Luke Thompson graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2024 with a B.A. in the Program of Liberal Studies (PLS), Political Science, and Theology. A four-semester Tocqueville Fellow with the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government (CCCG), he was deeply engaged in the study of constitutionalism and citizenship throughout his undergraduate career. In 2025, he became the inaugural recipient of the CCCG’s Citizenship Award, presented at the Statesmanship Dinner honoring Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Amy Coney Barrett. The award recognized his leadership and commitment to Notre Dame’s Catholic mission as an editor for The Irish Rover during his senior year.
Reflecting on his undergraduate experience, Thompson describes the Fellowship as a formative part of his education. He considers it to have been a “great complement” to his undergraduate studies, strengthening and deepening the questions he was already encountering in political science, PLS, and theology courses. The CCCG’s emphasis on citizenship resonated with Thompson’s interest in pursuing deeper questions about constitutionalism.
After graduation, Thompson remained at Notre Dame as a Pre-Doctoral Research Associate at the CCCG. That period marked both professional development and personal transition. Thompson married his wife the summer after his graduation, but was still unsure about what to do next. He maintains that “the position with the [c]enter was perfect” for him to discern graduate study while also gaining valuable research and writing experience in political theory.
Thompson describes the position as an “ideal preparatory experience.” It allowed him to “write, think, and read” in a focused way while also leading colloquia and working closely with faculty, such as Professor Phillip Muñoz. Through this work, he gained “a closer look into what academia looks like in terms of administration, research, and teaching.
That discernment period led Thompson to pursue a joint J.D./Ph.D. in Political Science, specializing in Constitutional Studies and Political Theory. He describes the decision as the natural outcome of longstanding interests. The “joint program was the best choice for me,” Thompson says, since he sought an “interdisciplinary approach” to studying and applying ideas surrounding citizenship. Law provided Thompson an avenue to apply enduring ideas within concrete institutional settings, while doctoral study enables him to examine those ideas in depth. Looking ahead, he aims to “study liberal arts in the fullest sense but also become acquainted with the ways fundamental ideas are or could be instantiated in our law” with the goal of eventually teaching “law students who will be our nation’s future leaders.” In his view, law students “need the same education in the fundamental questions of constitutionalism” as other programs in humanities would provide.
Throughout his academic journey, mentorship has played a central role. “Support from Professor Muñoz was instrumental,” Thompson emphasizes. The encouragement and intellectual guidance he received helped him pursue an unconventional path that reconciles theoretical inquiry with practical engagement.
Thompson also highlights the distinctive role the CCCG plays within Notre Dame’s academic community, noting its unique role on campus in “offering a liberal arts approach oriented to civic education.” The center occupies an interdisciplinary position, “focused on supporting students in studying the liberal arts in a way conversant with law.” In Thompson’s view, “Liberal arts education is about studying ideas and how they relate to one’s life as a citizen,” a view which he sees the CCCG as embodying.
When asked what advice he would give to current undergraduates, Thompson identifies two groups who stand to benefit from the center’s work: “those very interested in liberal arts and humanities” who may not be “interested in politics per se,” and students “interested in political science and being good citizens and leaders” but who may not be initially drawn to studying “enduring questions.” For both, he argues, the CCCG provides a vital formation. The “Center forms students to be good citizens, and to do so, you have to teach them important questions in a way that is not removed from the world and society in which they live.”
To learn more about the CCCG’s opportunities for undergraduates, click here.