Non-Degree

About The Program

The Emmy Award-winning GW Semester in Washington Journalism Program gives students the tools and knowledge to find their place in the world of “new media.” It's offered as a single Fall/Spring semester, or a 10-week summer program. Both offer a unique curriculum and internship program that every semester, alumni claim as life changing. We invite you to read more about the program details and learn what your semester in DC could look like. Questions? E-mail siwj@gwu.edu

Program Features

Students in the SIWJ program work four days a week at a professional internship, and take classes on Fridays and at least one other evening. During the full semester, students will also enroll in one other course with GW's School of Media and Public Affairs. It's an intense week but it's also designed to be fun. You will work hard, but play just as hard attending outside activities and special events with classmates.

Internships

What differentiates the Semester in Washington Program from other DC experience programs is the internship program. Students work directly with the SIWJ Director, Amos Gelb, to find not just a good internship, the right internship. After working two decades in the media business and placing interns, he not only knows which internships are worthwhile, but also which ones will fit individual talents and skills. Students are never left to “fend for themselves.” This program guarantees an internship for every student and finalizes most placements before students arrive in DC.

Possible Internships

Smithsonian Magazine
Sirius XM Radio
WJLA- News Channel 8
The Georgetowner newspaper
NBC Universal
FOX 5
C-SPAN
DC Magazine
Capitol Hill Political Staff
New Media Strategies
The Salt Lake Tribune
The Associated Press
The Smithsonian National Zoo
Levick Strategic Communications
Washington Times Photo Department
Capitol News Connection
Hispanic Link news service
Island Press
BBC
NPR
... the possibilities are endless

With the Semester in Washington Journalism Program you become a part of the organization, not just a visiting intern. Many students have walked away from their semester with projects, clips and pieces to add to their professional portfolio.

Course Structure

The Semester in Washington Semester is designed to provide a foundation for practical and theoretical understanding of the new media. While not a production or writing course, every session starts with a week-long boot camp to make sure students have a basic foundation of necessary skills to thrive at internship placements. After the first week, the course is divided into weekly modules where we explore issues ranging from covering Congress to current events, from how the White House manages the news cycle, to core journalistic issues of ethics, journalism as a business, the transforming evolution of journalism and the media (both old and new) today.

Educational Trips and Guest Speakers

The formats of the SIWJ courses are different from the typical lecture or seminar courses at your home school. Throughout the semester, projects, lectures and debates inside the classroom lay foundations for frequent visits outside GW to media organization in DC. Here, students have the chance see first-hand inside the media industry and talk with working young professionals.
Washington is filled with many of the most prominent people in the media today, ranging from reporters and media executives, to politicians and people who shape what is reported. You will get to meet approximately 30 of these each Semester while visiting the places news happens, in addition to the White House, the Pentagon, and Congress. These speakers are not just some person at a distant podium but talk to you in intimate settings – virtually always ending by giving out business cards.

Networking

While it is certainly true that it is not just who you know, but what you know; it is also true that knowing the right people helps… a lot. Through the SIWJ Program you are encouraged and helped in the process of building your network. You also become a member of a fast growing alumni group of people across the media landscape that know what you are experiencing and want to help. Take a look at our Facebook fan page to learn more about our alum.

Commissioned Work

The Semester in Washington Journalism Program believes simply completing class projects is no longer enough to give students the kind of media experience they need to get a leg up professionally. To be part of the changing media landscape, students have to understand what is expected in the real world. SIWJ students conclude their time in Washington by completing a project for a professional media organization. In the past, these have included Public Radio’s Capital News Connection, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Georgetowner Newspaper and the Radio-Television News Directors Foundation. The projects are then showcased on the professional organization's website, giving students more resume credit.

Why Attend the Semester in Washington Journalism Program?

The bottom line is, many students come to the program to help get a job after graduation. In reality, most students pursuing journalism or media won't work in traditional news outlets. Historically, almost 20% of the SIWJ students are offered jobs before they leave the program, in careers they never realized existed. Some have used the program to jump ahead to more opportunities in the field. For others, the SIWJ program helps students realize the career of their dreams is not for them! Instead, they leave heading in a new direction with a better sense of what the future may hold.