Why Affiliate?

Institutions work with The Washington Center in order to provide their students affordable, high-quality, internship-centered academic terms in the nation’s capital and abroad. Colleges and universities can mount such programs through us with a fraction of the expense and liability—and with far more assurance of quality—than they would have were they to try establishing a program on their own. The scale of The Washington Center alone gives it unparalleled access to numbers and types of possible placement sites, speakers, and other academic resources.

Institutions affiliate (as opposed to merely sending students) in order to establish specific guidelines for their students' participation in Washington Center programs. Through an affiliation agreement, the institution outlines arrangements for billing, awarding of credit and application procedures for either the internship programs or academic seminars, or both. Thus, when a student applies to a program, The Washington Center is able to follow the guidelines previously set by the student's college or university. There is no charge for affiliation, and terms of affiliation may be changed at any time. The agreement merely enables our staff to represent the institution’s policies to students accurately and facilitates the credit-granting and billing arrangements for students who apply.

At non-affiliated institutions, students lack these guidelines for participation. Each student must individually resolve issues regarding credit, fees and faculty sponsorship without official support or endorsement from the institution. Often this process can be confusing and time-consuming, and it can discourage students from participating. Liaisons, faculty and students at affiliated institutions enjoy some distinctive benefits. Provided that they meet The Washington Center's admission criteria, students recommended for admission by affiliated institutions are given preference for acceptance, and they receive priority consideration for financial assistance. Faculty are given priority in the selection of faculty leaders for the academic seminars (and if chosen receive free housing and a stipend).

Liaisons may be selected to serve on The Washington Center's national Liaison Advisory Board.
Finally, affiliation is an institutional asset. It can help attract and retain academically talented, motivated students. It helps position the institution as one connected to the larger world and supportive of public service and other forms of civic engagement. For these reasons, affiliated colleges and universities often include their Washington Center program in their admissions catalogs and recruitment materials, course listings, alumni newsletters and other publications, as well as on their websites. Feature articles about student experiences in Washington offer compelling examples of the educational opportunities open to students at those institutions.

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