American Government and History Up Close
Interested in taking Introduction to American Government POLS 1101 or Survey of U.S. History HIST 2110 and a trip to Washington D.C.?
Note: If you are interested in taking a signature experience and honors version of POLS 1101 and/or HIST 2110, please complete the interest form below ASAP. You will have a chance to indicate which courses you would like to register for when summer registration opens. Students are NOT required or encouraged to take both courses, as that creates a very challenging short semester. Second, there is no implied commitment for completing the interest form and later application and no funds are due at this time. Upon acceptance, students will be asked to commit to the course(s). You may withdraw your interest or application at any time prior to the requested commitment.
A section of POLS 1101, Introduction to American Government and a section of HIST 2110 Survey of U.S. History will be offered as signature experiences that will include a week in Washington D.C., the nation’s capital and seat of government. Students may enroll in both or just one of these courses. These courses will be offered during the “Maymester”, the three-week term summer term. See Key Dates below for more details. Applicants must be Perimeter College students who are “honors eligible”, but do not have to be in the honors program currently. Honors eligible means holding a GPA of 3.3 or higher. However, if interest is high, preference may be given to students currently enrolled in the Honors Program at PC. Again, all Perimeter students with a 3.3 GPA or higher are eligible.
Accepted students will engage in deep learning while applying course content through interactions with D.C. professionals at George Washington University and national museums, memorials and monuments, and political sites like the White House and the Capitol, with the expectation of meeting with a U.S. Congress member of Georgia and / or their staff. Students will spend six days and five nights in D.C. at a hotel in the heart of it all, and just down the block from the historic Watergate building complex featured in the Nixon Watergate scandal.
All participants in the course will remain eligible to participate in May 2024 graduation if needed, though a degree will not be conferred until the conclusion of the course.
Course Modality: The course will be offered via the asynchronous online format for eligible students enrolled in PC online classes or at any PC physical campus.
Eligibility
Only currently enrolled Perimeter College honors students or students who are honors eligible – meaning hold a GPA of 3.3 or higher, and are 18 years of age or older are eligible. Therefore, you do NOT have to be currently enrolled in the Honors Program at Perimeter, though you may seek enrollment and count the course as honors credit. Eligible Honors students must remain enrolled and in good standing with the Honors College of Perimeter throughout the Spring 2023 semester. This includes the requirement that students have a current GPA of 3.3 or higher.
Eligible students must apply by the deadline given below. Only a limited number of students will be accepted due to limitations in funding. Accepted students dropped for non-payment may be permanently removed from the course due to the need to commit in advance to transportation and lodging and the difficulty in changing reservations should the student fail meet their obligations to be reinstated. If a space opens up due to dropping of a student, an applicant that was not accepted initially may be notified and given the opportunity to enroll.
Key Dates
Students must work to complete the course via iCollege during the first few weeks of the Maymester. Travel to D.C. will occur during the final week of the term. Please note that the dates may change.
Application Deadline: November 01, 2024 (deadline for priority applicants)
Deposit Deadline: TBA – expect deposit to be due in December 2024.
Class begins online: May 12
Washington, D.C. portion of course: Monday, May 19 – Saturday, May 24, 2025
Class Ends: The official last day of 3-week May term classes is June 2nd. Final Exam period is June 3 – 6, 2025.
Expected Student Cost or Expenses
Those who apply should expect an estimated travel fee of $500 – $800, a low amount for travel t0 D.C. due to University funding and potential donations. In the past, the per student cost has been $500 and under. We are working hard to provide the program at a cost closer to or less than $500 but no guarantees can be made at this time. Submission of the application is not considered a nonrefundable commitment. Commitments are not finalized until a deposit is made. If you would like to participate in this study away but may decline if the cost is not reduced sufficiently to what you may afford, you may withdraw your application unless a deposit has been made. Deposits will not be required until applicants are notified of the final expected cost per student.
Accepted applicants will be notified as soon as information regarding cost is confirmed. Note that small variations in cost occur even after receipt of deposit because airline rates fluctuate and the per student cost may go down or up depending on the total number of students participating and how many rooms are needed. Payments, including the deposit are made to an account via a link shared by the program coordinator through GSU email.
Please note that scholarships or financial aid may be applied toward the travel fee if one is imposed.
Students will be responsible for the following expenses beyond the travel fee above:
- Summer tuition and University fees since enrollment in this course will earn students the required three credit hours for POLS 1101, Introduction to American Government and/or any other course offered.
- Any expense incurred for traveling to and from Hartsfield Jackson Airport. This includes any ride-sharing or airport parking fees. To avoid these expenses, students should secure a ride to and from the airport.
- Any baggage fees ($50 per checked bag). Note that most students, including women, were able to avoid checking a bag.
- All meals, snacks, and drinks, with the exception of breakfast on days two – six of travel. Students should plan for a food and souvenir budget of $300 or more. This amount is based on an estimate of $15 – $20 for each lunch and dinner, and an estimate of $60+ for snacks and drinks over six days. The hotel provides a hot breakfast buffet daily at no-cost. Each hotel room includes a kitchen with all appliances, so students will be able to store items in the room’s refrigerator and/or to pack snacks in their carry-on and/or checked luggage as long as they are abiding by the TSA’s 3-1-1 rule.
- Any unexpected personal needs such as medicine, toiletries, or clothing.
- Souvenirs!
Scholarships and financial aid, such as federal loans and Pell grant, may be applied to cost of tuition, usual University fees, and additional costs of travel such as meals.
For potential Perimeter College scholarships, see perimeter.gsu.edu/scholarships.
Interest Form (required for receiving course and travel updates)
FORM CLOSED.
If you are interested in enrolling in the signature experiences of either POLS 1101 or, if confirmed, HIST 2110, and would like to receive updates concerning any broad information mentioned above, complete this form in its entirety. Students completing the form will be subscribed to a ListServ for this experience and will be notified in the future of the subscription via email.
INTEREST FORM CLOSED. APPLICATIONS NOW BEING ACCEPTED. MOVE FORWARD TO APPLICATION BELOW.
Applying
All student applicants will be notified as to whether or not they were accepted before the start of the Spring semester. Applicants will be added to a listserv and will receive any necessary updates about the program throughout the Fall and Spring semesters before the course and travel begins.
Use this form to apply:
If the embedded form is difficult to use, you may access the form HERE.
For additional details contact brobertson@gsu.edu.
