The Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at UT Knoxville proposes a new Bachelor of Arts in Civic and Constitutional Thought (CCT), with Board consideration on June 30, 2026 and implementation anticipated August 1, 2026 pending THEC approval.The 120-credit major will be housed in the Institute of American Civics and is built as a multidisciplinary program across government, philosophy, history, legal studies, economics, and public policy, with three concentrations and pathways such as a 3+3 accelerated law program and a 4+1 social studies teacher preparation track. Enrollment is projected to grow from 26 students in Year 1 to 165 by Year 5, with annual revenues exceeding expenditures from Year 2 onward, indicating a significant scaling plan. Standing up this program will require curriculum development, high-impact teaching resources around civics and constitutional literacy, advising and recruitment focused on law and public service pathways, and potentially experiential civics programming (debate, internships, simulation tools).Vendors that offer civic education content, constitutional law courseware, debate and mock trial platforms, internship-placement tools, and student success/analytics solutions for public affairs programs can engage with the Baker School as it finalizes course design and student-support structures in the first years of launch.

The program aligns closely with civic literacy and law school preparation; it has been pre-cleared to articulate with the Winston College of Law 3+3 program and a 4+1 teacher education track, suggesting planned integration with other colleges’ curricula and advising systems.