WASHINGTON DC
19 March - 15 April 2023
SEAT OF GOVERNMENT
This programme invites students to explore every aspect of politics and government, from constitutional history to twenty-first century international relations, and from the political theory of the Founding Fathers to today's public policy challenges. Students will meet senior government officials, eminent academics, policy analysts, leaders of think tanks, high-profile lawyers, political staffers, and members of the United States Congress.
Universities
Washington DC in Spring includes lectures and seminars at two universities both well known for their distinguished faculty:
Georgetown University is the home of the School of Foreign Service, well known for preparing men and women for distinguished careers in politics and international diplomacy.
George Mason University is the number one centre of excellence for the study of Public Choice Theory, the economics of politics or, as Nobel Laureate James Buchanan called it, 'Politics without Romance'.
THink Tanks
Washington is full of experts on a broad range of public policy questions, who exert enormous influence on federal legislation. We will have confidential briefings on contemporary issues from influential think tanks across the ideological spectrum.
We will visit centrist groups like the Center for Strategic & International Studies and the Aspen Institute; conservative groups, including Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute; liberal/progressive groups, including the Brookings Institution and the Center for American Progress, libertarian groups, including the Cato Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and independent and bipartisan think tanks, such as the Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Bipartisan Policy Center.
INNER SANCTUM
Our Visiting Scholars often have the chance to meet a member of the U.S. House of Representatives or a member of the U.S. Senate. These meetings operate under Chatham House Rules, which means that participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed. Under such conditions the Senators and Congressmen will speak candidly in answer to our questions.
"Many hours were spent discussing issues in a rigorous and interesting manner. I highly recommend it. The students and the staff are amazing people who will challenge you to lift your level of thought.”
– Henry Warner
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LIVING WITH
NEW FRIENDS
During your four weeks in Washington DC our Visiting Scholars live in spacious townhouses. Each student has a private double bedroom, in a house you will share with five or six other people.
Cooking and eating together will give you an opportunity to form strong and lasting friendships with likeminded people of your own age.
One of the most memorable aspects of past gap year programmes has been the social element, and we pride ourselves on bringing together some of the most interesting people you will have ever met!
