PACE: An Overview
PACE is an interdisciplinary 25-credit undergraduate certificate program. Its curriculum combines academic study with hands-on learning to give students an education in democratic citizenship.
PACE provides students with the understanding, skills, and motivation needed for success in American public life. It links the two main components of public life in America: political and civic engagement. Students learn that effective civic engagement requires an understanding of politics and political skills. They also learn that effective political engagement requires knowing how American civil society works and how to work within it.
In PACE students can learn to: seek out various perspectives, engage in dialogue, analyze the effectiveness of policies, take principled stands on vital public issues, understand the relationship between theory and practice, develop informed critiques of political and civic institutions, practice collective decision-making, work with those who hold opposing views, and devise effective solutions to public problems.
Any undergraduate at Indiana University-Bloomington interested in gaining an education in democratic citizenship can apply to PACE. It welcomes the participation of students with a record of active engagement in political or civic activities as well as those who seek to become engaged. The PACE Certificate can be combined with any major offered by the College of Arts and Sciences and with undergraduate degree programs in many other schools at IUB including Informatics, Journalism, and Social Work.
Though students can submit an application at any time, most apply during the second semester of their freshman year or the first semester of their sophomore year. Students should discuss the course sequencing with program staff early in their studies at IU.
PACE’s requirements and opportunities are guided by a commitment to intellectual diversity, rational exchange, open-mindedness, civility, and principled political and civic engagement.
Interested? Read about the PACE Certificate Program or contact us for more information.
