Florida Scholarships
FIU - TWC partnership affords Florida public university students the opportunity to shine with a Washington, D.C. internship.
The Washington Center’s Academic Internship Program (AIP) provides a transformative internship experience that advances a student’s academic and professional development. Florida International University has been affiliated with AIP since 1993, two years prior to the state of Florida partnering with TWC to provide financial assistance for the program to Florida public university students.
Having FIU as an engaged AIP partner and champion, promoting the professional and personal benefits of TWC internships, empowers Florida students to continue flourishing in D.C while away from their home campuses.
Funding History
As a non-profit organization, TWC partners with a variety of sources, including individual states, to secure funding for its services. The Florida state legislature, after recognizing the value in its students being exposed to greater professional opportunities, acted so that more of its students would have access to TWC internships. Interest in participating in AIP has steadily grown among the Florida student population. To date, the state funding program has enabled more than 1,500 students from public universities within the State University System of Florida to participate, including 260 FIU students.
Funding for Florida students has always been handled via one or two state universities, in contrast to the majority of TWC state partners, which administer scholarships through a state agency. In partnership with TWC, FIU was chosen to oversee the disbursement of scholarship funding for the state in 2013, and assumed sole disbursement duties two years later.
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Participating members of the State University System of Florida include:
- Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University
- Florida Atlantic University
- Florida Gulf Coast University
- Florida International University
- Florida Polytechnic University
- Florida State University
- New College of Florida
- University of Central Florida
- University of Florida
- University of North Florida
- University of South Florida
- University of West Florida
For more information about Florida State Funding at The Washington Center contact Rachelle Bernadel, Manager of College and University Relations, The Washington Center.
We are pleased to have FIU as our partner in awarding scholarship assistance to Florida students wishing to intern during their college careers. Interest in our Academic Internship Program has grown steadily and, with FIU’s crucial role in acquiring additional funding, we expect what is one of our strongest state partners to remain so.
Chris Norton, President, The Washington Center
Current Funding
The state of Florida currently provides its students a $7,000 scholarship to defer cost for the semester or summer term that students spend away from campus for AIP. TWC provides no less than $1,000 in matching funds for students, provided they use TWC housing.
The Washington Center, assisted by FIU, has undertaken meaningful advocacy efforts aimed at ensuring funding remains available in the state budget for additional scholarships. Even with increased aid, demand from the more than 300,000 students enrolled in the State University System of Florida outpaces availability. TWC and FIU continue pushing for greater access for students in the system to participate in the transformative experience of interning in Washington, D.C.
FIU is among TWC’s top affiliate institutions. Through its Washington, D.C. office, FIU aids Florida students with the guidance and support they need to succeed while conducting their internship in the nation’s capital. At the end of their experience, students return to Florida campuses prepared to address the great challenges their university, state and country face at this time.
For more information about Florida International University’s partnership with The Washington Center, contact Shlomi Dinar, Associate Professor and Associate Director, School of International and Public Affairs in Department of Politics & International Relations, FIU.