Led by an interdisciplinary group of political scientists, sociologists, economists, and historians in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, the CENTER FOR AMERICAN POLITICAL STUDIES (CAPS) fosters discussion, research, public outreach, and pedagogy about all aspects of modern U.S. politics.  Center affiliates also include faculty and students from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and from various Boston-area universities. 

Issues of concern to CAPS affiliates range from patterns of electoral politics, public opinion, and civic participation, to legislative politics, social movements, the ideological and intellectual roots of American politics, and the causes and results of public policies.  The Center encourages cutting-edge research using a variety of methodologies, including historical analysis, social surveys, and formal modeling, and it often cooperates with other Harvard Centers to support research training and encourage cross-national research about the United States in comparative and global contexts.  Faculty research initiatives and conferences are sponsored by CAPS, graduate student research is supported with dissertation fellowships and quickly available seed grants and undergraduate research is supported with thesis research grants available at the end of their junior year.