Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Politics

Do you find questions of power, conflict, rights, law, or justice interesting? Do you like examining and debating issues such as immigration, war, and peace, the environment, campaign finance, foreign relations, human rights, or nationalism? Do you want to learn how other countries struggle to face political challenges in ways that often differ dramatically from those of the United States? If so, a Politics major may be right for you. The Loras Politics major offers courses in American and global politics and political thought. Professors emphasize multiple perspectives, critical thinking, and lively student interaction.

Unlike the study of politics at many other colleges, the Loras program examines the moral principles and ethical dilemmas underlying political matters across its courses. The college’s Iowa location gives students a front-row seat to the influential first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses, including campus visits by presidential candidates and the chance to work on the nationally-recognized Loras College Poll. Loras also fields nationally ranked teams in moot court and mock trials. Each spring Loras hosts students from France studying American politics.

Student Experience

Loras is affiliated with the Washington Center, and regularly sends students to study and intern in Washington, D.C. This experience is invaluable and creates a program that combines a theoretically rigorous curriculum rooted in the liberal arts with professional experience. For those with interests beyond U.S. politics, the Washington Center has numerous internship opportunities with organizations and institutions that have a global focus.

Pi Sigma Alpha

Loras College is home to the Alpha Alpha Upsilon chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha.

As the national political science honor society, the organization’s purpose is “to promote worthwhile curricular and extracurricular activities related to political science,” and “to stimulate scholarship and intelligent interest in political science.” Induction into the organization is a sign of a student’s superior academic achievement in the study of politics. The Loras chapter, founded in 2003, is the 589th chapter nationwide.

About Loras

Historically rich, academically challenging, faith-centered, socially stimulating – that’s Loras College.

Relating the rich liberal arts tradition to a changing world, Loras College strives to develop active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision makers and responsible contributors in their diverse professional, social, and religious roles. Housed on a safe, scenic campus nestled high atop the majestic bluffs of the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa, Loras College offers a wide array of academic programs, extracurricular offerings, and opportunity for personal growth.

We would be proud to welcome you into our circle of loyal Duhawks who will forever call our Dubuque campus home. Dubuque has received many awards and has been proudly recognized locally and nationally.

Mission

Loras, as a Catholic liberal arts college, creates a community of active learners, reflective thinkers, ethical decision-makers and responsible contributors in diverse professional, social and religious roles.

Vision

Loras will excel in developing principled thinkers and caring professionals in the Catholic and liberal arts traditions.

Pro Deo et Patria!

The motto of Loras College succinctly states the purpose of the Loras College community. We strive to fulfill the will of God by helping students become contributing citizens in the world and achieve their ultimate objective of unity with God. The Loras College community embraces core values that define the way we work, behave and relate with others. Truth, Respect, Responsibility, Excellence and Service.

Summary of Goals

• Foster an active, integrated learning environment that develops a community of scholars
• Sharpen our focus as a Catholic diocesan institution
• Challenge and support students to become engaged community members and responsible campus citizens
• Persist as leaders in the integration of technology and learning
• Strengthen recruitment and improve retention
• Strengthen the financial standing and stewardship of college resources
• Enhance and expand relationships and communication with the Colleges’ constituencies
• Broaden our understanding of human dignity, particularly as related to diversity and gender

Catholic identity: our commitment to the Catholic intellectual tradition

Loras College is a Catholic, diocesan college explicitly oriented to promote service of both church and world through encouraging all members of the community in development of their “diverse professional, social and religious roles.” The college strives to be a community demonstrating the highest standards of the Catholic intellectual tradition and welcoming all people into a dialogue to promote core values of truth, respect, responsibility, excellence and service.

Diversity Matters

• Diversity matters at Loras College because we are an inclusive community of people from many backgrounds and experience
• We, the Loras College community, strive to embody social, intellectual, and cultural hospitality in which multiple points of view can be expressed and explored in civil discourse.
• We proclaim this vision as an institution rooted in the Catholic tradition, which centers its moral vision of society on human dignity. All human persons have inherent dignity because all are created in the image of God; thus we act to treat all persons with respect.
• We aspire to be a society grounded in truth, justice, charity, and freedom. As neighbors in solidarity with one another, we work for fair treatment of all persons.
• We desire to live out our conviction that authentic unity is rooted in and springs forth from our diversity and therefore strive to create opportunities to embrace and build active community relationships in which all individuals may flourish.
• We intend the expression of our diversity ideals to be fluid and constantly evolving. As a result of our continued engagement with these values, our lived experience of diversity is not static, but a dynamic and living testament to human dignity.