Center for Urban Science and Progress

CENTER FOR URBAN SCIENCE + PROGRESS

BIG CITIES +BIG DATA Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

Center for Urban Science + Progress

Our laboratory is New York City. Our mission is historic.

The Center for Urban Science and Progress (CUSP) was created as a historic partnership with NYU, NYU-Poly, New York City and other academic and industrial partners to make cities around the world more efficient, livable, equitable, and resilient. With NYC as its laboratory and classroom, the unique public-private research center observes, analyzes, and models cities to optimize outcomes, prototype new solutions, formalize new tools and processes, and develop new experts and expertise. These activities will make CUSP the world’s leading authority in the emerging field of urban informatics—the collection, integration, management and analysis of data to improve urban systems and quality of life.

8 0 billion

cubic meters of water usage is expected in the world’s cities by 2025.

2 7 billion

gallons of untreated sewage and polluted water spill into New York Harbor each year.

7

minutes

is the average length of a NYC taxi trip.

1 .2 billion

5 0.9

active social media users.

million international and domestic visitors flew into New York City in 2011.

7 5%

of greenhouse gas emissions in New York City come from the energy consumption of buildings.

Large buildings over 50,000 square feet account for more than 45% of total energy consumption.

20+

For over 20 years, NYC has not had a major new overhead power line.

1 .2

million New Yorkers were treated at a hospital emergency room in 2011.

1 .6 billion

subway rides were taken in New York in 2011.

City systems and data converge to form a mosaic of essential information.

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Center for Urban Science + Progress

THE SCIENCE OF CITIES The convergence of two phenomena: the ability to collect, store, and process an expanding volume of data, collected from myriad sources, and the increasing level of global urbanization that has resulted in more than fifty percent of the world’s population living in cities, has led to the opportunity to use large-scale datasets and analytics to address fundamental problems and challenges of city operations, planning, and development.

Building a science of cities requires new approaches that shape urban form and explain the dynamics of complex urban systems.

Raw Data

DATA COLLECTION

Integration & Management

From the amount of particulate matter in the

Just as city agencies must work together to

air at a given time of day to the number of

ensure that a city best serves its citizens, its data

minutes a stalled train adds to the population’s

must work together to provide useful and

morning commute, data are the foundation

robust information about city operations.

of urban informatics. Many data sources exist

The challenge for urban scientists is to create

within NYC’s agencies, awaiting CUSP to unlock

the data standards, technologies, and methods

their potential to help improve the city. CUSP

for managing, curating, and integrating data

also intends to deploy new data collection

sources from a network of agencies and disparate

methods using existing and novel sensors,

data sources to develop actionable solutions

from synoptic high-resolution imagery to

to improve urban quality of life. Of critical

noise monitors.

importance to CUSP is devising ways to maintain and store data in a way that balances security and privacy with access and functionality.

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Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

OPERATIONS. PEOPLE. INFRASTRUCTURE. Livable, productive cities rely on interdependent systems of citizen services, efficient operations, and reliable infrastructure. CUSP’s activities will advance a systems view of New York City—and other global cities—to understand and model how the city functions, and how it can function better.

Operations

People

Infrastructure

Public Safety

Transportation

Education

Social Programs

Energy & Water

Healthcare

Urban Planning

Environment

Government

ANALYSIS

SOLUTIONS

More data do not necessarily create more

With its unique partnerships, CUSP research

knowledge. Generating insights from big data

will be a balance of practical solutions and

requires advanced analytical approaches that

fundamental inquiry. Research projects will aim

cut through the noise and clutter. To illuminate

to solve real-world challenges facing cities

findings of real significance that lead to viable

around the globe, ensuring that CUSP fulfills its

solutions, CUSP will use techniques and

mission to help cities become more productive,

methods including machine learning, data

livable, equitable, and resilient. Each project

mining, agent-based modeling and simulation,

will integrate diverse expertise from various

and operations research. It will hone these

informatics disciplines and urban domains to

approaches to define the emerging field of

address operational and planning challenges.

urban informatics.

Projects will possess important economic implications as well—from the jobs created to implement proposals, to the new ventures that could spin off from CUSP technologies.

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Center for Urban Science + Progress

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN APPLIED URBAN SCIENCE AND INFORMATICS It is the job of urban scientists to intelligently manipulate big data from a range of sources to uncover a meaningful story about a facet of city operations. CUSP’s Master of Science in Applied Urban Science and Informatics will teach you the fundamentals and investigative tools and techniques to be such an urban scientist. You’ll be a pioneer in urban informatics, a field which strives to tackle the century’s most pressing problems.

Length

The goal of CUSP’s MS in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

One-year, three semesters, full-time only.

program is to provide you with the ability to use large-scale data

Credits 30 credits

to understand and address real-world challenges in the urban context. The program leverages New York City as a living lab and the strengths of our academic and industrial partnerships to create a unique data-driven educational program.

As a graduate of the MS program, you can expect to have the following knowledge and competencies:

“ With the addition of this new campus, Brooklyn will be one of the most dynamic environments for entrepreneurs anywhere in the country.”

Michael Bloomberg

Mayor of New York City

• The ability to identify, define, collect, analyze, and communicate relevant data from diverse sources (tabular, web, sensors, etc.).

• An understanding of urban science and urban informatics and their relationship to the operation and development of cities.

• An ability to identify and assess problems, evaluate data needs and analytical approaches to problem-solving, and develop solutions in real-world, multiple-constraint contexts.

• Direct, hands-on experience working in high-intensity environments with industry and agency partners.

• The ability to manage and lead complex processes of technology innovation and deployment.

•L eadership skills for your chosen career path in an entrepreneurial venture or existing organization.

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Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

CURRICULUM (1 YEAR)

LATE SUMMER PRE Semester

City Challenge Intensive, 1-week introduction to CUSP, fellow students, city agencies and partners.

FALL Semester I Total: 12 credits

Winter

SPRING

SUMMER

Semester II

Semester III

Total: 12 credits

Total: 6 credits

Foundations of Urban Science

Entrepreneurship/ Seminar on the Science of Cities Innovation (or elective) Specialization

Urban ICT and City Operations

Discipline Specialization (2nd course)

Introduction to Urban Informatics

Domain Specialization*

Discipline Specialization* (1st course)

Urban Science Intensive I*

Urban Science Intensive II*

Internship

Optional “Winter Week” Program with CUSP Partner.

Optional An internship with a city agency or partner is possible during semesters 2 and 3.

CUSP.NYU.EDU

The project-centric, one-year, three-semester, 30-credit MS program provides core courses in urban science, urban informatics, and information and communication technology in cities. You will have the opportunity to select from multiple urban domains and informatics disciplines to gain breadth and depth in the application of big data analytics to urban problems. The program also contains a focus on entrepreneurship and innovation leadership.

*Specializations and Urban Science Intensive defined further on pages 6–7.

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Center for Urban Science + Progress

WHAT MAKES THIS PROGRAM UNIQUE? Seven elements are at the heart of why this program is unlike any other.

KNOWLEDGE

①

②

Discipline Specialization

Entrepreneurship & Domain Innovation Leadership Specialization Specialization Choose to specialize in one urban

Select an informatics discipline that will guide your applied work in the program. Discipline specializations are targeted at building skills for data acquisition and management, integration, and analysis in a number of subfields.

③

You’ll have the option to specialize in either change leadership and organizational behavior or entrepreneurship and new venture creation.

These skills are critical for successfully applying your degree to real world situations.

domain (transportation and mobility; buildings and the built environment; public health, security, and emergency response; or environmental sustainability) that will serve as the basis for your Urban Science Intensive project.

(continued from page 4.)

Project Sequence

Learn from Leaders

A two-semester project sequence, the Urban

CUSP's faculty and researchers are comprised

Science Intensive, is at the core of the program.

of world-class scholars from academia along

It will place you in a multidisciplinary environment

with practice experts from our industrial partners.

with a specific city agency or industry partner

Together, they will teach you the skills to become

to work on a project that addresses an actual,

a new urban data scientist, bringing innovation

current urban challenge in a particular domain.

and leadership to the world's cities. Among the

The Intensive is an invaluable opportunity to

most distinguished in their field, they will engage

contribute to high-impact research leading to

you in generating new knowledge through original

improvements in cities across the globe.

research and developing technology to serve the needs of urban environments through collaboration with academic, industrial and city agency partners.

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Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

IMPACT

ENGAGEMENT

④

⑤

⑥

⑦

Research

ParTnerships

You’ll be in close contact with CUSP researchers as they build an instrumented city that will yield data for researchers and students to collect, analyze, and interpret in order to improve the long-term health and efficiency of NYC.

CUSP is an extraordinary consortium of public and private partners that individually rank among the most prominent in their sectors, but together form an unsurpassed whole. As a student in the program, you will have unprecedented access to our partners.

City Challenge Program

Urban Science Intensive

A week-long cohortbuilding program and immersion in the dynamics of New York City agencies, city operations, and the CUSP intellectual community. You’ll attend the City Challenge in August before you start your first full semester.

An experiential, twosemester project in which you’ll work on a multidisciplinary team to solve a real-world urban problem facing a city agency or industry partner. You’ll collect and analyze data, formulate and test solutions, and devise a solution strategy.

Career Prospects CUSP’s MS in Applied Urban Science and

If your interests are in entrepreneurship, you

Informatics will prepare you to work for private

will have opportunities to develop the skills

firms and public sector agencies, particularly

to manage and create new ventures, and to

those represented by CUSP industry and agency

foster innovation in the urban information and

partners, in positions ranging from urban data

technology sectors. The program’s emphasis is

scientist to management and leadership roles.

on bridging theory and practice to learn how

Internship, fellowship, and mentorship programs

to transform ideas into new market opportunities

during your time in the MS program will help

and start-up ventures.

you shape your career goals and give you an opportunity to secure post-graduation employment.

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Center for Urban Science + Progress

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS

ADVANCED CERTIFICATE IN APPLIED URBAN SCIENCE AND INFORMATICS The Advanced Certificate in Applied Urban Science and Informatics is designed for students who want to lead the science of cities, helping them to run more efficiently and to provide a better quality of life for their citizens.

Length

The Certificate program, which runs in parallel with CUSP’s MS

One-year, three semesters, (including summer), on a concurrent schedule with the MS program.

in Applied Urban Science and Informatics program, will teach

Credits

domains such as transit, health, and utilities.

12 credits

You should either hold a relevant master’s degree, an undergraduate

you how to apply informatics—data collection, management, integration, and analytics—to the tough challenges cities face as increasing numbers of inhabitants stretch resources in

degree in an appropriate field and currently be employed, or expect to be enrolled in a relevant master’s program at NYU, NYU-Poly, or a CUSP University Partner at the time you will enter the Advanced

“ This exciting new applied sciences school will make sure that not just trees, but ideas, innovations and exciting new job-creating tech firms will flourish and grow in Brooklyn.”

Certificate program.

Charles E. Schumer

directly linked to cities and urban issues. It is more important

U.S. Senator

For students concurrently enrolled in a master’s program, your time will be divided between semesters at your home institution, taking courses at CUSP via the latest distance learning technology, and in residence at CUSP in Downtown Brooklyn where you’ll take classes alongside members of the MS program.

Your academic and professional experience need not be in a field that you can demonstrate rigorous prior academic training and a passion for applying analytical skills to problem-solving in the urban context.

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Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

CURRICULUM (1 YEAR)

LATE SUMMER PRE Semester

FALL Semester I

Winter

Total: 3 credits Foundations of Urban Science

City Challenge Intensive, 1-week introduction to CUSP, fellow students, city agencies and partners.

SPRING

SUMMER

Semester II

Semester III

Total: 3 credits

Total: 6 credits

Urban Science Intensive I*

Seminar on the Science of Cities (or elective)

OR

Urban Science Intensive II*

Principles of Urban Informatics

Optional “Winter Week” Program with CUSP Partner

CUSP.NYU.EDU

The Advanced Certificate’s core is the Urban Science Intensive, a two-semester project sequence.

During the Intensive, you will work with MS students to apply the principles of informatics to address an actual, current urban challenge in a particular domain and with a specific city agency or industry partner. You will play an important role in the project, working to unlock the potential in big data to make NYC run better.

*Urban Science Intensive defined further on pages 6–7.

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Toronto Coventry New York Pittsburgh Shanghai

Abu Dhabi

Mumbai

POWERED BY A NETWORK OF SUCCESS...

CUSP draws its research strength from an extraordinary consortium—leading institutions of higher learning, leaders in the tech industry, and leaders in public service—that individually rank among the most prominent in their sectors, and together form an unsurpassed whole. Combined with the extensive urban and sustainability research strengths of multiple schools and departments at NYU and NYU-Poly, CUSP is well positioned to become the global leader in the study of urban informatics.

Academic Partners

Industry Partners

City Partners

New York University NYU-Poly Carnegie Mellon University The City University of New York The Indian Institute of Technology (Mumbai) The University of Toronto The University of Warwick

IBM Cisco Xerox Consolidated Edison Lutron National Grid Siemens AECOM Arup IDEO

Analytics Unit, Office of Policy and Strategic Planning Department of Buildings (DOB) Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Department of City Planning (DCP) Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Department of Finance (DOF) Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DOITT) Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) Department of Transportation (DOT) Fire Department City of New York (FDNY) Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) Mayor’s Office for Operations Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) New York City Police Department (NYPD) Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability (OLTPS) The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Academic Partners NYU Portal Campuses NYU Global Network Sites

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Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

...AND A VERY BRIGHT FUTURE CUSP’s educational activities will evolve over time to serve a wide group of students.

Anticipated offerings range from PhD and dual-degree master’s programs to a global executive master’s program and executive education courses.

PhD Candidates at CUSP

Executive Non-Credit Intensive Courses and Corporate Training

While CUSP’s PhD program is in development, CUSP will provide robust opportunities for

Short-term (one-week), intensive executive

dissertation research and for interaction of PhD

education courses and corporate training

candidates with CUSP partners. PhD candidates

will be offered in areas related to the CUSP

enrolled at a CUSP partner university or in

educational and research program. Corporate

other appropriate programs at NYU and

training programs may also be organized to

NYU-Poly will have the option of conducting

meet the specific needs of agency and industry

their dissertation research in residence at

partners and similar organizations on an

CUSP, working with both partner university

as-needed basis.

and CUSP faculty.

“ This is a unique and powerful public-private partnership that connects advanced education and research and development in areas that are priorities to Con Edison, including energy efficiency and infrastructure related technology, such as smart grid.”

Kevin Burke

Chairman and CEO, Consolidated Edison

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Center for Urban Science + Progress

A MESSAGE FROM STEVEN E. KOONIN

DIRECTOR OF CUSP CUSP seeks talented students who share its enthusiasm for leading and defining the science of cities. Join us as we bring together students with diverse technical backgrounds and a common desire to improve urban lives.

The digital age has produced an incredible ability to collect, store, and analyze data. Concurrently, globalization has flooded urban centers with new inhabitants who place increased strains on resources and infrastructure. Bringing big data to bear on urban societal problems—from clean air to transportation to healthcare—is at the heart of CUSP and a path to improvement of both existing and newly-built cities.

The world’s cities are competing for talent and capital like never before. As a native New Yorker, I am particularly heartened to know that CUSP’s researchers and students will be working side-byside with city and state agencies, and industry and university partners to move this city forward and advance the field of urban informatics.

Our work will generate new understanding and technologies, and in turn new ventures and new jobs. More broadly, we will share the lessons we learn with the rest of the world to make cities around the planet better places to live and work.

I invite you to join us on CUSP’s historic mission. You will develop skills and experiences on which to draw on for life—professionally as well as personally.

Steven E. Koonin, Ph.D. Director of CUSP

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Graduate Programs in Applied Urban Science and Informatics

HOW TO APPLY TO NYU CUSP Admissions Overview

Admissions Process

To be considered for the graduate programs

For detailed information on the application

in Applied Urban Science and Informatics,

process, and to complete the online application,

you are required to demonstrate, through

visit us online at: cusp.nyu.edu or contact us.

a combination of coursework, previous or concurrent degree program, and professional experience, competency in the following areas, depending on your intended informatics discipline specialization: � Single-variable � Basic

and probability

� Geographic

Brooklyn, NY 11201 Telephone: 718.260.3201 Facsimile: 718.260.3755 cusp.admissions@nyu.edu

calculus

programming and computer science

� Statistics

15 MetroTech Center, 6FL

information systems

and spatial analytics

Financial Aid In addition to the financial aid options available to all NYU graduate students, including the Unsubsidized Stafford Loan Program, other federal loan programs, the Federal Work Study

A selection committee may deem some

Program, private loans, and external grants, there

applicants in need of further training to be

are several funding opportunities specifically

admissible to the program. In such cases,

for CUSP students. These include fellowships,

accelerated instruction will be available during

scholarships, and paid internships.

the pre-semester City Challenge Program.

An admissions representative can provide you Admissions Criteria You must have either (1) a previous master’s degree in a relevant field or (2) a bachelor’s

with specific details on general NYU graduate student financial aid options available to you, as well as those exclusively for CUSP students.

degree in science, mathematics, or engineering and a minimum of two years of appropriate professional experience. You must also demonstrate high aptitude for quantitative analysis and academic success through performance in undergraduate and graduate coursework.

CUSP.NYU.EDU

CENTER FOR URBAN SCIENCE + PROGRESS 15 MetroTech Center, 6FL Brooklyn, NY 11201 tel: 718.260.3201 fax: 718.260.3755 facebook: NYUCUSP twitter: @NYU_CUSP email: cusp.admissions@nyu.edu

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