The New School - Program in Urban Policy Analysis and Management - Overview
The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy Combines Success with Integrity
The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy (formerly called Milano The New School for Urban Management and Policy) is part of The New School, a progressive New York City university dedicated to preparing and inspiring its students to bring positive change to the world. Students at Milano have access to the rich academic resources of the other divisions of The New School, thanks to the university's emphasis on interdisciplinary studies.
Milano's programs are not value neutral, but emphasize social responsibility, ethical leadership, and accountability. Its graduates are prepared to take leadership roles in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
The New School, in the heart of New York City, currently serves over 10,000 students from around the world who pursue a broad range of studies from fashion to urban planning, jazz to sociology.
The Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy
Milano was established in 1964 as an institute within The New School. The overarching goal of the center was to examine the complexities, dynamics, and organization of New York City as a metropolitan entity. Milano was the first research and educational center in the United States dedicated to the study and analysis of a single city as an urban entity.
Today, Milano encompasses several departments, including public and urban policy, environmental policy and sustainability management, nonprofit management, organizational change management, and urban policy analysis and management. Milano is committed to experiential learning leading to innovative, practical, and principled professional development. Beginning in the first semester, students undertake hands-on work with people, organizations, or local communities in need.
Training Future Decision-Makers in Urban Policy
With its heavy emphasis on experiential learning, the urban policy analysis and management program trains master's degree students to address the issues faced by urban communities in the contemporary global context. Focus concentrations in this program include social policy, housing and community development, community and economic development finances, and workforce and economic development.
Students enrolled in this program are involved in both coursework and community-based projects.
Through internships and service learning projects, students are paired with government entities and non-profit groups to help in a variety of real-life urban policy projects, initiatives, and problems.
Academic coursework helps students to hone their analytical skills. By the end of their studies, students are prepared to critically evaluate traditional policy methods and to design creative, alternative approaches to urban problems.
Through this dualist approach, students learn how to create, implement, and manage the diverse array of urban policies that pertain to the nonprofit and public sectors.
A Personalized Course of Study to Meet Students' Interests
Flexibility and choice define the curriculum for the program of urban policy analysis and management. Each student tailors his or her course of study to meet specific individual interests.
Each student must complete 42 units of coursework. Most classes are worth three units each.
All students in The New School are required to take three school-wide courses that focus on developing students' creative and critical analysis abilities.
Requisite departmental classes include Political Economy of the City, Policy Analysis, Public Finance and Fiscal Management, Laboratory in Issue Analysis (6 hours), and Advanced Seminar in Urban Policy Analysis and Management.
As with the other departments at Milano, the international and cross-cultural perspective is critical to the school's guiding vision of training students to think and act both locally and globally. Other program electives pertain to the broad range of issues and conceptual frameworks that typify the urban policy field, including children, youth, and family policy; urban environmental policy; poverty and American social policy; workforce development; advanced quantitative methods; community development; and education policy.
Every Milano student has the option to select a program area of specialization. The twelve focus areas are community development finance, economic workforce development, finance, global management and policy, health policy and management, housing and community development, leadership and change, politics and advocacy, social entrepreneurship, social policy, strategic human resource management, and sustainability management.
Internships and Student Projects
Master's degree students new to the field of urban policy are required to complete an internship during the summer between their two years of study. Many alumni maintain close ties to Milano through the Career Services Office, helping students arrange interviews and other networking opportunities. Others make their organizations available as participants in a variety of student-client projects pursued in the context of specific courses.
Recent internships have been pursued at a broad range of organizations and companies, including: research internship on an STD project, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; change management internship, Lucent Technologies; internship in immigration and justice, Vera Institute; and leadership and management internship, Merrill Lynch Investment Banking.
New York City, The New School's Urban Classroom
New York City provides a unique environment for students to study both the creative products and the functional mechanisms of a large urban center. Besides offering a rich array of learning experiences for those in the artistic and design fields, the city is home to a wide array of prominent nonprofit and civil service organizations, including the Ford Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, Americans for the Arts, and the United Nations. It is in this ever-changing, rich context that students at Milano learn, grow, and make connections in their professional fields.