Academics

Overview
Students are required to take the two scheduled courses in DC and also arrange directed study and internship courses through their majors.

Fall 2009 Courses

WASH 3400 – The Washington Seminar
Taught by Various Guest Speakers
3 credit hours

Using the expertise of UGA faculty and staff and leaders who live and work in the nation’s capital, this seminar will introduce students to various aspects of life, work and culture in Washington, DC. Specific subjects and speakers will be announced in the course syllabus.

INTL 4250- American Foreign Policy
Taught by Howard Wiarda, Ph.D., Dean Rusk Professor of International Relations
3 credit hours

This course examines how U.S. foreign policy decisions are made.  The student will acquire a strong understanding of how America selects its various instruments of  foreign policy, form war and peace, trade and aid, and open diplomacy, on the one hand, to secret operations and the exercise of moral suasion, on the other hand.  The course will be a blend of theory, empirical research findings, ethical evaluations, and concrete case studies.

Topical Outline:   

• The Theory and Practice of American Foreign Policy
• The Constitutional Matrix
• Executive-Legislative Conflict over Foreign Policy
• The War Powers
• The Treaty Powers
• America's Secret Foreign Policy
• Trade and Aid
• Moral Suasion
• The Future of American Foreign Policy

Spring 2010 Courses

WASH 3400 – The Washington Seminar
Taught by Various Guest Speakers
3 credit hours

Using the expertise of UGA faculty and staff and leaders who live and work in the nation’s capital, this seminar will introduce students to various aspects of life, work and culture in Washington, DC. Specific subjects and speakers will be announced in the course syllabus.

POLS 4790: Special Topics: Politics and Public Policy in the U.S.
Taught by Susan Haire, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Political Science
3 credit hours

Interning in Washington, DC presents a unique opportunity to learn about public policy making in the U.S.  Designed to compliment the internship, this course provides an introduction to the study of policy making, with a particular focus on the role of national political institutions.  We will initially examine the policy process, addressing several questions. For example, how do issues make it onto the government’s agenda?  What happens to issues once they reach the agenda?  What leads some policies to be adopted?  Our course will then explore the political institutions that shape policy in our nation’s capital.  We will focus on the connections between the organization of the legislative branch and policy making, with a particular focus on party leadership and congressional committees.  Our class will examine the role of the executive branch in the policy process.  With the inauguration of our next president taking place in January, we will focus on particular policy challenges that lay ahead for an incoming administration.   And, we will discuss factors that shape the effectiveness of the courts as policy makers.  Our class will be conducted similar to a seminar with an emphasis on discussion. Your grade in this course will be drawn from your final exam, two two-page critical essays, and your class participation.