By Robert Gilway

December 11, 2019

How should a society balance tradition and progress? What should the US response be to a rising China? How can America address rising health care costs while taking into account quality of care and overall coverage? These are complex, multifaceted questions without obvious answers. Yet to a significant degree our ability to address them will depend on our ability to elevate the quality and diversity of public policy dialogue. After all, the practice of politics requires all of us — left, right, and center — to engage those we disagree with in a spirit of good will.

The 2020 AEI Summer Honors Program provides a space for college students to do just that. Based at AEI’s headquarters in Washington DC, the Summer Honors Program is a fully funded competitive educational and professional development opportunity for undergraduates interested in politics and policy. It brings students from schools across the country — and representing a wide array of personal and ideological backgrounds — to participate in a true competition of ideas.

The core of the program consists of discussion-based seminars that offer participants forums to delve deeply into policy areas of their choice. Each seminar features 20–25 students and is led by AEI scholars or other top policy experts. Outside of the seminars, students participate in high-level networking events, site visits around Washington, and conversations with the nation’s leading policy thinkers and practitioners.

This year’s Summer Honors Program offers sixteen different week-long courses. While most students will participate in one week of programming, applicants can also choose to be considered for a five-week opportunity called the Summer Honors Academy. More information about these opportunities, including course listings and application instructions, are available here and below.