With the O’Neill School’s Washington, D.C. Accelerator Program, you can earn your Master of Public Affairs from a top-ranked program while gaining experience in D.C. before graduating.
In addition to learning and working in Washington, D.C., you’ll gain access to powerful networking opportunities through our locally based partners and O’Neill alumni dedicated to your success.
Jumpstart your career in Washington, D.C.
A year in D.C.
Follow MPA student Maddie Mustaine’s transformative experience in the Washington, D.C. Accelerator program. More videos will be added to the playlist throughout the year.
Description of the video:
An O'Neill degree is currency in Washington D.C. Everyone knows O'Neill and everyone is looking to hire O'Neil students.The D.C. Accelerator is a very valuable addition to the MPA program because it's going to allow students the opportunity to be at the center of the action. They will be able to take the concepts and principles that they've learned and see the reality every day.
O'Neill is the number one master of public affairs in the country, which is an incredible reason to come to Bloomington in the first place. The opportunity to be with that cohort of people in a Big Ten school in a Midwest environment and then take those Midwestern values and go to D.C. is an invaluable opportunity.
The benefit of doing the D.C. Accelerator program is that you have the best of both worlds. You have the opportunity to be in close communication and contact with your faculty here on the Bloomington campus, but then to also spend one year in Washington D.C. and take courses at the same time in both residence in our D.C. office as well as online.
It's a program that's focused on putting students out there to practically engage in public policy, to practically engage in building networks that are going to help us tomorrow.
Being able to be in the D.C. area and meet people working in the field and build that network early is definitely going to be beneficial to their career when they're ready to graduate.
D.C. is an excellent place to launch a career. The one thing that unites everybody that goes to D.C. is they're looking to change lives. They're looking to change the world.
How the D.C. Accelerator Program works
With our D.C. Accelerator Program, you get the same curriculum as our residential MPA, but with the opportunity to immerse yourself in all that Washington, D.C. has to offer, including connections with nonprofit organizations and government agencies.
You’ll spend your first year on the beautiful Bloomington, Indiana campus. During your second year, you’ll chose between either a semester or yearlong internship in Washington, D.C., while continuing a mixture of online and in-person courses all taught by the same expert faculty from O'Neill.
This program will give students all the same opportunities residential students have, including the core courses, concentration, capstone, and experiential requirement, while giving them the opportunity to learn and work in D.C. as well. Students will gain a valuable MPA degree while simultaneously starting their careers in D.C. Additionally, students will have the opportunity to network with D.C.-based O’Neill alumni. No additional time commitment required, and tuition will remain the same as the traditional MPA.
What you can enjoy
As an IU student in Washington, D.C, you’ll attend classes in the Willard Center. This historic building, connected to the prestigious Willard InterContinental Hotel, offers you unparalleled advantages.
- Convenience: Just a 7-minute walk from the Metro Center, our offices provide easy access via public transit to anywhere in the D.C. area.
- Proximity: From the Willard Building, you can enjoy views of the National Mall and the Washington Monument, placing you at the heart of all that D.C. offers.
- Amenities: Access study/meeting spaces, printers, AV-equipped rooms, and the IU Secure network. Plus, enjoy a kitchen with complimentary drinks.
- Direct support: With on-site staff available daily, including an intern, you'll have easy access to assistance and guidance for whatever needs arise.
- Central security: Benefit from high-security measures, given the proximity to the White House, ensuring a safe and secure learning environment.
How to apply
You can apply to the Washington, D.C. Accelerator Program once you are accepted into the MPA Program.
Application Process
You will receive information via email on how to apply to the D.C. Accelerator program as soon as you are admitted to the MPA program. There are two application cycles.
Students applying to the program will indicate interest in participating for the full year or just one semester. The application will consist of a form and a short essay where applicants will write a response to a prompt asking about why they want to participate in this program, their ideal internship placement, and what they hope to gain from it, and specifically why being in D.C. is important for their development.
D.C. internship opportunities
Your internship will give you hands-on experience and valuable networking opportunities with Washington, D.C. organizations. The O’Neill Career Hub is available to assist you in finding an internship that best fits your career goals.
D.C. organizations that have recently placed O’Neill students and grads:
- Abt Associates
- Booz Allen Hamilton
- Cherry Bekaert
- Deloitte
- GEOTAB
- Grant Thornton
- Guidehouse
- Macfadden
- SRI International
- Congressional Budget Office
- Defense Intelligence Agency
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- International Finance Corporation World Bank Group
- Law Library of Congress
- Office of Management and Budget
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of State
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- U.S. Government Accountability Office
- USAID
- The American Red Cross
- Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
- Hispanic Access Foundation
- Human Rights Campaign
- International Rescue Committee
- Mitre
- National League of Cities
- The Nature Conservancy
- Resources for the Future
- Solar Energy Industries Association
- Wilson Center
- World Resources Institute
Frequently asked questions
Credit Hours
To receive credit for an internship, students must complete 120 hours for the first credit hour and then 80 hours for each additional credit hour. To receive 3 credits for an internship, students need to complete 280 hours at their internship over the semester. This is about 18 hours a week. Students may also complete the internship for 0 credits but will still need to complete 120 hours and have the experience approved by the Career Hub to meet the experiential requirement for their degree program.
Paid
To match the requirement for the general MPA internship requirement, internships in D.C. can be paid or unpaid
Finding Internship
Students will be in charge of securing their own internship, but the Career Hub will be available to assist students in finding one. Programming will be coordinated for the D.C. Accelerator cohort during their time in Bloomington to assist them in securing a D.C. internship for the term(s) in which they intend to spend in D.C.
Students will need to secure their own housing in D.C. However, options for housing might be available through the WLP program if space allows. A D.C. housing guide will be shared with program participants.
Tuition for students participating in the D.C. Accelerator program will remain the same regardless of if they are taking classes on the IUB campus or in D.C. The cost of living in D.C. is higher than in Bloomington, so students may expect to pay more for housing in D.C. than in Bloomington. Fellowship will be provided to program participants to assist with these additional expenses.
To pair the quality of an O’Neill education with the D.C. networking and job environment has real benefits rooted in its connection components. You are not coming out to D.C. on your own; you are coming as a part of a community.
—Christina Motilall, MPA-MSES’12, Faculty Instructor, D.C. Accelerator Program