About
The Model United Nations Program at McMurry University is an inter-disciplinary program that incorporates coursework with interactive, hands-on simulations to provide students with academic and practical learning experience.
Purpose
The Model United Nations Program increases students’ content learning by teaching students basic knowledge of the UN system, parliamentary procedure and diplomatic language, and countries’ foreign policies. In addition, the Model United Nations Program enhances students’ critical thinking and processing skills by focusing on: improving reading comprehension, public speaking, and cooperative learning; information analysis, synthesis and evaluation; problem-solving and negotiating strategies, and identifying and developing leadership skills.
The Model United Nations Program at McMurry University provides students with the following specific educational and experiential learning opportunities:
- Model UN participants take an interdisciplinary three-credit course designed to prepare students for competition at regional and national Model UN competitions (see #2 below). Students may take this course twice for credit: Political Science majors may take the course once for credit in the major and once for upper-level elective credit; non-majors may take the course twice for upper-level elective credit.
- Model UN participants compete in Model UN conferences. Preparing for competition involves research and role-playing. Students become “ambassadors” of specific countries by presenting position papers on that country’s policy preferences, caucusing, negotiating, and consensus-building with others to solve global problems. Of particular interest to students is the National Model UN Conference, held annually in New York. Participants at this conference spend part of the conference at the United Nations headquarters and meet with UN diplomats from the US and other countries.
- Model UN participants engage in global community outreach by raising awareness of global problems. Ongoing outreach projects include raising awareness of the global landmine crisis and taking part in the Adopt-A-Minefield Campaign. Participants have spoken to local organizations about the landmine problem, and raised monies to clear a minefield in Cambodia.
More Opportunities
Community Engagement
Model UN at McMurry engages in community outreach every year. Model UN believes that the humanitarian work of the actual United Nations and of the United Methodist Church, with which McMurry is affiliated, should be carried through the Model UN Program at McMurry.
Model UN believes that one must define the term “community” in a holistic manner, and thus Model UN students choose a project theme each year and devise a local and global component for that project each semester. Over the past few years, Model UN has engaged in hunger outreach, landmine awareness and clearance, survivor assistance, and neglected diseases.
Model UN won the Outstanding Organization of the Year for an Honorary, Professional or Academic Organization at the McMurry University Awards Ceremony 2023. This is Model UN’s fourth time to receive this specific accolade.
Competitions
Model UN participants compete in Model UN conferences with teams from other schools. Preparing for competition involves research and role-playing. Students become ambassadors of specific countries by presenting position papers on their country’s policy preferences, caucusing, negotiating, and consensus-building with others to solve global problems. Of particular interest to students is the National Model UN Conference, held annually in New York. Participants at this conference spend part of the conference at the United Nations headquarters and meet with UN diplomats from the US and other countries.
Model UN 2023
Germany Conference
Six McMurry students traveled to Erfurt, Germany, to attend the 2023 National Model UN (NMUN) International Conference. Approximately 500 students from 72 universities across 12 different countries participated in the conference. McMurry represented Kazakhstan in the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council, and the UN Environmental Assembly. The topics they discussed, negotiated, and crated resolutions on included “Science, Technology, and Innovation for Sustainable Development,” “Promoting the Human Right to Food in the Context of Conflicts,” and “Promoting Multilateralism to Combat Climate Change, Biodiversity Loss, and Pollution.”
Prior to the conference, the students experienced two days of cultural tours. On day 1, they traveled to Checkpoint Alpha – a Cold War border separating East and West Germany during the Cold War, Wartburg Castle – one of the oldest, intact medieval castles in Europe, and Buchenwald Concentration Camp and Memorial. At Opening Ceremonies, the students heard from a Holocaust survivor – Maud Dahme, who wrote a book entitled, Chocolate, The Taste of Freedom: The Holocaust Memoir of a Hidden Dutch Child. During the conference, the students enjoyed a German-style Thanksgiving dinner, with watercress soup, red cabbage and various roasted vegetables, turkey, and a variety of desserts.
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All resolutions written by the McMurry students were passed on the last day of the conference, and at the Closing Ceremony, McMurry was awarded an Honorable Mention overall delegation award. This was a tremendous honor, as only up to 20% of all delegations receive awards for their performance in committee. The students are judged on 3 main criteria: (1) active engagement in committee, including giving speeches; (2) expressing proper diplomatic and professional values, including correctly roleplaying their assigned country and staying in character for the entire conference; and (3) proper use of rules of procedure.
Previous Model UN Students
