Frequently Asked Questions

The OAC is designed for:

• Public officials or city employees who have a desire to learn how to use data to improve urban policy making or city operations. A STEM background is not required, but may be helpful.
• Working professionals interested in the intersection of data and cities.
• Researchers or consultants currently working to solve complex urban problems using large data sets.
• International students or professionals interested in using data for social good in cities around the world

This program can be beneficial to individual contributors, teams of analysts, and even those in managerial roles who need to have an understanding of how big data analysis can be used to make more informed decisions.

This program is currently offered in an entirely online format. Through online synchronous classes and support videos and materials, you can learn from anywhere in the world - while still receiving live instruction and personal attention from our faculty.

To be eligible for consideration to any graduate program at NYU Tandon, you must hold a four year U.S. Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution, or its international equivalent. We do not accept undergraduate degrees that are equivalent to three years of study. However, degrees that are completed within the Bologna signatory system that are Bachelor of Engineering (or a related field), and earn 180+ ECTS credits, are eligible for consideration. Please note that the minimum GPA requirement is a 3.0 out of a 4.0 scale.

We recommend that applicants have previous studies or professional experience in public policy and local government. Basic familiarity with statistics, programming, and computer science is also highly recommended, but not required.

Please refer to the Admission Requirements page for more information

The Applied Urban Science and Informatics, OAC program is a focused curriculum of 4 courses (12 credits). Students have the option to take any 4 courses out of the available 6.

In the 2023-24 academic year, the following courses are being offered:

• Civic Analytics and Urban Intelligence
• Data Visualization
• Introduction to Programming for Solving Urban Challenges
• Innovative City Governance
• Geographic Information Systems
• Introduction to Applied Data Science

Visit the online Applied Urban Science and Informatics, OAC page for the most up to date course listings and course descriptions available through this program.

Students can expect to spend approximately 2-4 hours per week on assignments outside of synchronous sessions for each course they take.

We have waived the GRE requirement for all of our online degree programs. It is now an optional piece of documentation if you would like to upload it, but is not required.

To complete the Applied Urban Science and Informatics, OAC program, you will need to complete 4 courses (12 credits). The certificate is designed to be flexible to adapt to your schedule. Students may finish in as little as one year by taking 2 courses (6 credits) per semester. Other students may choose to take only 1 course per semester, finishing in 2 years. Summer courses may also be available to expedite completion of the certificate.

Spring Semester Start: Students who apply before the November 1 deadline and are admitted will receive a 50% tuition reduction if accepted. The tuition reduction will apply to all courses taken throughout the program.

Fall Semester Start: Students who apply before the July 1 deadline and are admitted will receive a 50% tuition reduction if accepted. The tuition reduction will apply to all courses taken throughout the program.

More information about General Requirements and Deadlines.

Students may be able to count up to 9 credits from the Online Advanced Certificate toward the Master’s Degree at the discretion of their academic advisor. It’s important to note that if a student chooses to transfer credits from the Certificate to the Master’s program, they will only be able to consider one of the programs as complete, not both. Students must make the decision to transfer credits before completing the certificate program.

To learn more and receive notifications about upcoming online seminars and info-sessions, please visit our Digital Learning events page.

Please contact our Digital Learning team at tandon.online@nyu.edu, text JOIN to 877-642-7883 or call 646.997.3623.