Campaigning to Win a U.S. Political Campaign Undergraduate Certificate
About This Program
Political campaigns are a fast-paced, high-stakes endeavor. Campaign workers operate in a highly competitive environment where both collaboration and individual skill and initiative are required for team success. Campaigns can be stressful and chaotic, and campaign workers need to have a broad-based skill set in communication, organization, leadership, data analysis, and strategic thinking to thrive in the dynamic landscape of a modern campaign. While these skills can be, and often are, acquired on the go, campaigns benefit greatly from workers who enter with the necessary skills and experience.
Building on the foundation of academic training provided by a Political Science or related major, this certificate takes participants into the real world of political campaigns, showing them what it takes to win and giving them an opportunity to develop the skills needed to contribute to a winning effort. Students completing the certificate will acquire marketable skills at the same time that they are developing a well-grounded understanding of the mechanics and dynamics of the campaign process and its linkages with the party system and the broader political system.
Who Should Attend
This certificate program is intended for undergraduate students studying Political Science or a related field who want to obtain high-level, meaningful work on a political campaign at the entry-point of their career in politics.
What You’ll Learn
Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:
- describe in detail how election campaigns are organized and run at the local, state, and national level;
- explain how campaigns function within the political culture, party system, and electoral environment of the United States;
- demonstrate essential skills utilized by campaigns, such as fundraising, networking, field organizing, speech-writing, polling and poll;
- interpretation, candidate management, media relations, etc.;
- function as a productive team member in the high-intensity, high-stakes, and highly competitive environment of a present-day political campaign.
Internship
Students will be placed with a candidate or ballot-measure campaign. Students who have previously worked on a campaign can apply for a waiver of this requirement by obtaining a letter of performance from the campaign manager and writing a report for the instructor of
PS 399/
PS 310 outlining duties and examining lessons learned and skills acquired. Internship will be supervised by the program director or assigned to another full-time PS faculty member.
Core Courses (12 credits)
Choose three courses from the following list:
| PS 310 | How to Win a U.S. Political Campaign | 4 |
| PS 416 | Political Parties and Elections | 4 |
| | | |
| PS 318U | Media, Opinion, and Voting | 4 |
| | or | |
| PS 427 | The Politics of Public Opinion | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
PS 318U and
PS 427: The course not taken as a requirement may be taken as an elective.
Elective Courses (12 credits)
Choose three courses from the following list:
PS 318U and
PS 427: The course not taken as a requirement may be taken as an elective.
Total Credit Hours: 28