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Diplomacy
Washington DC
Special Program

Semester in Washington, D.C.

The School of Diplomacy, in collaboration with the United Nations Foundation, is pleased to offer Seton Hall’s Semester in Washington, D.C. Program. Through this program, undergraduate and graduate students of all majors can pursue competitive Washington, D.C., based internships while maintaining their Seton Hall financial aid packages and full-time student status. The School’s Office of Internships and Career Development assists students with the internship search and connects them with alumni mentors in the D.C. metro area who are working in fields related to students’ interests.

Washington, D.C., internship hosts have included:

  • Council of Americas
  • International Council of Beverages
  • Association
  • Interpol
  • National Defense University
  • Peace Corps
  • USAID
  • U.S. Department of State
  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars
  • Local embassies and offices of U.S. Senators and Congressmen

 

A Front Row View:  Diplomacy in Action

Graduate student Matt Kelly shares a glimpse of what it was like to intern at the U.S. State Department. Kelly was part of the School of Diplomacy's Semester in Washington D.C. program.

Lucas Della Ventura headshot.

"Coming to Washington, D.C., has been one of the best decisions of my life. Having class taught by veteran field practitioners such as a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, has been great. It doesn't feel like a class, it feels like an apprenticeship. Their insider knowledge, experience and candor have helped all of my classmates and I understand the D.C. political environment."

Lucas Della Ventura
Undergraduate Student

Curriculum

During their semester in Washington, students engage with prominent D.C.-based professionals and institutions that influence international policy. Through seminar style classes, students examine the causes, consequences and possible solutions to today's global policy challenges.

Students not majoring or minoring in diplomacy and international relations should consult with their departments about how the D.C. program coursework fits into their academic plans.

A comprehensive list of course descriptions can be viewed in the undergraduate and graduate course catalogues.

Coursework includes:

  • DIPL 3115/7115    The Washington Experience Study Tour: Actors, Institutions and the Policy Process (3 credits)
  • DIPL 3116/7116  Washington Seminar on Global Policy Challenges (3 credits)
  • 3111  Internship Course Undergrad I/Language course (3 credits)
  • 4111 Internship Course Undergrad II (3 credits)
  • 7111 Internship Course Grad I (3 credits)
    • and/or *
  • 7112 Internship Course Grad II (3 credits)
    • Total number of credits undergrad (12 credits)
    • Total number of credits grad (9 or 12 credits)
Note: In addition to the above coursework, an independent study course is also needed for undergraduate students who wish to maintain full-time enrollment status.

Ray WanslerClasses are taught at the United Nations Foundation, location one block from The White House, by Professor of Practice, Ray Walser, Ph.D.

With over 40 years of teaching experience and an extensive career as a policy analyst and foreign service officer, Dr. Walser hopes to provide students in the program with real-world insight and first-hand knowledge of what careers in international affairs, governmental or non-governmental, may look like. In his time as an academic, Dr. Walser has taught courses on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, and politics and conflict in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. His classroom experiences range from teaching undergraduates at Bluefield College, cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, interns/students in the University of Georgia's Washington Semester program and graduate students in Missouri State University's Department of Defense and Strategic Studies, also in Washington, D.C. Dr. Walser also served as chairperson for Western Hemisphere area studies at the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Service Institute. In short, Dr. Walser is no stranger to engaging with students interested in shaping diplomacy and international relations in our country and around the world.

Outside the classroom, Walser served as a Foreign Service Officer from 1980-2007 in a wide variety of overseas locations such as Nicaragua, Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, and South Africa as well as the Bureaus of African, European and Western Hemisphere Affairs here in the U.S. In 2007, he began applying his collective experience to a new role as a Senior Policy Analyst for The Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C., where he focused on political and security issues in Latin America. Prior to retiring in 2013, he conducted field research in Colombia and Mexico and served as an electoral observer during the presidential elections in El Salvador and Honduras.

In addition to his government service and academic career, Walser has authored op-eds and other publications featured in the New York Times, New York Post, The Washington Times, Christian Science Monitor, Miami Herald, The National Interest and the Journal of International Security Affairs. He has shared his expertise in testimony before both houses of Congress on several occasions between 2008 and 2011, and has appeared on CNN, PBS, Al Jazeera, BBC World Service and other media.

Take the Next Step

Contact the Director of Internships and Career Development, Catherine Ruby to learn more or to participate in an upcoming information session.  

Contact Us

  • Catherine Ruby
  • Director of Internships and Career Development
  • [email protected]
  • (973) 275-2203