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Higher Education for Public Citizenship

"The first aim and mission of any institution of education has to be to forge responsible, thoughtful, critical, competent citizens."
-Benjamin R. Barber

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems."
-Mohandas Gandhi

Students can earn a Minor in Public Praxis!
Check the Public Praxis Brochure for more information.

The Marist College Praxis Project for Public Citizenship and Minor in Public Praxis is part of a nationwide effort to combine academic study with public work. Each semester, several Marist College professors offer their courses under the Praxis option. Students enrolled in these Praxis courses are given opportunities to integrate public work with their academic work.

A typical Praxis assignment requires a student to:

• Engage in at least twelve hours of public work (about two hours per week for six weeks)
• Keep a journal of critical reflections about the Praxis experience
• Attend two one-hour roundtable discussions with other Praxis participants
• Produce a public document that integrates the public work experience with theoretical research, and contributes to public consciousness.

Students usually find the Praxis experience rewarding, because it is an "eye opener" to a vast array of community needs and public work opportunities, and because the "real world" relevance of class readings and theoretical research often becomes quite vivid. Sometimes, students discover commitments to community work that long outlast the deadlines for their Praxis assignments.

The MPP has been honored by the Templeton Foundation as one of the best programs in the country for promoting citizenship. It is also cited on the Princeton Review website as one of the best things about Marist College from a student's perspective.

With appreciation to former Projectkeeper, Dr. Greg Moses, for his contribution to the text of this site and for his seminal work with the Marist Praxis Project.