Lugar Program
<h4>The Lugar Program at Denison</h4>
THE RICHARD G. LUGAR PROGRAM IN POLITICS AND PUBLIC SERVICE is named after Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, class of 1954, Rhodes scholar and Denison trustee.
Senator Lugar meeting with a Political Science class
Denison's Richard G. Lugar Program in Politics and Public Service is open to students of all academic majors and partisan perspectives who are interested in government and public policy. The program has two tracks:
- Track One focuses on the workings of American national government and offers a congressional internship as well as coursework.
- Track Two focuses on United States foreign policy and international affairs and offers course work in foreign policy, comparative politics and international politics, as well as an internship with the Washington Semester Program.
Students must earn at least a C in every Lugar Program course, including those meeting the foreign language requirement for Track Two.
The Lugar Program welcomes former members of Congress to Denison every other academic year. Typically, we host two former members per visit, a Democrat and a Republican. While here, they appear in classes and meet with students, faculty and others in the Denison and Granville communities. A theme common to these visits is the importance of public service. The Lugar Program also sponsors The Richard G. Lugar Symposium in Public Policy, a biennial speaker series that brings prominent public servants to campus to address issues of national and international concern. Previous speakers for the Lugar Symposium include . . .
<h4>The Lugar Program concentration</h4>
Track One
Students in track one of the Lugar program must fulfill the following requirements:
- One of the following courses:
- Foreign Policy Formulation (F'11 new course number POSC 215, was POSC 358);
- The Conduct of American Foreign Policy (F'11 new course number POSC 341, was POSC 359);
- The Politics of Congress (F'11 new course number POSC 307, was POSC 319);
- Any two courses selected from among the Political Science Department course offerings in the American politics subfield;
- A congressional internship.
Most congressional internships take place during the sophomore or junior year. Most Lugar students in Track One opt for four-week internships beginning in mid-May. However, several students have elected to enroll in American University's Washington Semester Program (American Politics) and intern in a congressional office for an entire fall or spring term.
Track Two
Students in Track Two of the Lugar Program must fulfill the following requirements:
- Four courses selected from the Political Science Department offerings in the comparative politics or international relations subfields; (Note: Foreign Policy Formulation (American politics subfield) may be counted toward the track Two requirements.)
- or other approved International Relations/Comparative courses
- Four semesters of a foreign language;
- Completion of an approved off-campus internship or program with an experiential component.
Students enrolled in track two may fulfill part of their language requirement during the summer at the Graduate School of International Policy Studies in the Monterrey Institute in California or a similar program.
<h4>What do our students do after Denison?</h4>
At least five Lugar students who followed track one have found employment as congressional staffers upon graduating from Denison.
Many of our students have gone on to law school, and some have completed graduate studies in political science and other disciplines.
Track two represents a new response to the challenges and opportunities of the post 9/11 world. Track two helps prepare students interested in obtaining a master's certificate at the Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) of the Monterrey Institute in California or at a similar institution. Students in the Monterrey program undertake further language study, complete an internship and develop a specialization in such areas as security, weapons of mass destruction, international trade and the international environment. This combination of foreign-language expertise and specialized coursework leads to employment in governmental agencies, international organizations and in the private sector.
Track two is designed to facilitate graduate study for students who are interested in careers in homeland security, international business, global environment, and other international sectors but who presently do not want to earn a Ph.D., law degree, MBA or MPA.
For more information about the program, contact:
Andrew Z. Katz, Director
The Lugar Program
Blair Knapp Hall, Room 305-A
Denison University
Granville, Ohio 43023
Phone: (740) 587-6502
Fax: (740) 587-6601
E-mail: katz@denison.edu