The D.C. Semester is a unique opportunity offered by Cedarville University and managed by the Department of History and Government.
The semester is a competitive program that runs each fall semester. A faculty member is sent from Cedarville to live in Washington, D.C. to run the program. Students who are accepted into the program pay the normal block tuition and room fees. Board is not charged with the program and students are able to use that money to purchase food for themselves during the semester in D.C. The students live at a dorm attached to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank only three and a half blocks from the Capitol.
Students take two courses with the professor that is there with his or her family and go on a variety of tours and activity outings. In addition, each week on Mondays, there is a briefing at a government agency, a think tank in D.C., a non-governmental organization of some type, or a Christian lobbying organization.
The courses taken focus on a biblical understanding of citizenship, the role of government, and the process of policy making in a democratic society. Students uniformly remark that this is a life-changing semester for them, and many have gone back to jobs offered to them as a result of their internship work.
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From Our Students:
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Living in DC has been pushing my boundaries and helping me solidify good habits that will benefit me for years. I have been learning that God is present even here in DC; this place can be regarded with a sense of hopelessness or suspicion, but while it is lost, it also has a vibrant body of believers completely sold out, countercultural, and committed to the cause of Christ.
Sage Showers, D.C. Semester 
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If you are interested in History and Government, you have to spend a semester working and living in DC! The opportunities are endless, the connections are priceless, and the real world experiences will challenge your understanding and knowledge beyond your imagination. I would not trade this semester for anything!
Benjamin Mays, D.C. Semester 
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D.C. has provided me with some grand new friendships with people in the department that I have never even met before! We have grown so close in the short time we’ve been here, and it has been such a blessing to get to witness everyone growing professionally as well as spiritually.
Abbey Salomon, D.C. Semester 
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I've learned to let go of my own expectations and plans. Proverbs 16:9 says, "The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." I came into this semester with so many assumptions about my internship, my housing, my relationships, and my classes, and I am by nature someone who likes to plan ahead. God took those assumptions and has gently reminded me that he is directing my steps, whether or not I would have chosen them.
Lydia Switzer, D.C. Semester 