Florida State University’s Institute for Governance and Civics announced the launch of a new undergraduate degree in Civics and Liberty Studies (CLS), an interdisciplinary program designed to prepare students to be thoughtful, data-informed and ethically grounded civic leaders. Students may enroll now for the Fall semester.
Built at the intersection of the liberal arts and social sciences, the Civics and Liberty Studies degree allows students to study constitutional thought, free speech, political philosophy and foundational texts on liberty and governance, alongside statistics, survey research, public opinion and public policy.
“Civic knowledge is collapsing at the very moment our public discourse feels most fragile,” said Ryan Owens, director of the Institute for Governance and Civics. “The Civics and Liberty Studies degree is one way Florida State University is rebuilding civic literacy and preparing the next generation of thoughtful, effective citizens and responsible leaders. It is designed to marry the big ideas of American liberty with the technical and analytical skills today’s leaders need.”
The curriculum consists of 27 credits of core coursework and 18 credits in one of four concentrations: constitutional liberty, economic liberty, conscience liberty and educational liberty. Coursework spans civil discourse, constitutional law, political philosophy, public policy, economics and applied statistics, culminating in an American civics research seminar.
“Students shouldn’t have to choose between studying great ideas and gaining real-world skills,” Owens said. “The Civics and Liberty Studies program brings those together by pairing the intellectual grounding of the liberal arts with the data and analytical tools students need to lead in today’s civic and professional environments.”
For more information about the Civics and Liberty Studies degree, including curriculum and admissions details, visit igc.fsu.edu/cls-degree.
