and/or at least the [...]

Adam Saltsman
Adam Saltsman is broadly interested in urban inclusion and exclusion, and explores this topic via three interconnected areas. First, he looks at refugee displacement in urban areas and border towns, exploring how people on the move or in a state of [...]
News At a Glance

Worcester State and STCC Form Partnership
A unique new pathway between two gateway cities was created recently when President Barry M. Maloney and Springfield Technical Community College President John B. Cook signed a partnership agreement that offers STCC students a smooth transition to a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Worcester State University.

Institute Renamed to Focus on Actionaven’t heard of the Urban Action Institute yet? The name may be new but the initiative has deep roots on campus.
Haven’t heard of the Urban Action Institute yet? The name may be new but the initiative has deep roots on campus.

Worcester State Departments Host Girls Inc. Eureka Program
In late July, the Urban Studies and Mathematics departments at Worcester State University hosted more than 60 young women from the Girls Inc. Eureka Program.
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