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ASP CURRICULUM PRIOR TO FALL 2008
Seminars & Study Units
ASP seminars, which meet three times a week, explore topics of public policy in light of biblical truth. Interacting with knowledgeable Washington policy experts and activists, you are challenged to exchange ideas and to examine rigorously your own views. Seminars integrate biblical reflection and policy analysis through assigned readings, lectures, small group discussions, on-site briefings and research projects.
Seminars are organized into three academic modules or study units, which are issue-oriented and interdisciplinary. There are two five-week policy units and one four-week foundations unit, for a total of eight seminar hours of credit. Each policy unit analyzes a current domestic or international topic using tools from different fields, such as the policy sciences, social sciences and the humanities.
Foundations Unit
Foundations for Policy Analysis & Public Involvement (2 credits)
This unit introduces foundational concepts for analyzing public policy and for Christian involvement in public affairs. You learn basic policy analysis techniques and study the pattern of biblical revelation (creation, fall, redemption, consummation) as an analytical framework. You'll also select a policy topic of your choice to explore in light of your own background, a Christian worldview and the responsibility of the church in today's world.
Foundations Unit Syllabi
Domestic Unit
Topics in Domestic Policy (3 credits)
Involving field research and applying tools of policy analysis, the course builds on the foundations unit introduces various perspectives on social and political engagement in the domestic arena. Biblical justice becomes the point of departure for analyzing different views on a pressing national issue. This course is designed to expose you to the complex dynamic of national public policy formation on topics such as abortion, welfare reform, tax policy or presidential elections.
Domestic Unit Syllabi
International Unit
Topics in International Policy (3 credits)
This unit focuses on a major topic in international policy and introduces you to Washington's international community. Through case study research you are challenged to develop a biblical perspective on foreign policy. The unit typically emphasizes ways of dealing with conflict and the biblical idea of shalom on the role of governments and of the church in the world. Some issues previously studied in this unit include terrorism, the Asian Economic Crisis, U.S.-China relations, war in Iraq and more.
International Unit Syllabi
Internships Unit Syllabi
An ASP internship can challenge you to integrate your faith with practice in an exciting professional setting while giving you experiences, skills and vision that will continue to help you grow years after your internship ends.
To receive the eight semester hours of credit for your internship, you must work a minimum average of 20 hours a week and reflect in writing on your internship experience. Since you'll be earning academic credit, internships are unpaid.
Internship Syllabi
Placement
The American Studies Program has placed students in hundreds of agencies and offices throughout the greater Washington metropolitan area. Each internship placement is designed with you in mind. An intern's position and duties are determined through a careful process involving the American Studies Program, the sponsoring agency and you.
Credits
To participate in the program, you must be enrolled as a full-time student and be receiving academic credit toward your baccalaureate degree from your home institution. ASP does not grant credit directly; rather it serves as an extension campus of the member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. The program recommends to your home institution that you receive the equivalent of 16 semester hours of credit, distributed as follows:
Seminars:
| Foundations for Policy & Involvement |
2 |
| Topics in Domestic Policy |
3 |
| Topics in International Policy |
3 |
| Total Seminar Credits |
8 |
| Internship |
8 |
| Total Semester Credits |
16 |
Credits may be applied in a variety of ways because the program is interdisciplinary. Credits can fulfill general education requirements or apply to an academic major or minor.
Grading
Evaluation of your work is based on many factors. These include but are not limited to: participation, written and oral projects and examinations. A "C" grade indicates adequate performance, a "B" grade indicates good, competent and complete work, and an "A" grade indicates excellent, creative and integrative work revealing superior analysis and content.
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