What truly sets the fellowship apart are enrichment features designed to broaden and deepen Fellows' understanding of Congress beyond the office assignment.

• Foreign Affairs Seminar
  Select Federal and International Fellows whose work requires a sophisticated knowledge of foreign affairs may participate in the seminar. This eight-week program is held at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.
  
  
• Orientation
  Throughout the month-long program, Fellows engage in daily seminars with legislators, congressional staffers, journalists, lobbyists, political scientists and policy specialists.
  
  
• International Orientation
  International Fellows receive a specially tailored, two-day orientation prior to the official start of the fellowship. The seminar is taught by Dr. John Haskell of the Georgetown Government Affairs Institute (CFP 1997-98) and provides a basic overview of the legislative process. The program includes panel discussions with prominent International alumni, a guided tour of Capitol Hill by Steve Livengood of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society, a trolley tour of Washington, and a luncheon with special guests from the sponsoring organizations.
  
  
• CRS Advanced Legislative Institute
  The orientation is supplemented by an introduction to research resources and online databases, followed by a two-day seminar on floor and committee procedures. The intensive sessions, open only to staff and Members, are organized by the Library of Congress Congressional Research Service and taught by staff specialists.
  
  
• Woodrow Wilson Seminar Series
  The bimonthly seminars draw on guest discussants to reach beyond Fellows' experience as legislative assistants.
  
  
• Annapolis Seminar
  Offered in conjunction with the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis & Research at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the one-day visit to the Maryland State House highlights the differences between state and federal legislative bodies.
  
  
• Canadian Parliamentary Exchange
  The two-decades exchange between the Fellows and their parliamentary counterparts in Canada provides an intensive comparative study of Westminster versus U.S.-model parliamentary systems. The one-week study tours allow participants to examine the relationship between the United States and Canada from an institutional perspective.

Reading List

To learn more about Congress, see the Recommended Reading List on Congress, which is intended primarily as a guide for non-political scientists.