Coursework

The Semester In Washington Journalism Program seminar is a specially designed six credit course offered through the university’s internationally renowned School of Media and Public Affairs. This real value of the Semester In Washington comes when seminar is combined with your internship.

If you were to have just an incredible internship, you would have a great professional experience but no context to understand the greater forces affecting journalism and what you are experiencing in the workplace. If you were to have lectures at the expense of time at your internship, then you would diminish your understanding of the practical reality of journalism today.

To avoid sacrificing either academics or internship, the seminar takes place during an intensive and thought-provoking day and one evening each week during which you will explore the changes reshaping journalism through the prism of the media in the world’s news capital.

The objective of the seminar is not just to discuss the vital issues of journalism today but to put you in the middle of them. The goal is long term undertanding that stays with you long after you have left Washington rather than being quickly forgotten like some information crammed for a test.

Seminar Details:

• HOURS
• SEMINAR COMPONENTS
• TOPIC MODULES
• A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE WASHINGTON SEMESTER
• SYLLABUS
• ASSIGNMENTS
• CREDITS

Student Quote:
“When I went back to my home school, I realized that in Professor Gelb’s course I had actually met and heard from the people we were now just discussing in class.”

HOURS:

The Semester In Washington will meet every Tuesday evening and all day Friday.

TUESDAY -  7pm to 9:30pm
FRIDAY – 9:30am to 5:30pm

Every effort is made to keep to this schedule but it is inevitable that the schedule will change to accommodate events and speakers. For example, an invitation to attend the broadcast of an evening news show which airs at 6pm on a Tuesday, requires starting before 7pm.   Advance notice is given of schedule changes.

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SEMINAR COMPONENTS:

The seminar is composed of five parts:

Lectures
Speakers
Site Visits
Assignments
Readings

Unlike other college experiences, the Semester in Washington Journalism Program is no separated into different classes. Rather there is one seminar that runs through the whole semester. This allows for material that would traditionally be broken into different courses to be interwoven, creating a more accurate insight into Washington journalism, its influence and influencers.

An additional benefit is that since all students enrolled in the Semester In Washington Journalism Program stay together throughout the semester for class. This allows you to not just get to know each other better but also build on each other's learning experience and differing perspectives as we meet industry leaders and go behind the scenes at news sites.

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TOPIC MODULES

To cover the varety of topics at play in Washington journalism, the Semester in Washington Semester Journalism Program seminar is divided into weekly modules. Each topic module covers a different aspect of Washington journalism. These modules are made up of speakers, lectures, discussions site visits, readings and assignments that bring the topics to life.

For example, a module on the role, shape and evolution of political coverage will feature lectures about political journalism coupled with visits to the US Capitol to meet and hear from the journalists and political operatives who live the relationship between the two. To complete the cycle, students are then given assignments to cover a hearing or event on Capitol Hill so they can fully experience what the speakers have been telling them.

During another week a module on the media and the military would incorporate academic reviews of the literature, history and coverage of the military and war, a behind the scenes tour of the Pentagon including attending a press briefing, and a role playing exercise where students act as either journalists or military spokespeople present when the first prisoners arrived at the Guantanamo prison facility. After the exercise the students then hear from Marine major who set up and ran the Guantanamo military press office not just to learn what really happened but also to explore the military perspective on the media.

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A WEEK IN THE LIFE OF THE SEMESTER IN WASHINGTON JOURNALISM PROGRAM:

Click here for a sample schedule to see what a week in the life of the Semester In Washington Journalism Program seminar is like.

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SYLLABUS:

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ASSIGNMENTS:

The theoretical and practical of the Semester In Washington Journalism Program converge in the seminar’s assignments.

Each week you will be required to produce a piece of journalism, either written or produced, depending on the topic module and the assignment. For produced work, you will have access to GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs the state-of-the-art production facilities where you will work on new PowerMac G-5 computers powering the latest versions of the Final Cut Pro software which is rapidly becoming the industry standard. Students will have film used Sony VX 1000 cameras. 

For those not familiar or experienced with digital editing or use of the equipment, training will be provided in the first week of the semester.

You will also write two papers exploringthe news process and how the different forces in the city interact.

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COURSE CREDIT

The Semester in Washington is designed as nine credit course (three for the internship and six for the seminar) reflecting GW's predominant three credit course system. If your school observes a four credit system, please check with your academic advisor to see whether your school is among those that grant four credits for GW’s three.

The nine credit load is also designed to leave you the option of enrolling in regular GW courses on a space available basis at regular GW tuition rates to exploit the other academic offerings available at GW should you have interest or the need for extra credits.

Semester in Washington staff is also happy to work with you to see whether extra-credit can be earned back at your home school. For example some schools grant extra credit for the extensive internship.
 
While SIW Journalism staff will do everything possible to ensure credits are transferred it is your responsibility to make sure credits are transferable.

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