Located in the heart of downtown Phoenix, the BS program in urban and metropolitan studies is for students who have a yearning to study and understand urban theory in order to effectively address the challenges of rapid growth along with other contemporary urban issues.

Students in this program discover what makes the city tick --- and the city is their classroom. They examine challenges and solutions by researching history, society, culture, economy and politics in order to understand urban theory, and they use that knowledge to get involved in their communities. This gives them an outlet through which they can experience practical ways of solving complex problems faced by metropolitan regions. The students are invested in their neighborhoods. Many of them live and work downtown, and they learn how to improve urban health and well-being, often training themselves to be the future leaders of urban environments. Others focus on making a wide variety of other contributions to society, studying the role of arts and culture, business and property development, and revitalization and community-building in the life of the region.