• The program entails two majors: 1) one major chosen from the existing social-science disciplines within Maxwell (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, International Relations, Political Science, Policy Studies, and Sociology) or a related discipline outside of Maxwell that entails a substantial social-science focus; and 2) the Citizenship and Civic Engagement major, constructed by the student and his or her faculty advisors in a manner that brings the disciplinary tools gained in pursuit of the social-sciences major to bear on questions of citizenship, civic engagement, and public affairs. The program thus integrates for its students two of the great strengths of the Maxwell School-excellence in the social sciences and a dedication to the public good-and provides pathways for producing direct, meaningful connections between knowledge and action.
  • The Program begins with a sequence of lower- and upper-division courses, which coordinates the experiences of students in the various disciplinary majors and directs them towards the defining requirement of the major: the senior-level Action Plan Workshop, in which students design and implement, as much as possible, a concrete strategy for addressing an issue of local, national, or international concern. The Action Plan will rely on the training received in the student’s social-science discipline, but it will not be a traditional academic thesis; rather, the goal will be to study, understand, and act on an issue deemed important by the student herself. The Program requires thirty-one credit hours of coursework, in addition to the requirements for the separate social science or other majors; some of these courses will fulfill other Arts and Sciences and departmental requirements at the same time.