The Washington University DC Programs are open to students from all schools at Washington University. However, the information on this page relates only to political science majors and minors.

Political science majors and minors are encouraged to spend a semester or summer in Washington, DC in conjunction with Washington University's Semester in DC Program.

Courses

Students enrolled in the Semester in DC Program will earn major or minor credit for L32 4001 Seminar on American Democracy and the Policy Making Process, the core course of the DC Program.

For majors, this course will count as an upper-level course that can be used to help satisfy the subfield distribution requirement.  The elective course (L32 3002) offered in the DC Program each semester by WU faculty will also count as an upper-level distribution course.  The subject matter of the elective course, which depends on the semester, centers on political theory in the fall.  In the spring, the elective course is equivalent to L32 495 Research Design and Methods, a required course for majors who wish to write a Senior Thesis.

For minors, the core course and the elective course may each provide three upper-level credits to help satisfy minor requirements.

The core course research paper must be related to politics or public policy in order for major or minor credit to be earned.

Internships or Directed Research

Students may earn general credit for the internship component of the DC program, but NOT major or minor credit.  Directed research may earn students two units of major or minor credit if arranged with a faculty member from the Department of Political Science.

For more information about Washington University’s Semester in DC Program, please contact the Overseas Programs office, which manages the application process, or go to dc.wustl.edu.