James Madison Fellows

If you are awarded a fellowship from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, UNO is a great place to complete your master's degree. At UNO, we offer several courses on Constitutional Law and American Politics.

We have worked with dozens of fellows in the past, so we understand the specific needs of the program. Our online offerings work great with the busy schedule of our students who are teaching in secondary educational institutions. We offer two degrees that could be relevant to James Madison Fellowship recipients: the M.S. in Political Science and the M.A. in History & Government.

M.S. in Political Science

Our 30-credit hour M.S. in Political Science program allows James Madison Fellows to create a program to meet the needs of their teaching position. In addition to taking the required American Government and Constitutional Law courses, the fellows who teach Comparative Politics as Dual Enrollment/Concurrent Enrollment teachers may incorporate such courses into their program of study.

A typical Madison Fellow may take the following classes in addition to their 6 credit hours transferred in from Georgetown University.

• PSCI 8000: Seminar in Research Methods
• PSCI 8040: Seminar in American Government
• PSCI 8150: Seminar in Constitutional Law
• PSCI 8300 Seminar in Political Theory
• PSCII 8500: Seminar in Comparative Politics
• PSCII 8146: Constitutional Law: Civil Rights
• PSCII 8176: Constitutional Law: Foundations
• PSCII 8196: Constitutional Law: Civil Liberties

Based on their needs and interests, the students can choose from more than two dozen electives in American Politics, Political Theory, International Relations, and Comparative Politics courses.

Most of our Fellows complete their program within three years as part-time students.

M.A. in History & Government

Our new 36-credit hour MA in History & Government program that is developed to meet the needs of social science teachers can be another option for James Madison Fellows.

Students in this program take 18-credit hours of Political Science courses and 18-credits hours of History courses to be certified to teach dual enrollment and AP courses in both fields. The students may consider adding a certificate in Government or International Affairs into their plan of study.

A typical Madison Fellow in M.A. in History and Government may take the following classes in addition to their 6 credit hours transferred in from Georgetown University.

• PSCI 8040: Seminar in American Government
• PSCI 8150: Seminar in Constitutional Law
• PSCI 8300 Seminar in Political Theory
• PSCII 8500: Seminar in Comparative Politics
• PSCII 8146: Constitutional Law: Civil Rights
• HIST 8030 Graduate Historical Methodology
• HIST 9200 Colloquium- Themes in Global History
• HIST 9200 Colloquium- Themes in US History
• HIST 8336 U.S. Constitutional History to 1860
• HIST 8346 U.S. Constitutional History since 1860

Based on their needs and interests, the students can choose from more than three dozen electives in History or Political Science.

Immerse Yourself in Constitutional Studies Opportunities at UNO

UNO offers many virtual and on-campus learning opportunities for those students who are interested in Constitutional Studies. Below are some selected recent talks.

April 29, 2022: "The Consistency of James Madison: The Case of Bill of Rights," Michael Zuckert, University of Notre Dame; William B. Allen, Michigan State University; Alan Gibson, University of Missouri

April 28, 2022: "American Constitutional Democracy in the Age of Social Media," Alan Gibson, University of Missouri

March 30, 2022: "The Original 1619 Project: Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural," Diana Schaub, Loyola University Maryland

February 22, 2022: "The U.S. Constitution as a Politics of Imperfection," David McPherson, Creighton University

November 8, 2019: "Hamilton: The Man Behind the Musical," Bradford P. Wilson, Princeton University; Carson Holloway & Mark Scherer, UNO