BA in Constitutional Democracy
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Seeing the Present through the Past
Starting with the degree’s interdisciplinary sequence of core seminars on the founding of the United States and then continuing with self-designed concentration area coursework and hands-on learning opportunities, students in the Constitutional Democracy BA bridge centuries and continents in examining how the intellectual roots and global history of democracy have shaped our experience of it today.
Degree Components
The Constitutional Democracy BA combines a common curriculum that sets a foundation for the degree, elective coursework where students chart their own path through one of the major’s four concentration areas, multiple opportunities for experiential learning, and three capstone options.
All students in the major complete a tailored sequence of five small seminars that shed light on the intellectual, revolutionary, and legal origins of the US.
- CNST_DEM 2450: Intellectual World of the American Founders
- CNST_DEM 2100: Revolutionary Transformation of America
- CNST_DEM 2455: Constitutional Debates
- CNST_DEM 2120: The Young Republic
- CNST_DEM 4400: History of American Law
All core courses are cross-listed with either Political Science or History and are taught in Honors or non-Honors sections. Honors students are eligible to substitute the Revolutions and Constitutions classes in the Honors College social science sequence for Revolutionary Transformation and Constitutional Debates.
Combining courses from over ten different MU departments and programs, the Concentration Areas below provide students not only with an opportunity to focus their studies but also with the freedom to tailor what they’re examining in the classroom to what interests them most.
- US & the World
- Politics & Policy
- Law & Institutions
- Social & Political Thought
Whether it’s through landing a for-credit internship in Jeff City or at the State Historical Society of Missouri, studying abroad in the UK or South Africa, or participating in our DC Summer Program or Constitutional Litigation class, all Constitutional Democracy majors get hands-on experience contextualizing what they’re learning in the classroom.
Other options for fulfilling the experiential learning requirement include writing for our undergraduate Journal on Constitutional Democracy, taking the History Department’s Public History seminar, or doing an internship through the Office of Service Learning.
As with all Mizzou degrees, students pursuing a BA in Constitutional Democracy are required to fulfill a capstone requirement that ties their experience in the major together. Options include:
- Taking an additional 4000-level course in your Concentration Area
- Completing the Constitutional Democracy Senior Seminar (CNST_DEM 4971W)
- Writing a one- or two-semester undergraduate thesis
Students interested in writing a thesis should contact Kinder Institute Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Thomas Kane, KaneTC@missouri.edu, the semester prior to when they’re planning to start for details about the thesis proposal process.
Students are eligible to receive departmental honors by fulfilling the following criteria:
- A 3.7 GPA in all courses applying to the BA
- Completion of both core writing-intensive courses associated with the major, CNST_DEM 4400W: History of American Law and CNST_DEM 4971W: Senior Seminar in Constitutional Democracy
- Participation in two of the for-credit experiential programs that apply toward the degree or one experiential program and an ASH Scholars research team.
Note: Students can appeal to substitute in CNST_DEM 4975 or 4975H for one of the writing-intensive requirements for departmental honors but cannot also apply that course toward the experiential learning requirement.
Degree Resources
Students interested in finding out more about what a degree in Constitutional Democracy entails can use the degree plan to map out a potential pathway through the BA. Additionally, a list of all Fall 2026 classes that apply toward the degree can be found here.
Students who are unable to fit the BA in Constitutional Democracy into their regular course of study can still pursue the 12-credit hour Certificate or 15-credit hour Minor in American Constitutional Democracy.
Life after College with a Constitutional Democracy BA
After graduating, our students have gone on to law schools from coast-to-coast, the Peace Corps, work in non-profits and at PR firms, jobs running campaigns and covering them in newspapers, high school teaching positions, and graduate programs in History, Public Administration, Global Leadership, Theological Studies, and more.
Featured Kinder Alum
Paul Odu
University of Chicago Law School
Abby Ramirez
Media Monitor, Democratic Governors Association
Elise Milburn
PhD in History, Penn State University
Thinking about Adding the Major?
Students interested in adding the BA should set up an appointment with Sr. Advisor Brittony Hein on MU Connect
BA By the Numbers
21
Honors Credits You Can Earn through the BA
12
Other Majors Students Have Graduated With
15
Spring 2025 Grads with Latin Honors