The Utah Valley University (UVU) Center for Constitutional Studies
(CCS) announced today the launch of a master’s program in
constitutional government, civics & law (MACGCL). Dr. Troy E.
Smith, professor of political science at Brigham Young
University–Hawaii and an expert on federalism, has been named
program director.
Students in the new master of arts program will spend time at
Oxford University’s Pembroke College, which partners with the
Center for Constitutional Studies on the Quill Project, a
groundbreaking, undergraduate‐led digital modeling of
constitutional conventions.
The master’s program has two areas of concentration: a teaching
track geared toward enhancing an individual’s ability to teach
social studies in K-12 public and private schools and a research
track that prepares individuals to pursue highly competitive
doctoral studies programs in constitutional law, history, or
political science.
Amid an increasingly polarized political landscape and a lack of
constitutional literacy, K-12 civics education is vital to a common
understanding of the American political system, constitutional
government, history, and economics among the next generation of
citizens and leaders.
The master’s program will equip students with an understanding
of the American founding, the development of the American
constitutional system, and the civic virtues it requires. Graduates
will strengthen their ability to read carefully, think critically,
and engage in civil discourse through speech and writing.
“As our country becomes more politically divisive, we are proud
to offer a new master’s degree that will enhance public
understanding of the constitution and civil discourse,” said
Matthew Brogdon, senior director of the center. “In just 14 months,
our master’s students can complete an Oxford-supported degree,
which will not only position them for highly successful teaching
and research careers but will also allow them to shape tens of
thousands of students’ understanding of American government and the
Constitution.”
Students in both the teaching and research tracks will earn a
minimum of 30 credit hours in the 14-month program spanning two
summer semesters and the intervening academic year. Instruction for
the teaching track will include two weeks of in-person, on-campus
classes at Utah Valley University (first-year summer session),
online instruction from August to April, and two weeks of
in-person, on-campus classes at Pembroke College at Oxford
(second-year summer session).
The research track’s schedule will mirror that of the teaching
track except that the Oxford experience will last at least four
weeks and will take place during the fall or spring.
Dr. Smith will begin his position at UVU immediately. His
expertise encompasses federal systems of government, complexity and
public policy, and American government. He is a fellow at the
Center for the Study of Federalism and editor of the online
encyclopedia Federalism in America: An Encyclopedia. His academic
work has appeared in Publius: The Journal of Federalism, The Review
of Politics, Congress & the Presidency, Thinking Skills &
Creativity, and others.
“UVU’s Center for Constitutional Studies is one of the few
programs in the nation devoted not just to the founding documents,
but to teaching them properly to both K-12 and higher-education
students and teachers,” said Smith. “I am honored to be leading
this phenomenal program and help prepare the next wave of teachers
and researchers to elevate civics and constitutional education from
mere course credit to a fundamental part of creating well-informed,
constitutionally literate citizens.”
Coinciding with the launch of the MACGCL program, CCS is also
holding its annual summer K-12 teacher training, the Constitutional
Literacy Institute (CLI). The training will draw a record-high 53
educators from Utah and beyond seeking to refine their
social-studies teaching skills for the K-12 classroom and
incorporate elements of UVU’s Quill Project into their lesson
plans.
Among the distinguished faculty instructing the CLI cohort will
be Dr. Nicholas Cole, senior research fellow at Pembroke College
and director of the Quill Project, and Jeffrey Nokes, associate
professor in the History Department at Brigham Young University,
who holds a Ph.D. in teaching and learning from the University of
Utah, with an emphasis on literacy in secondary social studies
classrooms.
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To learn more about MACGCL program, go to
https://www.uvu.edu/ccs/macgcl/index.html.To learn more about UVU's
teacher-training program, go to
https://www.uvu.edu/ccs/projects/constitutionalliteracyinstitute.php.
About the UVU Center for Constitutional StudiesUtah
Valley University’s (UVU) Center for Constitutional Studies (CCS)
is a nonpartisan academic institute that promotes the instruction,
study, and research of constitutionalism. Through a
multidisciplinary approach, CCS examines important constitutional
issues found at the intersections of political thought, public
policy,religion, law, history, and economics. Its mandate is to
equip a new generation of citizens and leaders with a broad
understanding of political thought and economic practices critical
to preserving constitutional government, ordered liberty, and the
rule of law.
About The Quill ProjectDeveloped at the University of
Oxford’s Pembroke College, the Quill Project takes records of
constitutional conventions and codes, digitizes, and enters them
into the Project’s proprietary software platform. It focuses on
what constitutional drafters said and wrote, along with applicable
stories about them in period newspapers, timelines, photos,
political agendas, policy issues, the accompanying debates,
etc.
About Utah Valley University
At Utah Valley University, we believe everyone deserves the
transforming benefits of high-quality education — and it needs to
be affordable, accessible, and flexible. With opportunities to earn
everything from certificates to master’s degrees, our students
succeed by gaining real-world experience and developing
career-ready skills. We continue to invite people to come as they
are — and leave ready and prepared to make a difference in the
world.
For more information, visit UVU’s Newsroom website for fact
sheets, maps, leadership bios, history, photos, b-roll, filming
policies, and a list of interview-ready faculty experts at
https://www.uvu.edu/newsroom/# or scan this QR code.
Scott Trotter
Utah Valley University
8014196860
scott.trotter@uvu.edu