UC San Diego Washington Center (UCDC)

The UC San Diego Washington Center began in the 1997–98 academic year. It provides students an opportunity to intern in the nation's capital while continuing their academic coursework. The UCSD in DC program is open to all students who have completed 90 units toward graduation with a 2.5 grade-point average. Students earn fourteen units of academic credit, continue to be registered full time, and fulfill university residency requirements.

Internship—Students work twenty-four hours per week as interns in federal agencies, interest groups, trade associations, the national news media, museums, research institutions, or in other organizations related to policy, politics, science, and culture and geared to the interests and objectives of individual students. Political Science 197I: six units of academic credit.

Research Seminar—Drawing on the internship experience, each student participates in a seminar and undertakes an independent research project, under supervision of the UC San Diego resident faculty. Political Science 194 (or depending on the student's major, one of the cross-listed equivalents): four units of academic credit.

Elective Course—Each student also enrolls in one upper-division seminar course at the Washington Center. These courses are taught by the different campuses' resident faculty and change each quarter. Typically they include a mix of political science, international relations, other social sciences, history, and the arts and humanities. In addition to regular instruction, seminars take advantage of the Washington locale and often include guest speakers and field work activities.