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| February 2007
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CAMPUS NEWS |
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Washington Semester Program Celebrates 60 Years and Special Niche ABC's Ugly Betty Golden Globe winner America Ferrera is one of 35,000 alumni who have come through AU’s Washington Semester Program in the past 60 years. Students from universities worldwide arrive on Tenley campus in the fall, spring, and summer to intern in Washington, D.C., while earning credits and learning about the city’s political atmosphere firsthand. All too often, AU students view Tenley campus as being a mysterious cluster of buildings down the road. But what they fail to realize is that the Washington Semester students are quite similar to them, and even some AU students join the popular program each semester. “The most valuable part of the semester was being able to intern in politics in D.C. because internships at my home school are not emphasized,” says Brandon Clay, a Washington Semester American Politics alumnus and a senior at Muskingum College, in New Concord, Ohio. Clay enjoyed his opportunity to “get away from home and meet some incredible people from all around the world as well as around the country.” Another important concept he took from the program:“learning that I can compete with people from all over the country.” Internships aren’t the only advantage to taking part in the program or living in Washington, D.C. Washington Semester students take an eight-credit seminar course that welcomes 50-60 speakers throughout the 16-week program. Each seminar corresponds to one of 13 programs in which students can enroll. Topics of study range from Journalism to Peace and Conflict Resolution to International Business and Trade.
“Many programs involve a travel component different from the traditional Washington semester,” says David Brown, SIS/BA '66, dean of the Washington Semester Program. “In recent years, we’ve developed several programs that have three-week travel programs [domestically and abroad]. It’s clearly established us in the market. Many other programs try to copy us in Washington, but we have a special niche and 60 years established.” One
such initiative Dean Brown is referring to is the International Law and
Organizations program, new as of this spring semester. The course involves
a one-week travel component to New York where students will attend seminars
at the United Nations, and a two-week trip to Brussels, Strasbourg, and
the Hague to learn more about NATO, the European Union, the International
Court of Justice, and the World Criminal Court. The program's overwhelming
response caused the Washington Semester office to cap enrollment at 34
students this semester. Even though spring has barely begun, there are
already prospective students interested in securing spots for the fall. |
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