About the Center
The Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics (MCAP) began operations in July 2010. Inspired by the mission of Mercyhurst University and guided by the college’s core values, the center promotes reasoned discourse about problems facing communities, states and nations. It accomplishes this objective by providing elected officials, government agencies, news organizations, and nonprofits with accurate and unbiased assessments of public opinion; and offering a nonpartisan forum for public debates and roundtable discussions that address pressing public problems.
The centerpiece of MCAP is the state of the art computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) facility. The facility, which is located in the Center for Academic Engagement, is comprised of thirty one interviewer stations and staffed by well-trained research associates. The specialized computer software used to conduct telephone interviews generates random telephone numbers in a predefined geographic area and allows research associates to accurately complete even the most complex interviews.
When operating at capacity, the facility generates 40 ten minute interviews per hour. This means that the center can generate interviews for a sample of 400 residents of a particular community in only ten hours. In other words, in just ten hours the center can report, with 95% confidence, what percentage of residents (plus or minus 5%) favor or oppose a particular position or policy. In just a few additional hours, the center can produce even more accurate results.
The center also has the ability to design and administer online surveys. This method of interviewing is ideal for organizations that have relatively up-to-date email addresses for their members. The software used by MCAP allows a researcher to administer a survey - whether short and simple or long and complex – to an unlimited number of email addresses. In addition, a researcher has the ability to monitor response rates and send out reminders, thereby ensuring that the study produces high quality results.
As the Northwestern Pennsylvania’s only CATI facility whose primary purpose is to regularly and accurately gauge public opinion, the MCAP is an invaluable resource community leaders. Each year the center conducts polls on issues of local, state and nations interest. The results of these studies are made available to the public via the university’s webpage. In addition to its annual polls, the center offers its services to private parties, nonprofits, news organizations, and government agencies for minimal cost.
Click here to see the latest MCAP Polls results.
Each year more than one hundred students with a wide range of majors help MCAP to conduct public opinion polls. The vast majority of these students are volunteers who want to serve their community and enjoy the comradery that polling creates among interviewers. In fact, roughly 90% of all student interviewers are volunteers. Political science majors and minors who are work-study eligible have the opportunity to apply for paid positions with the center. Like the volunteers, employees are trained in the science of public opinion polling and spend at least one year refining their interviewing skills while working as a student interviewer. During their second year employees have the option of taking on the responsibility of training new student interviewers; and their third year they may apply for a position as a project manager. Regardless of whether a student is a volunteer, employee, trainer, or project manager, the experience they acquire is invaluable. The knowledge and skills that students acquired at the center have led to internships, jobs, and research assistantships in graduate school.
Political Science Bachelor of Science
When you think of politics, what comes to mind? Elections? The President? Political parties? Politics is complex. While government is part of politics, it’s not the only aspect. And, becoming a politician is not your only option. As a political science major, you’ll study political theory, comparative politics, public administration, international relations, public law and political methodology. In addition, you’ll also have the option of earning a concentration in one of several subfields of the discipline including international relations, pre-law, applied politics, or environmental studies and politics. Majoring in political science can lead you to a career in law, international diplomacy, teaching, journalism, business, and many other exciting fields.
Each spring, two dozen political science majors travel to Washington, D.C. to tour the Capitol, visit historic landmarks and museums, and speak with admissions counselors from DC-area graduate and law schools.
Students can join Pi Sigma Alpha, a political science honor society with more than 700 chapters across the country. During election years, members have been known to organize formal political debates.
Political Science majors can choose to concentrate their studies in four specific areas of politics: law, international relations, applied politics, or environmental politics.
The Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics has earned a national reputation for the skill and professionalism of our Political Science students, as they collect and analyze political data and provide unbiased assessments of public opinion.
Dive into the exciting world of electoral politics by exploring the complex process of electing the president of the United States and participating in a multi-week simulated campaign
Examine fundamental questions about the nature and functions of law in society and explore and the conflicting images of law relative to freedom and obedience.
Investigate politics among nation-states by participating in an intense simulation designed to highlight the complexity of international relations.
Through the Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics (MCAP), you could complete a work-study, internship, or gain professional experience and newfound skills working in our on-campus polling center
Caleb came to Mercyhurst and changed his major five times before pursuing a career that he felt passionate about.
Political science seniors regularly win college and university awards for academic excellence and their commitment to service.
Mercyhurst University is home to an award winning chapter of the national political science honor society, Pi Sigma Alpha.
Many Political Science majors take advantage of the university’s 3-3 law school program or early admission opportunity offered by the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.
Take advantage of a partnership with Duquesne University School of Law, Cleveland Marshall School of Law and the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.
Specialization: American Institutions and Elections, Political Theory, Public Administration
Dr. Morris received his Bachelor of Arts at San Diego State University, Master of Arts at California State University at Fullerton and Master of Public Administration and doctorate at Idaho State University. He is an Associate Professor, serves as Chair of the Department of Political Science Department, and the founder and director of the Mercyhurst Center for Applied Politics. Dr. Morris has conducted dozens of public opinion polls since 2010, and his polls have been reported by every major news organization in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and by national news organizations including National Public Radio: State Impact, RealClearPolitics.com, CNN.com, MSNBC.com, the Today Show, and NBC’s Hardball. As Mercyhurst University’s senior political analyst, Dr. Morris regularly provides analysis and commentary for television, radio, print, and online news organizations. He is the former Director of the Mercyhurst University Honors Program and was a visiting professor at Idaho State University before coming to Mercyhurst. He is originally from Claremont, California.
Dr. Ripley is a Professor of Political Science and teaches a broad range of courses in international relations and comparative politics. His interests include global governance, contemporary global issues, European and Asian politics, and international relations theory. Dr. Ripley earned his B.A. in political science at Macalester College and his doctorate at The Ohio State University. He taught at the University of Pittsburgh and held a visiting appointment at the University of Wisconsin prior to his arrival at Mercyhurst in 1996. Dr. Ripley received a Distinguished Teaching Award at the University of Pittsburgh and was a Pew Fellow of International Affairs at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He was the 2013 recipient of the Mercyhurst Teaching Excellence award. Previously he served as the Dean of Faculty and Senior Academic Advisor for the Office for Academic Affairs and as the Associate Dean in the School of Social Sciences at Mercyhurst. Dr. Ripley was born and raised on a family farm in Winnebago, Minnesota.
Specialization: International Relations, Public Policy, American Government, Simulations
Dr. Randy S. Clemons, received his bachelor of arts at Whitworth University in Spokane, WA, and his doctorate at Idaho State University. Dr. Clemons is a Professor of Political Science and the Dean of the Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences (i.e., the departments of Intelligence Studies, Applied Sociology and Social Work, Criminal Justice, Mathematics, Data Science, Cyber Security and Cyber Risk Management, Applied Forensic Sciences, Communication, and Political Science). In 2007 he won the “Distinguished Teaching Award” at Mercyhurst University.
He teaches and researches in both the international relations and public policy arenas and has presented papers at more than 30 conferences across the nation. The co-author of the textbook Public Policy Praxis (with Mark McBeth), and multiple book chapters, including one on Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert exploring the impact of Fake News and a chapter in the book Conflicts in Health Policy; Dr. Clemons’s recent research has appeared in the Journal of Public Administration, Foreign Policy Analysis, World Medical & Health Policy, Risks, Hazards, & Crisis in Public Policy; and Electronic Hallway.
His public policy book, now in its 3rd Edition, has been widely adopted as a text in public policy programs at both the graduate and undergraduate level. Some of the schools where professors have adopted it include: Duke, Syracuse, UCLA, American University, the University of Pennsylvania, George Mason, Seton Hall, Michigan State, University of Florida, Creighton, Arizona State, the US Coast Guard Academy, West Point, Ohio State, Catholic University of America, John Hopkins, Virginia Tech, Washington University, and the George H.W. Bush School of Public Policy at Texas A&M.
Dr. Rickard earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, where she held a Fellowship at the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center. In addition, she earned a Juris Doctorate from Michigan State University, with concentrations in international law and intellectual property; a Master of Arts in International Affairs from American University, with a concentration in international politics; and a Bachelor of Arts from Gonzaga University, where she studied history and political science. Victoria’s primary teaching and research interests lie in the areas of American politics, Congress, law, international relations, public policy, and gender. She has presented papers at numerous national conferences, and her research has appeared in the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Politics & Gender, and Social Science Quarterly. Victoria is originally from Boulder, Colorado.