Politics

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A politics degree from AMU will prepare you for a career in law, academics, media and government. Plus, the research and critical thinking skills you’ll gain will serve you well in any field.

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GET READY TO ENGAGE

A politics degree from AMU will prepare you for a career in law, academics, media and government. Plus, the research and critical thinking skills you’ll gain will serve you well in any field.

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Skills You will Gain

1. A sense of public responsibility and a respect for the common good. God created us as social beings to live in charity as a reflection of the communion of the Trinity. A politics degree from AMU will motivate you to seek the common good to ensure individuals and societies can have what they need at their disposal to fulfill the vocation God has given them.

2. Research and critical thinking skills. Many of our politics courses have research papers that challenge you to dig deeper into specific political topics and compare the insights of different political philosophers and politicians.

3. Evaluation of political issues in light of the moral law. Our commitment to both natural law and revealed truth informs all of our courses. In your politics courses, you’ll learn how different theories of morality influence politics and how current political controversies measure up in light of the natural law and God’s revelation.

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MEET THE FACULTY

Professor of Politics; Director of Honors Program

Phone:

(239) 280-1609

Office:

Thomas Student Union 2007B

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Associate Professor of Politics

Phone:

(239) 304-7365

Office:

Henkels 2055

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Chair of the Politics Department; Ambassador Michael Novak Chair of Politics; Professor of Politics; Director of American Studies Program; Director for the Center of Catholic Citizenship; Director of Political Economy and Government Program; Director of Pre-Law Program

Phone:

(239) 280-1625

Office:

Henkels 3054

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Assistant Professor of Politics

Phone:

(239) 304-7020

Office:

Canizaro Library 235

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FAST FACTS

INTERNSHIPS & CAREERS

CAREERS:

Those who have graduated from Ave Maria with a politics major have gone on to work in Washington D.C. for members of Congress as well as in a variety of policy organizations that study, advocate, and lobby for specific public policies. Many have gone on to law school while others have pursued graduate studies with the goal of one day teaching in secondary or higher education. There are a number of careers you can pursue with a politics major, including political consulting, working on campaigns, political advocacy, journalism, and public service on the local, state, national, and international level.

Below are links that outline the wealth of career opportunities for Political Science graduates:
https://apsia.org/careers/career-guide/

AFFILIATIONS:

The University is affiliated through Career Services with numerous political organizations in Florida and D.C. (see below). Internship and mentoring programs are available for students interested in a political career.

  • U.S. Dept. of State – Washington, D.C. & International
  • FL House of Representatives – Tallahassee, FL
  • David Rivera, Representative – Tallahassee, FL
  • American Life League – Washington, D.C.

REQUIRED COURSES

Required Courses for the Major

POLT 201 Introduction to Political Thought

POLT 202 Comparative Politics

POLT 203 American Civilization

POLT 205 Introduction to International Relations

POLT 301 American Government

POLT 302 Catholic Political Thought

POLT 304 Constitutional Law

POLT 490 Senior Seminar

Elective Major Courses (two required)

POLT 305 Public Policy

POLT 310 Media and Politics

POLT 311 Entrepreneurship and Civil Society

POLT 314 U.S. Foreign Policy

POLT 320 American Political Thought

POLT 402 Modernity and Post-Modernity

POLT 403 Tyranny and Totalitarianism

POLT 404 Technology, Science, and Politics

POLT 415 Special Topics in Politics

POLT 495 Internship in Politics

Minor in Politics

A Minor in Politics is available. The minor requires POLT 201, POLT 203, and POLT 302. In addition, the student must complete three additional politics courses.

DEPARTMENTAL MESSAGE

With Ave Maria University’s politics major, you’ll advance in your critical understanding of the nature and purpose of political life. According to Aristotle, man is by nature a political animal. The study of politics is therefore a comprehensive study of man. The study of politics is an investigation into the perennial questions of political life through careful analysis of the best that has been said and written by statesmen and philosophers from antiquity through the American founding to the present.

The program is guided by the four subfields of the study of politics: political philosophy, American politics, international relations, and comparative politics. These four fields complement each other and provide broad and principled knowledge of political life.

According to James Madison, education and the study of politics ought to be a support for free government. As Madison says in a letter to William Berry “The American people owe it to themselves, and to the cause of free Government, to prove by their establishments for the advancement and diffusion of Knowledge, that their political Institutions…are as favorable to the intellectual and moral improvement of Man as they are conformable to his individual and social Rights. What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty and Learning, each leaning on the other for their mutual and surest support?”

Once majoring in Politics, you’ll examine the ideas of freedom, democracy and human rights. You’ll touch on ideologies, such as communism and fascism, as well as party politics, electoral behavior, and protest and revolution. You will study the rise and fall of leaders and political parties and the power play between nations. Political philosophy, American politics, international relations, and comparative politics will leverage your understanding of past and current politics.

“I myself am most pleased by good friends, and if I possess something good I teach it, and I introduce them to others for whom, I believe, they will receive some benefit with a view to virtue. And reading in common with my friends, I go through the treasures of the wise men of old which they left behind in their books; and if we see something good, we pick it out; and we hold that it is a great gain if we become beneficial to one another.”

Socrates to Antiphon in Xenophon’s “Memorabilia”

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Politics

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Sunny skies, warm temperatures, a beautiful campus. What more could you want? How about a community-like atmosphere, quality instructors who care about your success, a wealth of spiritual activities, expert career guidance… and that’s only the beginning. Imagine your future at AMU. It all starts by filling out our free application today.

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