State Governments
Unparalleled Excellence
The Washington Center takes center stage in the field of experiential education in our nation’s capital. Through its programs, college students gain the experience needed to prepare for lives of professional achievement, civic engagement and leadership. Interning in Washington, D.C., encourages students to return home with the knowledge and new ideas that will enable them to improve their local communities and states overall. [2]
Unparalleled Excellence
The Washington Center takes center stage in the field of experiential education in our nation’s capital. Through its programs, college students gain the experience needed to prepare for lives of professional achievement, civic engagement and leadership. Interning in Washington, D.C., encourages students to return home with the knowledge and new ideas that will enable them to improve their local communities and states overall. [3]
Shape the Future of Your StateState governments can support their students and create the opportunities for transformational experiences that center on an internship and include a range of other academic components. State-funded scholarships play an essential role in defraying costs and encouraging students to enhance their learning and career opportunities.
Key Statistics
- The Washington Center has 35 years of leadership in experiential education and has more than 50,000 alumni in the U.S. and around the world working in government, nonprofit and for-profit sectors.
- 140 professional staff, associate faculty and resident assistants work with students.
- TWC hosts 1,600 interns in addition to 400 to 500 academic seminar participants each year. Students have come from all 50 states and 35 countries.
- TWC maintains partnerships with more than a thousand internship sites each year.
- Three out of four students receive some sort of financial assistance.
The Washington Center Stands Apart
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is the largest, independent, nonprofit experiential education organizations in the United States. It offers an integrated academic and work experience in preparing university and college students and professionals for lives of achievement and civic engagement.
For 35 years, The Washington Center has helped more than 44,000 motivated college students connect with companies, organizations, congressional offices and federal agencies that exemplify the values of leadership and community service.
Students at The Washington Center come from a wide variety of social backgrounds, academic institutions, and geographic locations. They represent some of the best and brightest young minds in both public and private institutions in the U.S. and around the world. Students must be enrolled in an accredited college or university and be sophomores, juniors or seniors, or be recent graduates or graduate students. The average GPA of TWC’s students is 3.3; applicants must have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 to be considered.
The Student Experience in Brief
At The Washington Center, students live, work and study in our nation’s capital or in other countries. The internship program is more than a place to work, it is a well-rounded learning experience that develops practical skills, hones students’ interests, and opens young minds to a world of diversity and opportunity. TWC’s program is comprised of the student’s work, a rigorous academic course, and the Leadership Forum.
The Internship
- Students work in their internship for 32 to 36 hours each week.
- Interns are placed across all sectors including private companies, government agencies or Congressional offices, nonprofits, and international organizations.
- Interns spend at least 80% of the time on substantive, non-clerical work.
Academic Coursework
- Students are enrolled in programs suited to their majors and professional interests. All majors are welcome at TWC.
- Everyone participates in one of 35 academic courses.
- Each course is designed to be worthy of academic credit; professors are experienced academics or experts in their fields.
The Leadership Forum
- Students take part in special programming each Monday that enhances their internship experience and academic studies. Included are the Alan K. Simpson - Norman Y. Mineta Leaders Series and a variety of other events, workshops, interviews, seminars and insiders’ tours of Washington institutions.
- Students participate in the Public Policy Dialogues on Capitol Hill, which allows them to interact with Capitol Hill policymakers, including Members of Congress and/or their staffs in small intimate meetings where they gain an in-depth, firsthand perspective of Congress, policy and politics.
- Students will work on a civic engagement project and complete a portfolio that outlines their work in D.C.
Beyond the academic programming and work experience, students gain invaluable life experience living in Washington, D.C. Housing is provided in conveniently located, fully furnished apartment units in secured-access buildings.
Internships in Washington Improve Local Communities
Today’s university and college students are tomorrow’s professionals, academics and leaders. The Washington Center helps broaden the horizon of its students, many of whom are traveling out of state for the first time in their lives, and instills the confidence, skills and sense of purpose they need to thrive academically, professionally and civically.
After completing the program, TWC’s alumni return to their communities to step into professional careers and leadership roles. While an internship is an opportunity for students to gain institutional knowledge in real-life environments, it is also an opportunity for local communities to gain a well-prepared, educated workforce.
States Benefit From Students' Internships
Students say The Washington Center changes their lives. This internship program opens doors to long and successful careers. It sparks fresh ideas, creative thinking, and a passion for the people and communities students call home. Individual students gain much from their internships, but the benefits for states and local communities are extensive as well.
Workforce Training for 21st Century Professionals
States must continue to explore all available avenues to ensure its university and college student body are ready for professional positions in this 21st century economy, including careers in science and technology. The Washington Center continues to be an ideal fit not only for students majoring in political science, communications and business, but also majoring in environmental sciences, engineering, physics, biology, and other science and math-based majors.
Reversing the “Brain Drain"
Ninety percent of TWC alumni live outside the Washington, D.C., area. Students come to Washington and learn about policy and business. They gain insight into the professional working world, and become equipped with the confidence, skills and sense of purpose that leads them back to their home states ready to assume leadership roles and professional opportunities.
Obtaining Jobs
TWC’s program helps university and college students become more educated, better prepared and more civically-minded. In many cases, an internship leads to a student’s first professional position in the private, nonprofit or government sectors, spurring local economies and building a generation of new leaders connected with their communities.
Supporting Students
State and local governments have an opportunity to support their students financially, opening doors and strengthening the future growth of their local communities. The Washington Center works with elected leaders of a state, its agencies and universities to launch State Relations Initiatives, which are scholarship programs for university and college students to attend TWC at a price comparable to a semester at their home institutions. One hundred percent of state-provided funding is directed to students attending colleges and universities in that state.
State-funded scholarships defray a portion of the costs associated with The Washington Center’s program. The cost of the program includes a program fee and a housing fee. Additionally, students must plan for expenses associated with living and working in Washington, D.C., such as meals, transportation and incidentals.
For more information on state funding:
The Role of State Funds [12] Structuring State Scholarship Programs [13]
The Role of State Funds
The Washington Center’s goal is for students to attend its programs at a cost comparable to what the student would pay for a semester at their home institution. State scholarships play an integral role in this process, especially with public university and college students.
TWC’s staff works diligently with each student to understand the funding criteria and scholarships available to them. The first opportunity is for state colleges and universities to waive tuition for the semester or forward students’ tuition (less administrative fees) to The Washington Center. When state institutions allow for these kinds of tuition arrangements, students are freed from an additional financial burden of studying in Washington.
State Relations Initiatives play a critical role in students’ ability to enroll in The Washington Center’s unique program. State scholarships provide for program fees to help make the experience much more affordable, creating more opportunities for students who may struggle to pay for their education.
Structuring State Scholarship Programs
The Washington Center works with governors, state legislators, state agency officials and universities to launch State Relations Initiatives. These initiatives solidify a partnership between TWC and a state for the benefit of a state’s university and college students.
Under this type of initiative:
- One hundred percent of the funding will go directly to students as academic scholarships.
- States will establish a structure of the partnership including school eligibility, scholarship amounts, and residency requirements.
- States can limit scholarships to public institutions only or provide scholarship to both public and private institutions.
- States can set one scholarship amount for all students or provide differing levels for public and private institutions. Individual scholarships tend to range from $3,000 to $6,000 per student.
- States can impose a residency requirement for scholarship eligibility or maintain open eligibility for all students attending its universities and colleges.
- Over the last 15 years, 23 states have funded scholarships for university and college students, many from economically disadvantaged and diverse backgrounds.
