This course combines coursework and field learning to explore, teach, and mentor undergraduate students in the foundations of leadership and vocation in the urban context. Students are mentored by professional leaders to learn, analyze, and apply leadership and professional practices towards internships and future employment. The course includes analysis of concepts of civic leadership, interdisciplinary vocation in a pluralistic society, and influences of systems on diverse urban communities. Field learning across an array of disciplines includes case studies from faith-based, public, private, state, federal, and international agencies. This course also includes personality and talent assessments, workshops, and professional development trainings.

This course combines theory and fieldwork in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to study public policy analysis. It introduces the political institutions and processes behind policymaking, comparing domestic and foreign systems at both national and local levels. Students learn an analytical model for evaluating policy proposals, applying this framework through a policy memo assignment and engaging with local and national experts. The course concludes with a focus on how policy stakeholders engage their audiences to advocate for policy goals, using a four-stage framework for strategic planning and communication. Advocacy case studies are explored through visits to think tanks and advocacy groups.

This course integrates theological studies with fieldwork in Baltimore and Washington, D.C. to explore how Christians engage in contemporary public life as citizens and professionals. Organized into five parts, it begins by establishing an analytical framework for studying matters of identity and responsibility in public life. Next, it compares the role of religion in pre-modern, early modern, and late modern societies. The course then examines the theological roots of differing political affiliations and activity among Evangelicals in late 20th-century U.S. politics. It addresses the rise of social fragmentation and political polarization in the 21st century and their implications for old ways of understanding Christian identity and responsibility in public life. Finally, students consider how the Biblical narrative informs Christian identity and responsibility amid these challenges. Throughout the semester, students engage with Christian professionals from diverse theological perspectives and political affiliations, emphasizing the real-world relevance of course themes and evaluating lessons learned from their experiences.