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Inside Washington

Work. Learn. Live.

Inside Washington is one of Miami's premier study away experiences. Offered in the spring semester and summer term, the program puts students of myriad majors in the room with D.C. movers and shakers, and interning in the nation's capital.

Our Program

The program gives students extraordinary experiential learning through dozens of small-group discussions with Washington insiders in Congress, the federal government, news media, nonprofit agencies, think tanks, lobbying and political strategy.

Have questions? Email Inside Washington Directors, Bryan Marshall (marshabw@MiamiOH.edu) and Matt Arbuckle (arbuckmb@MiamiOH.edu)

 

Work in D.C.

This unusual study away experience—offered in spring semesters and in a 10-week summer term—gives you weeks of field trips, research and small-group interaction with an array of Washington insiders.

That is followed by full-time D.C. internships that professors help you arrange.

It’s an ideal program for students of all majors because of the diverse, on-the-ground academic experience and the internship opportunities in D.C.

Over the program’s 20+ years, Inside Washington participants have interned everywhere from congressional offices to think tanks, news media to political consulting agencies, nonprofits to lobbying firms. (See “internships” tab for more info.)

Learn in D.C.

All courses are cross-listed among Political Science, Journalism, and Media and Communication. 

During the first weeks of field trips and speakers, students have visited the West Wing of the White House, the Pentagon, the CIA, newsrooms for CNN and National Public Radio, the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality Museum, and President Washington’s Mount Vernon.

Recent guest speakers include Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, NPR White House reporter Scott Horsley, the director of the European Parliament Liaison Office, and Amy Howe of SCOTUSblog.

During the semester program, students also conduct ethnographic research projects in the Washington community.

Live in D.C.

You’ll live in secure, all-intern apartments—with kitchens and laundry facilities—in D.C. with easy access to the metro.

Students use the Metro for transportation and—after classes end early in each program—work at their internships about 40 hours per week.

Summer Program

This 10-week experience begins shortly after spring semester ends.

The 8-credit course, POL/JRN/MAC 426 Inside Washington, encompasses student-led small-group discussions across D.C. with policy makers, leading media figures, special interest influencers, government agency specialists and nonprofit leaders; as well as field trips. Participants write reflections about what they have learned, and about national news and policy developments. You intern full time in your area of interest for nine weeks as part of the course.

During the entire summer, students live together in all-intern housing owned by the Washington Intern Student Housing organization, or WISH. The housing has kitchens and laundry facilities, and is a 5-minute walk from a Metro stop.

You are responsible for your meals, professional attire, and transportation around town, plus travel getting to and from Washington.

This class often counts toward elective hours, so talk with your academic advisor to see how Inside Washington Summer will work for you.

Recent Internship Partners

  • American Petroleum Institute
  • Devine Mulvey Longabaugh media consulting
  • Capital Area Food Bank
  • Center for Arms Control and Proliferation
  • CBS News
  • DLE Agency (sports management)
  • Dotgop (tech)
  • Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence
  • Hart Research Associates (polling, political research)
  • House Republican Conference
  • Human Capital Initiatives (HR consulting)
  • Latin American Working Group
  • Majority Group
  • National Head Start Association
  • NBC News’ “Meet the Press”
  • Netchoice (trade association)
  • Normandy Group (polling, political research)
  • Only Through Us (special interest group)
  • Partnership for Responsible Growth (promotes carbon fees to mitigate climate risk)
  • Republic National Committee
  • U.S. Capitol Historical Society
  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  • U.S. Federal Courts
  • U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs
  • U.S. House Judiciary Committee
  • U.S. House Small Business Committee
  • U.S. Reps. Troy Balderson, Steve Chabot, Warren Davidson, Tim Ryan, Steve Stivers, Mike Turner, Brad Wenstrup (Ohio)
  • U.S. Reps. Yvette Clarke and Carolyn Maloney (New York)
  • U.S. Reps. Alcee Hastings and Ted Yoho (Florida)
  • U.S. Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Mike Quigley (Illinois)
  • U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (New Jersey)
  • U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman (Ohio)
  • U.S. Supreme Court public information office
  • U.S. Trade and Development Agency
  • Voice of America (news media)
  • WAMU-FM radio, National Public Radio affiliate