Political campaigns are a fast-paced, high-stakes endeavor. Campaign workers operate in a highly competitive environment where both collaboration and individual skill and initiative are required for team success. Campaigns can be stressful and chaotic, and campaign workers need to have a broad-based skill set in communication, organization, leadership, data analysis, and strategic thinking to thrive in the dynamic landscape of a modern campaign. While these skills can be, and often are, acquired on the go, campaigns benefit greatly from workers who enter with the necessary skills and experience.
You'll learn:
- how election campaigns are organized and run at the local, state, and national level;
- how campaigns function within the political culture, party system, and electoral environment of the United States;
- demonstrate essential skills utilized by campaigns, such as fundraising, networking, field organizing, speech-writing, polling, and poll;
- interpretation, candidate management, media relations, etc.; and
- function as a productive team member in the high-intensity, high-stakes, and highly competitive environment of a present-day political campaign.
Political Science Department Info
Building on the foundation of academic training provided by a Political Science or related major, this certificate takes participants into the real world of political campaigns, showing them what it takes to win and giving them an opportunity to develop the skills needed to contribute to a winning effort. Students completing the certificate will acquire marketable skills at the same time that they are developing a well-grounded understanding of the mechanics and dynamics of the campaign process and its linkages with the party system and the broader political system.
This certificate program is intended for undergraduate students studying Political Science or a related field who want to obtain high-level, meaningful work on a political campaign at the entry-point of their career in politics.