Spring 2008 fellows took a weekend trip to visit New York City.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible, students should be college juniors or seniors, although sophomores will be considered in special circumstances. Students should be in good standing in their college or university’s honors program (see exceptions below) Preference is given to students with a minimum 3.3 GPA. 

This program is coordinated through each participating college and university’s honors program/college.  Therefore, the dean or director of the honors program has to grant approval for students to apply.  Contact Ms. Burn at burn@sc.edu or your college’s honors program/college to find out your school’s specific requirements.  For those colleges that allow non-honors college students to apply, the student must have a 3.5 GPA or better to qualify.

The selection committee will review the applications and invite qualified applicants for an interview.  At the interview, applicants will be asked to demonstrate an awareness of how government works and of major issues facing our nation. They must possess strong communication skills, both written and oral, and they should be mature and adaptable.

Students need not be political science majors to apply.  Experience from the WSP is valuable for any major or career choice.  Students in the program have included majors in engineering, biology, journalism, business, French, English, international relations, the fine arts, history and accounting.

Participating colleges and universities include The Citadel, Claflin University, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina University, Clemson University, Charleston Southern University, Francis Marion University, South Carolina State University, Winthrop University, Wofford College, University of South Carolina-Upstate and the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

ENROLLMENT

In most cases, students enroll at the University of South Carolina in Columbia for the semester they are participating in the Washington Semester Program. Transfer status is handled quickly and easily for students from other institutions.  A few participating institutions, such as Francis Marion University and South Carolina State University, do not enroll their students at the University of South Carolina, but credits are transferred between USC and these colleges.

ACADEMIC CREDIT

Students who are interested in applying to the Washington Semester Program should talk to their college advisor and their College’s/University’s Honors College/Program director to determine how the Washington Semester Program’s academic credit will apply to their individual undergraduate program.

FINANCIAL AID

For USC students, financial aid applies as usual. Almost all other participating colleges and universities have made special arrangements to permit their students to retain their financial aid while attending USC for the WSP semester. However, it is a student's responsibility to ensure that all financial aid questions and concerns are resolved at their home university before leaving for DC.   Honors directors and the financial aid offices at each of the participating colleges and universities are available to assist students with any financial aid questions.