How can we merge the science of politics and the practice of politics into a single course? In a 16-week, upper division course on state politics, I address the need to develop students' social scientific skills and practical skills through journal article analysis (JAA) teams and public policy project (PPP) teams. I use a within-subjects, pretest post-test, research design and rely on student self-assessments of their scientific and analyst abilities before and after the course. I find that students self-identify a positive change in their scientific and analyst abilities.