ASP Fact Sheet

The American Studies Program is an interdisciplinary internship/seminar program based in Washington, DC. The program is sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, an association of one hundred member colleges and universities of the liberal arts and sciences in the United States and Canada and forty-three affiliate members around the world. Over twenty-one hundred university students have participated in the program since it began in September of 1976. Designed to expose undergraduates to opportunities for involvement in public life, the program also provides students with a general understanding of the public policy dynamics at work in the nation's capital. The program provides internship opportunities for the diverse majors and career interests of university juniors and seniors.Students live together in our campus apartments, work as voluntary interns and participate in a seminar program for which they receive full academic credit. Since the number of participants is limited, the program is highly selective.

Public Policy Seminar classes meet three afternoons each week and are organized into three academic modules dealing with a variety of topics in domestic and international policy. The subject of each module is addressed from a non-partisan, multi-disciplinary approach utilizing the vast resources available to students in Washington, D.C. The modules have included studies of the national deficit, defense and weapons policies, social welfare policies, national campaigning, the debate over environmental and economic growth issues, U.S. relations with Eastern Europe, and other current public policy issues.

Internships are designed to be pre-career work experiences which will assist the students in understanding the nature of professional life in their fields of interest. Interns have been placed in over 500 offices and agencies across the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Students intern in the legislative, judicial and executive branches of government. Other internships are in the arts, social services, science and the environment, business and economics, international affairs, law, journalism and communications, and with public interest research groups.

A.S.P. interns are available 20-30 hours per week for 14 weeks during the fall or spring semesters. The students are required to keep a daily journal and meet periodically with American Studies Program faculty who monitor their internship to ensure a quality learning experience. The student's monitor also maintains regular contact with the supervisor at the intern's placement.