The University of Tennessee’s new civics degree should treat citizenship as a practice

UT has built a promising foundation. The curriculum includes American political thought, constitutionalism, governing institutions, political philosophy, political economy and American political development. Students may study democratic policymaking, public leadership, constitutional interpretation, law and civic thought. Each student must also complete a professional-development practicum through an internship, local-government fellowship, faculty research or career preparation.

The question now is what kind of citizen the program will produce.

A student can read the Federalist Papers and still struggle to explain which level of government controls a local school policy. Someone can debate constitutional interpretation while lacking the tools to evaluate a misleading political claim online. A graduate can speak eloquently about democracy yet remain unprepared to work with neighbors who hold different values or to turn a community concern into effective public action.

Civic knowledge matters most when people can use it.

As a civic education researcher developing a Citizenship Empowerment Framework for higher education, I have organized that capacity around four connected pillars: foundational knowledge, media and information literacy, “Courageous Dialogue” and civic action. UT’s degree already contains elements of each. Its success will depend on how intentionally they are connected and practiced.

First, graduates should understand where governmental power resides. They should be able to distinguish federal, state and local authority, explain how public institutions interact and identify the officials or agencies responsible for particular problems. Knowing the Constitution remains essential. So does knowing whom to contact when a road is unsafe, a school policy changes or a state agency fails to deliver a service.

Second, constitutional education now requires media and information literacy. Citizens encounter public life through news organizations, social platforms, search engines, political campaigns and artificial intelligence. Students should learn to examine sources, distinguish evidence from assertion, recognize manipulated or synthetic content and understand how information systems shape political judgment. Modern civic competence joins knowledge of government with the ability to navigate the information environment surrounding it.

Third, the degree should make serious disagreement a learned civic skill. UT says the program will prepare students to reason carefully, communicate persuasively and “disagree civilly.” Civil disagreement begins with politeness and demands much more. Students should practice identifying the strongest version of an opposing argument, asking honest questions, defending principles with evidence and recognizing when compromise is possible and when conscience requires dissent. A constitutional system depends on people who can share institutions while taking their differences seriously.

Finally, students should translate learning into civic action beyond elections. Voting is indispensable, and citizenship also includes attending public meetings, serving in community organizations, conducting research for public use, communicating with officials, building coalitions and helping institutions solve problems. UT’s practicum and local-government opportunities provide an excellent beginning. Every graduate should leave with evidence that they have applied civic knowledge to a real institutional or community challenge.

This approach would strengthen the degree UT has created. The program already aspires to thoughtful citizenship, civil discourse and responsible public leadership. Connecting those ambitions to measurable civic capacities offers a clear test: Can graduates understand institutions, evaluate information, deliberate across difference and act constructively?

Tennessee has taken an important step by declaring civic education worthy of an undergraduate degree. It now has an opportunity to offer the country a model of constitutional education that is intellectually rigorous, politically pluralistic and closely connected to practice.

The American experiment needs citizens who can interpret its founding principles. It also needs citizens prepared to carry them into public life.

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