The Washington Center is the nation's leading educational organization that provides college students from the US and abroad full-time internships in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1975, The Washington Center provides placement, supervision, academic programming, and housing for over 1500 college students each year. Placements include embassies, U.S. Dept. of State, international organizations, think-tanks, government agencies, Congress, the White House, international businesses, and many nonprofit public policy organizations.
For a program fee, paid by either the student's home institution or the student, The Washington Center program provides a quality internship experience for which most colleges and universities grant academic credit. Besides the internship, the program consists of a congressional breakfast series, presidential lecture series, embassy visits program, an academic course, and numerous site visits, tours, and briefings. The student affairs staff also organizes a variety of social activities.
The program is year round, occuring during the fall and spring semesters, and during four academic quarters, including a summer term. Financial assistance is available to qualified students accepted into designated programs and from certain states or state universities. Housing is available in profession-style apartments in Northern Virginia.
Nationally recognized for its leadership in experiential education, The Washington Center has over 26,000 alumni from more than one thousand colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Of particular note is its North American Leaders programs, which brings together students from Canada, the U.S., and Mexico to study, work and live together in the nation's capital.