The opportunity to meet with respected leaders and to engage in meaningful dialogue on foreign policy and international affairs is particularly important to international studies majors who seek a deeper understanding of global issues.

These student conferences are highly selective, attracting motivated students who seek an intensive, hands-on learning experience that enables them to grapple with contemporary affairs. Students are selected to participate in student conferences based upon their interests, their abilities, and their potential for success.

Center for the Study of the Presidency

Each year the Department of Political Science and the International Studies program nominate one or two students to attend the annual Student Symposium sponsored by the Center for the Study of the Presidency. Students and professors from the nation’s major colleges and universities attend panel discussions and keynote addresses on major foreign policy, economic, security and social issues by members of academe and government.

Adviser: Melissa Deckman

Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN)

This student conference is designed especially for women. Each year the Department of Political Science and the International Studies Program nominate one or more students to attend the Women & Congress Seminar and the Women and Public Policy Seminar, organized by PLEN. Participants meet with women in government relations, observe sessions of the House and Senate or the Supreme Court, visit executive agencies, meet with representatives of the media and interest groups, and discuss public issues.

Adviser: Christine Wade

West Point Student Conference on United States Affairs

Each fall the Director of the international studies program nominates one student to attend the annual Student Conference on United States Affairs (SCUSA). The conference brings together undergraduates over four days of plenary discussions and addresses to debate major issues of American foreign policy.

Advisers: Christine Wade