Curriculum Overview

A Rigorous Curriculum is at the heart of the Summer School. Designed with today’s student leaders in mind, the program includes an in-depth introduction to U.S. government, U.S. history, politics and public speaking. Classes meet six days a week, and the collegiate environment stresses substantial reading, research and writing.

Summer School students enroll in one college-level course and Congressional Workshop practicum. Due to the intensity of the Speakers Program in Washington D.C., students attending the Summer School at Georgetown must be self-disciplined, academically advanced and have prior experience writing term papers. Choose a course from the menus on the right to read the course descriptions.

Course Requirements:

Junior Statesmen Summer School courses are intensive and demanding. Classes on all campuses meet six days a week, Monday through Saturday. At Princeton and Stanford, each course meets for a total of 85 hours (including Congressional Workshop). AP U.S. History at Princeton meets for 160 hours. At Georgetown, class meets for 100 hours. Students in the Freshman Scholars program class meet for 60 hours, with an additional 25 hours of structured study and research time. All courses include the Congressional Workshop debate practicum as part of the course work.

Each Summer School course is equivalent to a one-semester, high school honors or AP course, except AP U.S. History, which is a two-semester high school course. U.S. Government, for example, is designed as a one-semester Advanced Placement course. Required Government and History assignments include three essay examinations and a 12-15 page research paper.

Following each session, Summer School transcripts are sent to the graduates and, only at their request, to their high schools.

An important note about Academic Credit:

If you are interested in receiving high school credit for JSA Summer School classes, please speak to the appropriate officials at your school prior to the summer. Policies regarding credit vary among school districts. Find out whether your school will accept course credits from the JSA Summer School. Note that our AP courses (U.S. Government, U.S. History, and Economics) also prepare you for the Advanced Placement exams given each spring. With a satisfactory score on the AP exam, many universities award college credit.

Advanced Placement Courses. Several courses have been authorized by the College Board to be designated as AP level courses. This is an official recognition by the College Board these courses meet or exceed the expectations colleges and universities have for your AP subject. AP authorization is only available for courses which the College Board offers an AP Exam. These courses are AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP U.S. History and AP Macroeconomics.