Yorktown University's M.A. in Government degree program is intended to provide access to some of the most important scholarship in the humanities, government and economics as they pertain to mastery of the science of politics, political economy and culture.

The M.A. in Government degree program is a twelve course (36 credits) program of advanced courses distributed into four area concentrations. Students must choose an area "concentration" and earn at least 3 credits in two concentrations other than a student's "major" area concentration. The course of study concludes with a comprehensive examination.

Foundations of Democracy in America and Western Europe

The transformation of the American nation from a federal republic to a nation-state with imperial obligations worldwide has not occurred without transforming our fundamental law.  What transformation has occurred; its implications for political life in the 21st century and the relation of contemporary public policy to the Constitution is the focus of this area concentration.  The origins and meaning of the U.S. Constitution have never been more important and more frequently the subject of public debate.

Political Economy

Economics is fundamental to the character of government and to the relationship between free citizens and their government.  A free people who are ignorant of economics can easily transform elected governments into engines for the abuse of state power by changing the economic-state power balance.  Yorktown University's concentration in Political Economy is founded on the insight that fuelled those early Americans to choose freedom and to inaugurate the "Spirit of '76."

Political Theory

Too many educated citizens, journalists, politicians, cultural and religious leaders are ignorant of the Western tradition of political philosophy and are ill-equipped to recognize the sources of disorder in Western civilization.  This ignorance contributes directly or indirectly to cultural relativism, the misuse and corruption of language, and the vulgarity and dumbing-down so pervasive in public discourse today.  This neglect has created an intellectual vacuum from which a deepening nihilism has seeped into the American political community.  The decline of culture can be overcome by good education, not political action.

American Culture and the Life of the Citizen

The area concentration in American culture develops the ability to analyze and critique the sources of spiritual disorder in American culture.  Students examine society's need for some form of public ritual that honors and affirms the sovereignty of God.  By examining American history, literature, religion and art students discover common truths - and distortions of those truths - that make up the Americans experience.  Students will develop a reasoned critique of modern culture, explore the roots of civil order and view the outlines of a course for cultural recovery.