Students will gain a much better understanding of US and international political and governing systems. This will be of great help to students to understand how culture, history, and communication impact various political systems. Issues will be examined objectively so students can gain a clearer understanding of what they see in the media and hear from friends, family and social circles. This course teaches how to look at the evidence and facts and remove bias in order to faint a greater understanding of various ideologies, political philosophies, and influences on political systems. The course teaches students how to think, reason and develop their own world views when they are ready and to understand the views of others as they learn about political influences.

This course is designed for students and participants of all backgrounds to vastly improve their public speaking abilities and confidence in communication. Rather than focusing on standardized methods, this course focuses on the individual speaker's needs and is tailored directly toward those areas that are assets as well as to improve on any weakness. The most important characteristic to improve is confidence, no matter how a particular speech goes. It's a process that turns fear into a challenge and then a challenge into fun. Public speaking is a very personal experience in a public setting. Each person is different and finding the approaches, methods, and styles that work for that particular person will help them to realize that not only can they do something most people hate, they may actually start enjoying it.

Social science research is often a very intimidating subject. Many students are intimidated by the thought of conducting research. The course introduces and understanding of how research is conducted, how it differs from other classes and homework and why research is conducted in the manner it is. This class is useful to all students. It will teach students to present thoughtful and supported work in their papers, understand the use of words and numbers, and how to present their work and the work of others in a professional manner. This will also maximize the critical thinking skills of students while giving them more confidence in their own abilities.