Department of History and Political Science

Cultivating Christian Citizens through the Study of History and Political Science

Azusa Pacific’s Department of History and Political Science offers a history major, a political science major, and a social science major, and a history minor, humanities minor, political science minor, and prelaw minor. The department is also home to chapters of the national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha; the national history honor society, Phi Alpha Theta; and the international legal community honor society, Phi Delta Phi.

Mission Statement

The Department of History and Political Science at Azusa Pacific University 1) offers undergraduate degree programs in history, political science, social science, humanities, and prelaw, and a single-subject waiver for a teaching credential in social science; 2) provides General Education courses in history and political science consistent with the outcomes of a liberal arts education; and 3) prepares students for graduate study, law school, or success in their chosen careers.

Meet the Faculty

The Department of History and Political Science has four full-time political scientists and four full-time historians, all with different teaching areas and research interests. With our faculty, you will be able to explore the great questions that human beings have dealt with since the beginnings of civilization and community: What is justice? What is virtue? How do you tell good from evil, truth from falsehood? How have Christians throughout the ages dealt with questions of church and state, war and peace, prosperity and poverty?

View Faculty

Department Philosophy and Goals

Many courses in the department emphasize the reading of classic texts or the study of primary sources, and all department courses contribute to a Christian liberal arts education. We also maintain the following specific goals:

• Develop intellectual curiosity in students
• Equip students with the abilities to write and speak well, think critically, and judge wisely
• Enable students to distinguish justice from injustice
• Teach students the legitimate purposes and necessary limits of political power
• Provide students historical perspective for making judgments in the present
• Instruct students in human possibilities and limits
• Prepare students for careers that call for clear, cogent reasoning
• Familiarize students with other cultures and times
• Make available to students the knowledge that is needed by citizens and statesmen
• Prepare students to teach various social science disciplines

To graduate as department majors or minors, students must maintain at least a 2.0 grade-point average in major courses.

Spend a Semester in Washington, DC

Students who want to earn up to 9 units toward their major and up to 8 additional units toward their graduation totals through the American Studies Program in Washington, DC, may do so by arrangement with the Department of History and Political Science.