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Family, Home & Social Sciences College Internship Office

Washington Seminar Internships

Washington Seminar Internship

  • The Washington Seminar program runs three cohorts per academic year. Winter, Spring-Summer, and Fall.

    Deadlines:
    Fall 2025 - February 10, 2024
    Winter 2025 - September 20, 2024
    Spring-Summer 2025 - November 10, 2024

    After application deadlines, applicants will be reviewed and selected applicants will be invited to begin a series of three workshops on program requirements, securing an internship, and preparing for their semester in DC.

    Successful applicants should know within a week of the application deadline whether or not they will be able to participate in the program.

  • Students participating with the Washington Seminar will be eligible to apply for grant funding through the program. All admitted student are eligible to apply for program funding. Funding is awarded on a needs-based assessment. This amount is evaluated based on each student's FAFSA EFC score, existing scholarship and grant funding, and if the internship is paid. International students are qualified to apply and are not required to submit a FAFSA score.

    Additionally, students may opt to use university scholarships and FAFSA grant and loan funding. We encourage students to explore funding through their declared major department as many offer experiential learning financial support.

    All students will pay a $250 deposit upon admission to the Washington Seminar program. We refund $200 of this deposit if a student withdraws from the program prior to securing an internship. Once a student secures an internship the deposit will only be refunded upon program completion. Students who damage housing facilities while in DC may have a portion or all of the deposit held back to help offset repair costs. Students who secure an internship and withdraw prior to moving to DC will likely forfeit their deposit but may appeal as needed.

    Single Students

    Semester-Length Internship


    Tuition:

    $2,052 (6 credit hours)
    $3,248 (12 credit hours)

    Rent:

    $1,600

    Meals:

    $800

    Commute:

    $375
    Misc:
    $500

    Total:

    $5,500 - $6,500

    Married Student Couples

    Semester-Length Internship


    Tuition:

    $2,052 (6 credit hours)
    $3,248 (12 credit hours)

    Rent:

    $2,600

    Meals:

    $1500

    Commute:

    $375

    Misc:
    		$800

    Total:

    $7,500 - $8,800

  • Students are currently required to complete 3 courses as program participants.

    1. POLI 297 - Internship Prep Course
    2. POLI 391 - Friday Seminar Course
    3. POLI 399R - Internship Credit*

    *All participants are required to complete 3 credit hours of POLI 399R but may increase to 6 or 9 credit hours. This adjustment will include an increase in tuition and in coursework.

    *Students who are not political science majors are still required to take POLI 399R (3 credit hours) but may opt to add additional internship credit from their major to their enrollment, which will require additional approvals, registration, tuition, and coursework.

  • Internship opportunities in the Washington, DC area are numerous. As part of the internship approval process, we review each internship to ensure the experience offered is substantive, falls within the window for the semester, offers approximately 32-40 hours per week of internship experience, and is in line to offer an experience that will allow for successful coursework. Some internships are paid, often they are unpaid.

    Occasionally, an internship may not qualify, but this is the exception and in no way the norm. Internships may also be reviewed for unlisted criteria as deemed necessary by program administrators.

    Internships requiring a very restrictive security clearance may also not be conducive to coursework and likely will not be feasible with the program. If you have questions, please email washingtonseminar@byu.edu.

  • We offer two pathways to DC.

    1. Secured Internship - Students may secure a qualifying internship on their own and then apply to our program with their finalized internship.

    Currently, we admit all applicants who have at least junior status in graded university credits (this does not include AP course credit). Secured internships must allow the student to have Fridays free for coursework and they must allow for 12 - 14 weeks of internship work while in DC.

    2. Unsecured Internship - Students who apply for our program without an internship are considered a provisional admission. Once a student is admitted to the program we will work directly with each student to identify a list of internships. We will also develop skills for building a strong application, including mentoring on resume and cover letter creation as well as support for interviews. Once a student secures an internship they finalize their program participation.

    Currently, we admit the majority of applicants who are at least junior status in graded university credits (this does not include AP course credit). Student housing is not finalized until the internship is secured. Students who we are not able to accommodate in our program housing will be eligible for additional grant funding support for housing costs.

    Qualifying Internships -

    • Internships need to fall within the window of the semester you plan to participate in the Washington Seminar program and must last 12 - 14 weeks
    • Internships should begin within two weeks of the beginning of the semester and end within two weeks of the end of the semester
    • Internships need to allow the student to have each Friday free for program coursework
    • Students need to be able to identify their supervisor as well as the ability to write about their internship experience. (This can be a concern with DOD, NSA, FBI, and CIA internships, but not in every instance. Please discuss this with your contact within the internship organization.)
    • Internship organizations in direct opposition to the mission of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will require additional review and may not qualify
    • Students may not work for or be supervised in any way by a direct family member, including in-laws and step-family connections
    • Due to recent changes within the US State Department to their internship program, we are no longer able to work with students who accept State Department internships. They may still qualify for credit, however, and can meet with us to explore that piece

  • All students are encouraged to explore our internship database located in 945 KMBL. We offer internships of interest to nearly all majors with over 1,000 listings.

    Examples of recent and popular internships for BYU students:

    Congressional Internships:
    Representative Curtis' DC Office
    Representative Owens' DC Office
    Representative Stewart's DC Office
    Senator Lee's DC Office
    Senator Romney's DC Office

    Federal, Legal, Non-profit, Public Health, Social Services, Communications, Arts, Data-Science, Media, Economics, International Relations:
    Government Accountability Project
    National Center on Sexual Exploitation
    The Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
    Men's Health Network
    IMA World Health
    By Women for Women
    National Archives and Records Administration
    US Department of Education
    Becket Fund
    US Department of Justice
    Broadband Breakfast Media
    House Committee on Ways and Means
    International Trade Administration
    American Heart Association
    US Capitol Historical Society
    McKeon Group
    Mental Health America
    Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
    National Academy of Public Administration
    National Museum of Women in the Arts
    American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
    The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints office of Public and International Affairs
    TargetPoint Consulting
    National Portrait Gallery
    Senate Committee on Finance
    International Rescue Committee
    Interlink Capital Strategies
    Youth Service America
    Coalition on Human Needs
    Fahrenholz and Horrell LLP
    Heritage Foundation
    USAID
    State Department
    Schramm, Williams and Associates
    Council for Court Excellence
    National Defense University
    Pew Research Center
    National Museum of Women in the Arts
    American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
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