Urban Semester Program

Helping Students Engage the Challenge and Potential of the Contemporary City

Overview

The urban semester program is a semester-long, credit-granting curriculum which focuses on the contemporary urban context, using the city of Philadelphia as a laboratory. All courses relate directly to urban studies. Students enrolled in the program are required to be in residence at the Philadelphia Campus. The program is designed primarily for sophomore and junior students, though seniors may also enroll. The urban semester curriculum allows students to satisfy several general education requirements, as well as possibly some major requirements. This program is available in both the fall and spring semester and is open to students from other colleges and universities.

In this program, students will:

• live alongside, learn from, and serve among people in one of America's major urban centers;
  
• observe at close range the social, political, and religious challenges facing a large city and become involved in seeking appropriate responses to these opportunities; and
  
• become aware of, reflect on, and respond to contemporary issues of justice - whether economic, ethnic, racial, or religious.

Curriculum:

Completion of this fifteen-hour sequence results in the waiver of the General Education Cross-Cultural requirement.

To participate in the Urban Semester Program, indicate your interest on the MCPC application and consult the MCPC Registration Assistant to determine course options.