As a consortium of thirteen   institutions of higher education,   LCWS brings students together   from across the country, and   around the world, for experiential   learning opportunities in   Washington, D.C.


 

LCWS draws students from a wide range of majors. While political science and international relations make up around half of our students, we have students majoring in history, communication, business, environmental studies, criminal justice, sociology, and education to name a few.

Fall and spring semester students intern four full days per week for fourteen weeks. Through the internship, students strengthen their skills, deepen their understanding of the professional world, and gain unparalleled experience that will set them apart when seeking full-time employment after graduation.

Students also pursue two academic courses in a variety of subject areas to augment their professional endeavors. The coursework and the internship complement one another, enabling students to gain valuable insight and experience in their chosen field of study. Upon successful completion of the semester, students earn a full semester of academic credit from their college or university.

LCWS encourages students to become active and engaged citizens of the world. Through professional engagement, academic inquiry, and wholehearted participation in the day-to-day life of Washington, D.C., students gain a new perspective on what it means to be an active member of society in a culturally diverse world. Students of the program leave Washington, D.C., with a newfound confidence in who they are and a better sense of their purpose in life. Drawing on the nature of our liberal arts institutions, we take a holistic approach to our semester program. There are three main components: internships, classes, and  the "DC Experience."  

Internships: Students intern 4 days a week, eight hours a day. While we have relationships with a number of internship locations, our approach is to provide a mentored internship search that requires students to apply to internships on their own.  When students are accepted into our program, our internship coordinator works with them through the stages of their search process.  This includes guidance on writing resumes and cover letters, providing lists of internship sites that fit their interests and goals, conducting practice interviews, and providing advice when accepting and turning down internship offers. This mentored approach is illustrative of the individual attention we provide our students as we try to empower them with skills to be successful not only in their current internship search, but in future job searches.  

Courses: We offer 7-8 courses a semester, depending on the size of the cohort.  The courses are taught as night classes from 6-8:30 pm and meet once a week. Students typically take 2 courses, thus are in class 2 nights a week. Our courses are intended to be introductory survey courses on a variety of topics.  Our professors are "professors of practice," in that their expertise is based on their years of service.  For example, our Supreme Court professor is an attorney with the U.S. Marshall's Service and has had several positions in the Department of Justice over his career. Each course draws on the resources of the DC area. Most utilize guest speakers from different organizations and agencies. Our theater course has students attend 3-4 shows at different types of theaters around the city.
 

The DC Experience: The final component of our program seeks to engage students in DC itself.  The primary component is weekly field trips. We emphasize DC as the nation's capital, a vibrant, multicultural city, and a professional network. Our visits to museums have discussions associated with them to draw out themes and lessons from the visit.  Our walking tours and neighborhood explorations deal with the history of DC and what the changes over time mean for us as a community and nation. In addition, each semester we take students to a performance at the Kennedy Center and we finish the semester with a guided tour of Mount Vernon and final discussion. Finally, we host a professional development workshop each semester and hold an alumni networking event that helps students grow their connections in DC.

While staying with LCWS, students live in two bedroom/two bathroom penthouse condos located in the River Place community in Rosslyn, VA, which is one Metro stop outside of D.C. in Northern Virginia.  River Place is located across Key Bridge from Georgetown, and just two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro Station, providing students with easy access to all areas of Washington, D.C.

Lutheran College - Internships by Major Flyer