Receive academic credit for your internship and seminar course(s).  Select your seminar from a curated list of topics taught by Washington D.C. experts, UCDC instructors and visiting UC faculty.  Take advantage of this opportunity to learn from someone in the “field”. 

Students receive a minimum of 12 UC quarter units (upper division):

Required:

• Intern for a minimum of 32 hours per week  (8 units, P/NP) 

• Enroll in a seminar course (4 units, must be taken for a letter grade)

Seminars meet weekly and assist students in the development of an original research project, usually focused on a topic that relates to their internship experience. At the end of the quarter, students complete the seminar by submitting a substantial paper or several smaller papers.  Visit the UC Washington Center Academics page for additional information and course listings for the current term.  

Course registration occurs prior to your program start date.  Completed units and grades will appear as elective units on your UCSB transcript and will be calculated into your cumulative GPA.  If you wish to use these units to fulfill major/minor requirements, consult with the appropriate academic department at UCSB to determine if this is possible and submit a petition upon your return to campus. 

*These academic departments have pre-approved the courses below to fulfill upper-division major/major elective credit. Students must initiate the petition process with their department once UCDC grades have been posted on their transcript. The term(s) after each course title signifies the UCDC term that the course will be offered. 

Anthropology

• Media and Health (F24)
• Reducing Poverty and Inequality (F24, W25)
• Slavery in the Chesapeake Region (W25)
• Sustainable and Equitable Transportation (S25)
• The Divine Feminine in the Kingdom of Kush (S25)
• Musical Diplomacy (S25)

Feminist Studies

• Queer Knowledges (F24)
• The Divine Feminine in the Kingdom of Kush (S25)

Communication

• Campaign 2024: The Future of Democracy (F24, W25)
• Washington Media (F24, W25, S25)

Environmental Studies

• Sustainable and Equitable Transportation (S25)

Global Studies

• American Foreign Policy (F24, W25, S25)
• The U.S. Supreme Court (F24, W25, S25)
• Washington Media (F24, W25, S25)
• Polarizer in Chief: Presidential Leadership in the 21st Century (F24, W25, S25)
• Campaign 2024: The Future of Democracy (F24, W25)
• The American Congress (W25, S25)
• Musical Diplomacy (S25)
• Nationalism in the Capital (S25)
• Sustainable and Equitable Transportation (S25)

History

• Queer Knowledges (F24)
• Science in Policies (F24)
• American Foreign Policy (F24, W25, S25)
• Polarizer in Chief: Presidential Leadership in the 21st Century (F24, W25, S25)
• Washington Media (F24, W25, S25)
• The U.S. Supreme Court (F24, W25, S25)
• Campaign 2024: The Future of Democracy (F24, W25)
• Reducing Poverty and Inequality (F24, W25)
• Washington History, Institutions, and Rituals (W25, S25)
• The American Congress (W25, S25)
• Slavery in the Chesapeake Region (W25)
• The Divine Feminine in the Kingdom of Kush (S25)
• Musical Diplomacy (S25)
• Nationalism in the Capital (S25)
• Sustainable and Equitable Transportation (S25)

If your department is not listed above please consult with your major advisor to see if upper-division major credit is possible.

Students receive 4 - 8 UC quarter units:

• Intern for a minimum of 4 units (24 hours/week for 10 weeks), 6 units (28 hours/week for 10 weeks), OR 8 units (32 hours/week for 10 weeks).  Financial aid students must enroll in 6 units to qualify for aid.

• Seminar courses are not offered