After  attending the Lycée Charlemagne and Lycée Lavoisier, Urbain studied at the École supérieure de physique et de chimie industrielles de la ville de Paris (ESPCI ParisTech). He graduated as the top student in the schools ninth graduating class, in 1894. At  that time  he also earned his licence ès sciences physique et chimie' at  the  Sorbonne.
Urbain served  in  teaching  positions  at  the Préparateur at the École de Physique et Chimie Industrielle (1894-1895), in Charles Friedels  organic  chemistry  laboratory (1832-1899), in the Faculté des Science P.C.N. (1895-1898),  and   at  the École Alsacienne  (1897-1899).
He completed a thesis on Recherches sur la Séparation des Terres Rares (Research into the Separation of Rare Earth Elements) in 1899.