Our Programs

Academics

• Skills Courses: PCD's one-credit courses are open to any AU undergraduate student. Find your voice in hands-on classes like Dialogue for Civic Engagement, Mediation and Dispute Resolution, First Amendement Moot Court, and Dialogue for Public Affairs Practice.
• Certificate in Civic Dialogue: Available to all American University graduates and compatible with any course of study. Students in the certificate program will develop critical dialogue skills, lead discussions, and experience cohort programming and leadership programming.

Co-Curriculars

• Faculty Fellows: The SPA Civic Dialogue Faculty Fellows program supports efforts to infuse educational courses and programs with opportunities to practice dialogue across differences, collaborative inquiry, and dispute resolution. Visit our Faculty Fellows page to meet last year's class of 2025-26 fellows. 
• Student Facilitators: Each year, PCD hosts a cohort of driven, passionate student fellows, supporting curriculum development, dialogue facilitation, individual research projects, and more! Students who wish to be trained in Spring of 2027 should reach out to [email protected] or register for GOV 184: Dialoge for Civic Engagement. Learn more about our current student fellows here.
• Deliberative Citizenship Network: The Project on Civic Dialogue is partnering with Davidson College on the Deliberative Citizenship Network through the 2026-27 academic year. DCN is dedicated to expanding campus programs that cultivate the skills, dispositions, and institutional structures necessary for robust and respectful deliberation. The DCN Student Fellow applications will go live shortly. 

Events, Programs, and Facilitated Discussions

PCD provides opportunities for dialogue including peer-led discussions with trained student dialogue facilitators and faculty-led events such as our popular “Disagree with a Professor” series. Our dialogue-focused events feature professors, community leaders, student facilitators, and more. 

Join us for Coffee & Conversations: Introduced in 2025, this program serves as an entry point for students of all backgrounds to engage in casual dialogue. Interested participants are offered question cards and a redeemable token for a free drink at American University's student-run coffee shop. Coffee & Conversations provides students an opportunity to sit down with friends and dig a little deeper.

Full programs and events list