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American Politics & Policy | Home

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The Program

Students majoring in Government with the American Politics & Policy track examine the key subfields of American Government, including American institutions and behavior, state and local government, public economics, public policy, and research methods.

After completing 12 credits of required government courses, students choose from a variety of domestic policy or politics courses and apprenticeships, including the following:

  • The Presidency
  • The Congress
  • Principles of Policy Analysis
  • Ethics and Public Policy
  • Public Administration
  • Political Science Research Methods
  • State & Local Government
  • Campaigns & Elections
  • And many more
The George Wythe Review

Apprenticeship Experience and Methodology

There are many opportunities for apprenticeships in the American Politics & Policy track including, for example, exploring opinion polling and survey research. In a practicum like this, students learn the history of public opinion polling, the methods used in polling, and how to accurately interpret poll data. Students are then placed in a survey research firm for a period of time to actually do public opinion polling, culminating in a report on their work. Students also do their own polling projects, independent of their work in survey research firms, researching already existing survey data to draw conclusions about public opinion on specific key issues facing American policymakers.

PHC's proximity to Washington D.C. makes it one of the best colleges in the country for government internships. Students have completed internships at

  • Federal Communications Commission 
  • The White House
  • The U.S. Senate
  • The U.S. House of Representatives
  • Generation Joshua
  • U.S. State Department
  • U.S. Department of Defense
  • U.S. Office of the Attorney General
  • State Governor's Offices
  • State and Local Officials
  • Heritage Foundation
  • The Koch Foundation
  • American Enterprise Institute
  • International Justice Mission
  • HSP Direct, Copyrighter
  • Law Firms
  • Purcellville City Council
  • Planning Department, City of Purcellville
  • Communications Department, American Majority
  • 2016 Republican Convention

View the APP Course List

View The Courses