What word refers to the study of government?

The word that refers to the study of government, on the USCIS reading vocabulary list, is Civics. Civics is the study of the rights and duties of citizenship and the structure and functioning of government. The word comes from the Latin civicus, meaning "of or relating to a citizen," and the related civitas, meaning city or community.

In the United States civics is taught in public schools and is a core subject on the naturalization test. The civics test is one of two English-language tests an applicant must pass at the naturalization interview, the other being the English language test (which itself has reading, writing, and speaking components). The civics requirement is set out in section 312 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. section 1423) and 8 CFR section 312.2.

At the interview a USCIS officer asks the applicant up to ten civics questions selected from the official list, and the applicant must answer at least six correctly to pass. Two civics question banks are currently in use: the 100-question 2008 test, used by most applicants, and the 128-question 2025 test, scheduled for phased implementation. Older applicants benefit from special accommodations: the 65/20 rule allows people who are at least 65 years old and have been a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years to study a smaller subset of 20 designated questions.

If an applicant fails the civics portion they may retake just that portion within 60 to 90 days. Civics covers principles of democracy, the system of government, rights and responsibilities, American history, geography, and symbols and holidays.