Washington Program
Washington, D.C., is a city that offers a wide variety of academic, professional and cultural opportunities for undergraduates — and students selected to participate in the Stanley E. Degler Washington Program coordinated by the Bellisario College have a special opportunity.
In 2024, the Degler Program and The News Lab, housed in the Bellisario College, partnered to allow students to have a Maymester-in-residence internship experience reporting on issues in the nation’s capital and an opportunity to meet and learn from a range of journalists (radio, television, print/digital, photo), speech writers and others from across the district, like author and journalist Andy Kroll (Mother Jones, Rolling Stone, ProPublica) and broadcast and print journalist Jesse Holland (C-Span, The Associated Press, Marvel Comics).
The month-long effort was led by Maggie Messitt, the Eberly Professor of Practice and director of the News Lab. Students earned academic credit working in the bureau and took courses specifically tailored to Washington journalism.
In 2025, the program was led by Neda Toloui-Semnani, an assistant teaching professor, and the intensive three-week-long reporting and researching effort also included six newsroom visits. The group visited Congress and the White House, met with numerous reporters and editors, and worked on their own stories.
They produced a multimedia project the provided a Snapshot of what was happening in the nation's capital at the time.
The late spring/early summer program is not being conducted in 2026 but will return in 2027.
Eligibility
This program is offered by application.
Our History in D.C.
Established in 1995, the Washington Program was created to give Penn State students a complete Washington experience, including internship placement and credit, housing, and special events and programs.
It was formally renamed the Stanley E. Degler Washington Program in 2016, when the alumnus — who built a respected career as a journalist in the city — provided a $1 million endowment to support the program.
Students from all areas of the University participated in the Washington Program. Over the years, they have worked for organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, CNN, the Environmental Protection Agency, House and Senate offices, and the Organization of American States.
During the coronavirus pandemic, in-person approach of the program changed significantly. It moved to a shorter, more focused news gathering and storytelling approach in recent years.
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