Current Programs
The Washington Center is viewed by the federal government as a vital partner in its efforts to attract young people with the skill-sets and diversity that it seeks to rebuild its workforce. TWC has provided internship opportunities for more than 50,000 students since 1975. Twenty-five percent of our alumni remain dedicated to public service and currently work in the public sector at the local, state and federal levels.
With affiliated relationships with over 500 colleges and universities across the country, The Washington Center is able to attract a highly skilled, diverse population of students. Many of TWC’s interns are hired by their placement agencies either upon completion of the program or upon graduation. This program is an excellent way to recruit and attract a high-quality workforce of the future. The Washington Center provides the essential infrastructure to both students and agency supervisors to ensure a high quality experience for all participants.
The Washington Center currently works with various federal agencies including:
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- Federal Aviation Administration
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- Internal Revenue Service
- U.S. Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
Department of Transportation
The Department of Transportation and The Washington Center partnered three years ago to manage DOT’s Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups (STIPDG). It is the most all-inclusive program that The Washington Center facilitates. The students are placed in Washington, D.C., and regional offices throughout the United States.
This program is meant to attract and educate the next generation of transportation professionals.
As part of this program, The Washington Center:
- Facilitates the enrollment, acceptance, and referral of all applicants through our online platform.
- Provides travel for all students from their home institution to their internship site and back.
- Provides housing for all of these students that is accessible to their regional internship site.
- Designed and implements an academic focus program that looks to build the student’s professional skills while preparing them for a career in the transportation field.
During the last week of the program, all the participating students come to Washington, D.C., for a week-long closing ceremony where some past events included:
- Paper/Project presentations of their academic research
- A welcome breakfast by the Secretary of Transportation
- Career Boot Camp
- Tour of Turner Fairbank Highway Research Center
This program has grown from 80 students in 2008 to 110 students in 2009 and 110 in 2010.
FAA's Minority Internship Program for Diverse Groups
The Washington Center facilitates the Minority Internship Program for Diverse Groups for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Selected students have the opportunity to intern for FAA offices and participate in an experiential training program focused on professional achievement, leadership, and civic engagement.
Student participants will:
- Gain relevant skills and knowledge.
- Explore career options within the Department of Transportation and other federal agencies.
- Develop a greater awareness of the role of the federal government.
A majority of positions are for engineering majors, business, and computer science. Internship sites are in Washington, D.C., and regional FAA offices.
Students participating in this program are provided funding that covers:
- Program fee
- Housing
- Semimonthly stipend
- Travel stipend that also covers their travel to Washington, D.C., for orientation
- Assistance with local transportation
U.S. Coast Guard
The U.S. Coast Guard partners with The Washington Center each year to bring a number of students from minority-serving institutions to serve in regional Coast Guard offices throughout the United States. TWC begins by recruiting students from diverse backgrounds. We then analyze the needs of the Coast Guard and pair those needs with students skilled in the desired areas. The students are placed in regional offices throughout the United States. The Washington Center secures housing for these students utilizing university and corporate housing services.
The Washington Center holds an orientation by teleconference with the agency mentors to explain responsibilities and procedures. To ensure the professional development of the students, The Washington Center:
- Plans an orientation program in Washington, D.C., at the start of the internship program.
- Submits an academic internship portfolio that demonstrates the learning and development of the internship experience in a summative and reflective body of work.
- Facilitates numerous teleconferences to develop competency for the professional world and in Coast Guard related issues.
The students who participated in The Washington Center program are awarded credits by their universities. There is no financial obligation to the students. The program provides funds for:
- The program fee
- Housing
- Semimonthly stipend
- Travel stipend that also covers their travel to Washington, D.C., for orientation
- Assistance with local transportation
Department of Commerce
The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars is working in partnership with the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) post-secondary internship program to aid and promote experiential training to foster future employment within the Department of Commerce and the federal government in general.
Students participate in an internship at DOC to:
- Integrate academic theory and workplace requirements.
- Gain relevant skills and knowledge.
- Develop a professional network of contacts.
- Explore future career options.
Students typically receive academic credit from their home institution and participate in The Washington Center’s Leadership Forum events and academic course.
Students participating in the program receive:
- Housing in the Washington, D.C., metro area
- A bimonthly stipend
- Transportation allowance
- Reimbursement for their travel expenses to and from D.C.
U.S. General Services Administration
The Washington Center holds a Multiple Award Schedule Contract with the General Services Administration. The GSA Contract number is GS 02F-0078P.
Depending on the quantity of the interns secured, TWC is able to provide a per student discount.
To work through the GSA Contract, a contracting officer must complete a purchase order, identify the funding amount, include The Washington Center’s GSA Contract number (GS 02F-0078P) on the document, and fax the document directly to The Washington Center at (202) 238-7700. You can use Optional Form 347 Order for Supplies or Services. The form can be downloaded from the following website: Insert link to GSA here when 2010 documents it loaded to GSA system
Some of our partners who work with us through the GSA schedule include:
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Internal Revenue Service
- U.S. Department of the Treasury
- U.S. Department of the Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- Department of Homeland Security
