Summer Fellowship

Hudson Institute Political Studies offers a fellowship in political theory and practice to outstanding undergraduates and recent graduates that will broaden and deepen their understanding of public policy and American political principles. It combines the rigorous study of politics and political thought in a seminar setting, with policy workshops led by think tank scholars and experienced government officials, and also a distinguished speaker series of exemplary figures from public life.

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Program Overview

This program includes four components:

Rigorous seminars led by master teachers on topics in political theory and public policy.

A series of policy workshops led by policy analysts and experienced government officials.

A distinguished speaker series where national leaders from government, business, journalism, the military, and the academy provide unmatched insight into the true nature of public service and the country’s most pressing issues.

A series of outings and events, where students travel to places of national and historical interest in order to view politics through other lenses.

Seminars Workshops Speakers Events

Workshops

Meeting once per week during the fellowship

Policy workshops are led by think tank experts and experienced government officials who provide academic and practical explanations of their topics, before leading students in a collaborative policy simulation. Students prepare for the discussion and the following simulation by reading assigned, topical material in advance of the meeting. These interactive workshops allow students to actively engage in the policy making process, and wrestle with the policy problems of our day. Students complete 1-2 policy workshops per week. Each policy workshop is different, and the topics range from foreign policy and military decision making to bioethics legislation and criminal justice reform. Below, you will find example workshops from the 2024 Summer Fellowship.

The Supreme Court in our Federal Republic

In the first policy workshop of the program, students take on roles of petitioners, respondents, and Justices in arguing two recent Supreme Court cases. In 2024, students relitigated District of Columbia v. Heller, a landmark 5-4 vote from 2008 regarding the Second Amendment, National Labor Relations Board vs Noel Canning, a unanimous decision from 2014 that delimited the President’s recess appointment authority, Grundy v. United States which held that the regulations by the U.S. Attorney General do not violate the nondelegation doctrine, or Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which found that a sole director that could only be terminated for cause violated the separation of powers. In each case, fellows read through the briefs of petitioner and respondent, as well as other relevant documents such as Federalist Papers. In oral arguments the Fellows were guided by Jeremy Rozansky, J.D., University of Chicago Law School, Adam Chan, J.D., Columbia Law School, Tiernan Kane, J.D., Harvard Law School, and Ryan Proctor, J.D., Harvard Law School. As the four groups learned about how cases are tried at the summit of the United States legal system, the students came to understand how various interpretations of our nation's law must sometimes be resolved by the judicial authority.

Man in the Age of Technology