Learn in a Different Way

WSP Student Sammy Marks writes on a whiteboard

The Washington Semester Program is open to all majors! Students take UGA courses, live in Delta Hall, and intern full-time.

Overview

Students in the Washington Semester can earn both academic credit and valuable professional experience. They earn course credit for their internships and a further six hours of credit through the completion of two classes taught in Delta Hall. The first is a traditional course rooted in lecture and group discussion, and the second is a seminar focused on experiencing the full breadth of Washington, DC. Through the seminar, past students visited the State Department, the CIA Headquarters, and the White House, and met with Supreme Court justices. The seminar also brings policy experts to Delta Hall to deliver guest lectures on diverse topics like healthcare, agriculture, the budget process, and judicial reform.

In addition to the six credit hours taught in DC, students are required to add coursework to their schedules for a minimum of 12 credit hours. In most cases, this is achieved by the addition of internship and/or directed study coursework.

To earn credit for an internship and/or directed study in your major, you need to be admitted to that major and, in most cases, you are required to complete prerequisite courses. Students should speak with their academic advisors to learn how they can receive internship credit while participating in the Washington Semester.

WASH 3400 – The Washington Seminar

  • Taught by Mr. Don DeMaria, Director of the Washington Semester Program
  • 3 credit hours
  • Using the expertise of UGA faculty and staff and leaders who live and work in the nation’s capital, this seminar will introduce students to various aspects of life, work, and culture in Washington, DC. Specific subjects and speakers will be announced in the course syllabus.

POLS 4790 – Special Topics in American Politics

  • Fall 2024 – Seminar in Campaigns and Elections
  • Taught by Dr. R. Sam Garrett, Specialist in American National Government at the Congressional Research Service and Adjunct Professorial Lecturer at American University
  • 3 credit hours
  • This course will prepare students to understand and analyze key topics related to congressional and presidential campaigns and elections in the United States. We will use the 2024 election cycle and other recent election cycles to organize our exploration of scholarly and applied aspects of (1) political parties and the nomination process; (2) an introduction to campaign management; (3) campaign finance policy; and (4) the distinction between campaigning and governing, including federal law and policy related to campaigns and elections. Active participation is a key component of the course. As a Washington Semester course, there are no prerequisites. Familiarity with and interest in campaigns and elections and the policymaking process is helpful.

INTL 4770 – Special Topics in International Relations

  • Fall 2024 – Grand Strategy and Great Power Politics
  • This course explores the development of American Grand Strategy, from the founding to the present. Students will learn about grand strategy both in theory and practice and obtain an understanding of the political, cultural, economic, social, ideological, and geographical factors that have shaped strategic thinking in the United States. Students will consider both defenses and critiques of the choices US leaders have made and obtain an understanding of the ethical dilemmas involved in the making of US Foreign Policy. At the end of the semester, each student will leave the course having obtained the ability to think, speak, research, and write about American Grand Strategy as a foreign policy practitioner would be able to do.
 

Senior assistant parliamentarian in the U.S. Senate and UGA Alum Leigh Hildebrand speaks with undergraduate students (L-R) De’Omini Daniely and Vivian Beadle following a seminar at Delta Hall.

Senior assistant parliamentarian in the U.S. Senate and UGA Alum Leigh Hildebrand speaks with undergraduate students (L-R) De’Omini Daniely and Vivian Beadle following a seminar at Delta Hall.

 
Experience a new side of UGA.

Join the Washington Semester Program

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