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Whether you are a graduate student aspiring to advance your career, or an undergraduate inspired by the power and workings of government, the degree programs and certificates in the Department of Government in the AU School of Public Affairs will give you the skills and knowledge you need today to become one of the leading political practitioners of tomorrow.

Our curriculum draws from the breadth and depth of resources across American University, providing our students with the training and skills essential to analyzing political activity and behavior and understanding systems of government. Our programs combine expertise and scholarship in political science, political communication, and more focused areas such as women and politics.

Through our rich curriculum, unique ability to connect students with experts, and prime location at the center of the action, the Department of Government opens the door to our political system and prepares you to compete and lead in the government arena.

Find your future here—join us.

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SPA Research

Our faculty delve into complex and pressing issues of our time.

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The Good Friday Agreement: Where Are We Now?

SPA Assistant Professor Kimberly Cowell-Meyers facilitates a discussion on The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 with Brendan O'Leary and Alan Renwick, both members of the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland. O'Leary and Renwick present their interim report assessing pathways forward on this important and timely question.

Campaign banner for Whig Party candidates in the national election of 1848, promoting Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore

Research

Grants Will Support Publication of Presidential Letters of Taylor and Fillmore

New SPA research professor Michael Cohen is spearheading a project for the SPA Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies (CCPS) that will edit and publish the letters of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore.

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Kemo Grant

Research

Students Gain New Insights Through Public Affairs and Policy Lab

10 Students participated in the first PAPL to conduct primary research, sharpen data analysis and statistical skills, and determine findings and convey them to the public.

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Blocks spelling out 'Fake' or 'Fact'

Government & Politics

Matter of Fact: Measuring How Much People Care About the Truth in Politics

AU School of Public Affairs (SPA) Professor David Barker, however, finds that fact-checking can make a difference to certain voters––specifically those who are comparing candidates within a given party, over time.

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