Politics Student Quoted in The Wall Street Journal

On Tuesday, March 28, Tomas Gilmore—a senior at Ave Maria University majoring in politics and economics—was quoted in the opinion section of The Wall Street Journal.

Thomas wrote a brief article on the liberal arts and how education should be a lifelong pursuit, which was included in a WSJ discussion on the decline of liberal arts and humanities. Throughout his piece, he discussed the utilitarian view of education as a gateway to money, as compared to “knowledge for the sake of human fulfilment and flourishing.”

“The beauty of the liberal arts lies in its acknowledgment that intellectual pursuits bear fruit in far more ways than financial payoff,” stated Gilmore.

Thomas’ achievements are a witness to the excellent training he has received as a politics major at AMU. The politics department has a well-deserved reputation for offering one of the University’s most remarkable majors. The courses—Introduction to Political Thought, Constitutional Law, and International Relations—are challenging. Moreover, all politics seniors are required to complete a comprehensive examination paired with their senior thesis.

“The quality of both the students and the faculty in the politics department is phenomenal.”—Casey Whittier, AMU Student (’23), Politics

Evidence suggests politics students and alumni reap great benefits from the well-rounded education they receive in this major.

The politics department’s success is measured in part by how well its seniors perform on the Major Field Test (MFT) in Political Science. The MFT in Political Science is a standardized test—taken by poli-sci students at over one hundred universities across America—produced by the Educational Testing Service. This year’s cohort of nine seniors majoring in politics achieved outstanding MFT results. The cohort’s mean placed the class of 2023 in the 96th percentile overall on this standardized test.

“The politics department at Ave not only prepares its students to understand and interpret the debates relevant to today’s political climate, but it also provides its students with the knowledge necessary to contextualize these discussions within the larger realm of political and philosophical discourse.”—Thomas Gilmore, AMU Student (’23), Politics and Economics

AMU is proud of what the politics program is achieving, and it commends Thomas Gilmore for his eloquence in defending a meaningful view of education and the beauty of the liberal arts.

If you would like to support traditional higher education and the liberal arts, consider joining AMU’s Annunciation Circle, a community of members who support Ave Maria University through their prayers and monthly donations of $10 or more. You can learn more about Annunciation Circle here.

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