core course in policy

In addition to interning four full days per week, you'll take two courses at the Washington Internship Institute: the Core Course and the Internship Seminar

Core Courses

In the Fall/Spring programs, we offer two Core Courses and periodically a Special Topics Core Course. In the summer, we offer one Core Course. Each of our Core Courses address policy-making processes and the people and groups that influence policy in key debates and issues in the field:

Our faculty includes top policy professionals and leading academics who guide you in examining policy issues. They use their extensive academic and professional connections to enrich courses with a variety of guest speakers and site visits. 

Our Core Courses give you an opportunity to interact with today's leaders, bringing to life the issues and institutions that are chronicled on the evening news, in scholarly journals, and in your classrooms on campus.

Guest speakers and site visits have recently included advocacy groups, executive branch agencies, foreign embassies, media outlets, and think tanks.