DC Summer Scholars Program
2025 DC Summer Scholars Program
The Pepperdine School of Public Policy DC Summer Scholars Program explores topics typically untouched by Washington, DC-based policy studies programs, pushing its participants to understand the vital interconnection between culture, history, and public policy.
The program will offer one, 3-unit graduate-level course eligible for exclusive full-tuition scholarships, where accepted scholars will learn from top policy academics and practitioners. The four-week seminar will accommodate only 20 qualified scholars, hosted at Pepperdine's Washington, DC Foggy Bottom campus (2011 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW) with class sessions meeting Tuesday/Thursday evenings and Saturday mornings in July.
Applicants may apply by filling out the DC Policy Scholars Application. Course descriptions can be found below.
Upon completion of the program, scholars will receive an an applied philosophy in education policy certificate of completion from the School of Public Policy. Credits may be used toward future enrollment at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy for a master of public policy degree.
Application Deadline Extended to May 2, 2025
2025 Session and Dates
Session Details
July 1 - July 26, 2025
T/Th: 6:30 PM to 10:00 PM EST
Sat: 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM EST
Course Description
Like few other areas of public policy, the COVID crisis has placed a focused lens on America’s K-12 school systems. Americans have long cared about preserving a tradition of liberal arts education, seeing it as key to a free society of citizens with both the knowledge and virtue to sustain self-governance and to advance social order and prosperity. This graduate introduction to the philosophical debates that have shaped the goals and practices of American educational policies, curricula, and institutions will ask scholars to identify challenges and opportunities for revitalizing American educational systems and culture.
In a class that combines the philosophical with the latest public policy debates, Dr. Lindsey Burke will explore foundational concepts and their impact on current events. Using the works of Alexis de Tocqueville, Paolo Freire, John Dewey, Paul DiMaggio, Walter Powell, and Milton Friedman, this class will explore a variety of competing debates in philosophy of education, connecting these theories of human nature and the roles of society and government to educational curricula and policy. Students will be asked to question the role education policy, curricula, and institutions play in shaping culture and politics and promoting human progress in a diverse society founded on freedoms of religion, conscience, speech, and association. Students will also understand foundational research methods approaches and their use in education policy and program evaluation.
Concepts covered
- The philosophical underpinnings of today's education system
- How differing views of human nature affect the way we teach
- Current debates on roles of the public and government institutions
- Economics of education
- How do funding policies impact education policy
- Research methods in education policy
Faculty
Andy Smarick
Andy Smarick is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing writer at The Dispatch, and a member of the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents. Previously, he served as the chair of the Maryland Higher Education Commission and as president of the Maryland State Board of Education. His other government experience includes serving as an aide in the White House Domestic Policy Counsel of President George W. Bush, legislative assistant at the U.S. House of Representatives, deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Education, New Jersey deputy commissioner of education, and legislative aide at the Maryland state legislature. Smarick helped found a college-prep charter school for disadvantaged students and the National Alliance for Public Charter schools, and he was a founding board member of 50CAN. He has authored or edited four books, and his work has been published in outlets such as The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Education Week, and other outlets. He now writes regularly at his Substack, "Governing Right." Smarick received a bachelors of arts degree in government and politics, summa cum laude and with honors, from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Management from the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy.
Who is Eligible?
Application is open to rising undergrad juniors and seniors, plus recent college grads who are considering graduate school. *Please note that the Office of International Student Services will not issue an F-1 visa for these classes, and visitors to the United States in B-1, B-2, WT, or WB visitor visa status are not eligible to audit or enroll in these courses.
Tuition:
Only 20 qualified scholars will be selected for the session. All selected scholars will be awarded full-tuition scholars for this 3-credit class. Scholars will not receive any additional financial aid or support for their participation in the program. Pepperdine University nor the School of Public Policy are responsible for funding/finding/providing housing while scholars attend the program, funding/providing/arranging transportation to and from Washington, DC, nor any other expenses related to enrollment in the program.