Student Opportunities
The Institute of Religion, Politics, and Culture contributes to the learning environment at Washington College and provides many opportunities for current students to deepen their understanding of society through international programs, fellowships, and scholarships.
International Programs
IRPC has a long-standing partnership with the University of Oxford, where Washington students perform research under the supervision and mentorship of Oxford University faculty members during the institute's 4-credit Oxford Research Seminar program. IRPC also partners with Charles University in Prague for a distinctive summer course in Prague, Vienna, and Cracow, with a study trip to the extermination camp at Auschwitz. Cincinnatus Scholars are eligible for an annual international program over spring break.
IRPC Student Fellows
Dedicated, high-achieving students committed to participating in the life of the Institute can become student fellows and benefit from an intensive and highly interactive mentoring environment. Each IRPC Student Fellow is assigned an external mentor who is a distinguished and highly accomplished professional.
The Institute of Religion, Politics, and Culture regularly awards the following scholarships and fellowships to current Washington College students.
Student Research Fellowships
The Roy Ans Research Fellowship
The Roy Ans Fellowship in Jewish-American Studies offers a $2,500 stipend for a student completing a research project related to the Jewish-American experience. The fellowship is made possible by the generous support of Roy P. Ans '63 and Nan Susan Ans.
Students receiving this grant may register for an independent study course to receive academic credit, or use the opportunity for independent research.
The Jacob Marberger Fellowship
Named in honor of the brilliant Washington College student Jacob Marberger, this $2,500 grant for student research affords the award winner the opportunity to conduct research on any aspect of conflict resolution, broadly defined.
Cincinnatus Scholarship
Named in honor of the College’s namesake General Washington, who has been called the American Cincinnatus, the Cincinnatus Scholarship of IRPC confers on an entering student a four-year scholarship of $2,500 per year, plus a $5,000 grant that the Cincinnatus Scholar uses toward participation in any of IRPC’s distinctive programs, including the summer on-line courses or our international programs.
Presidential Fellows' Great Questions Track
Presidential Fellows in the Great Questions track study major thinkers and perennial human questions, such as the meaning of happiness, knowledge and freedom, the first principles of a just regime, the value of the rule of law, and the founding principles of the United States Constitution; the role and function of free markets and of economic activity; and questions concerning humanity’s ultimate purpose.