American Politics Minor

Duquesne's American Politics minor examines how the U.S. political system actually works: from Congress and the presidency to elections, media, immigration policy, and public administration. Students complete 15 credits chosen from an approved list of courses covering national government, campaigns, policy analysis, and American political thought.

The minor is open to non-Political Science majors, making it a strong complement for students in multiplatform journalism, business, history, pre-law, sociology or health sciences who want a deeper understanding of American government and policymaking.

What skills will I learn?

An American Politics minor will give you the skills to achieve your bigger goals, including:

• Institutional analysis skills for assessing how power is distributed and exercised across Congress, the presidency, and the courts.
• Policy evaluation skills for analyzing how public policy is developed and implemented at the federal, state, and local levels.
• Data-informed political judgement built by interpreting election results, polling, and voting behavior to explain political outcomes.
• Media literacy skills for critically evaluating how news coverage and public opinion shape political discourse.
• Persuasive writing and argumentation skills for building evidence-based cases on policy and political issues, a core skill for law, government, and communication careers.