A New Approach to Research at AUA 

Student engagement in research is vital to the academic and personal growth of BAPG students. This aligns with the program’s goal of teaching analytical skills necessary for evaluating conflicting arguments, gathering and presenting relevant evidence, and reaching reasoned conclusions. Students’ understanding and hands-on experience with the entire research process, including data analysis, visualization and interpretation are consistent with BAPG’s strong emphasis on research throughout the program starting from the first semester.

Dr. Yevgenya Paturyan
Chair, B.A. in Politics & Governance Program

The BAPG curriculum is designed to equip students with a solid foundation for social science research. Some people think we are crazy to start teaching research methods in the first semester of the first year of our undergraduate program. That was a bold experiment on our part, but it seems to be successful. Students who only had one year of bachelor studies under their belt did well in a real research project because they already had two semesters of research methods. They were ready for the task. And they will get even better because they have the knowledge coupled with the curiosity. They share our excitement about research. I am very glad we could give them this extra-curricular opportunity.

Gohar Geghamyan
B.A. in Politics & Governance ‘25
I was very interested in research during my classes, but the practical experience helped me understand that I would love to continue my career in that direction. The topic of the research is also highly relevant. More projects like this would be extremely beneficial for our personal and professional development

Gayane Manukyan
B.A. in Politics & Governance ‘25
I became interested in research during my studies and the project made me even more interested and eager to plan a career in that path. It was challenging and insightful to gain hands-on experience in data analysis since we were doing things we had never done before.

Ani Jinanyan
B.A. in Politics & Governance ‘25
I am so glad our professors trusted us with this project. We have been introduced to research tools that will undoubtedly have ample practical utility in our careers. It was very inspiring to take part in discussions where we were asked to provide feedback and insights into the project; they trusted us, and we are glad we carried through.