SMPA is a pioneering teaching and research leader. Professor Silvio Waisbord is Editor of the International Journal of Press/Politics, an interdisciplinary journal for the analysis and discussion of the role of the press and politics in a globalized world.
Students at our annual Communications Career Expo network with a CNN recruiter. SMPA helps students pursue rewarding careers in media, journalism, and communications via internships, networking events, and employment workshops.
Graduate student Rachel Weisel and Professor Kimberly Gross, in partnership with the Project for Excellence in Journalism, studied how the media uses Twitter. Their findings were published in a groundbreaking report that garnered national press coverage.
Students line up outside GW's Lisner Auditorium before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates speak at an event hosted by SMPA. The event was broadcast on CNN.
SMPA Faculty and staff use the flash studio for live and recorded professional programming.
Longtime political reporter and broadcaster Gwen Ifill of The Newshour with Jim Lehrer addresses students.
CNN's Christiane Amanpour and SMPA Director Frank Sesno interview five former U.S. Secretaries of State, Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Warren Christopher, Henry A. Kissinger and James A. Baker III. The free event was sponsored by SMPA.
Everywhere you look around the capital city, there are students from the GW School of Media and Public Affairs working and learning at an endless array of news organizations, federal agencies, lobbying and political organizations and advocacy groups and Capitol Hill offices. SMPA students cover stories for CBS News or CNN, assist in the press offices of senators and House members of both parties, and write press releases for public relations firms or environmental organizations.
Students find their own internships, but SMPA is determined to make every one a worthwhile preview of the professional work life to come. And sometimes, internships turn into full-time jobs at places like the NBC Today Show, the prominent political consulting firm GMMB, Fenn Communications, the National Education Association, National Geographic or the Washington Post. All SMPA students receive the SMPA e-Newsletter, which contains links to special internship postings at dozens of prominent organizations in and around Washington D.C.
See the full list of impressive internships our students have had recently!
SMPA internships are open to juniors and seniors majoring in journalism and mass communications and political communication, as well as minors in journalism.
To gain credit, an SMPA student can apply for an internship appropriate to his or her major (or minor) field of study. Two forms need to be filled out and left for Professor Mike Shanahan at MPA room 400: the Application to Receive Internship Credit and the Registration Transaction Form. JMC students may register for 1-3 hours per internship, and the number of credit hours must be chosen at the time of registration for the internship. PCM students must register for three credit hours per internship.
The SMPA Internship Coordinator, Professor Mike Shanahan, will consider the internship and assign a faculty adviser. Each student must meet with their assigned faculty advisor to complete a learning contract which lays out reading and a final project to be written or produced before the end of the semester. Students must also complete a Memorandum of Agreement with the sponsor of the internship who will pledge that work done during the internship will teach the student valuable skills.
Internships are graded as pass/fail and students can be awarded a total of up to six hours of academic credit. If needed, students may meet with the Internship Coordinator to ask questions during the process.
Political communication majors may be approved for internships with advocacy groups, news organizations, advocacy groups, congressional offices, or public relations and political consulting firms. All internships will be for three credits (about 15 hours weekly).
Students will write a daily or weekly journal of their observations and activities at the internship, read three scholarly books approved by the faculty adviser and write a 10-page paper that combines the internship experience with concepts from the readings. Papers and journals are due on the last day of class.
Students will meet with the faculty adviser at least twice during the semester to discuss progress in the internship and the final paper.
| Journalism | Political Communication |
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60 Minutes, CBS |
AARP Press office AARP Segunda Jeventus Magazine Action on Smoking and Health Advanced Network Strategies American Enterprise Institute (research, government relations) APCO Worldwide (PR) Atlantic Media Chlopak, Leonard, Schecter and Associates Corzine for Governor campaign DCS Services (political consulting group) Democratic Governors Organization Devine Mulvey Fabian & Company (lobbying firm) Greenberg, Quinlan, Rosner Research (polling firm) Henry for State Senate Campaign Hilltop Public Solutions Holland & Knight (lobbying firm) Kennedy Communications, (PR) Levick Strategic Communications, (crisis PR firm) Mack/Crounse Group Mary Matalin’s office Motion Picture Association, Press Office Natalie P. Shear Associates National Association of Attorneys General National Association of Home Builders National Associations of Attorneys General National Multiple Sclerosis Society, press office Obama Campaign Office of U.S. Trade Representative Rabinowitz-Dorf Communications Renna Communications Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Sen. Enzi’s Office (Education Committee) Sen. John Kerry press office Sen. Lieberman’s Office Sen. Murray’s Office Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass. Sphere Consulting State Department Video Production Unit Susan Davis International Third Floor Productions (multimedia production) U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters U.S. State Dept, International Information Programs Various House and Senate campaigns Washington Media Group |
Student/Faculty Study on Media's Use of Twitter Released