Two University of Wollongong students will learn first-hand how the United States Congress works after they were selected to take part in the Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Program.
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Fourth year arts/international studies student Thomas Curran will work in the Congressional Office of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
The office is responsible for issues such as aviation, road and rail infrastructure, and pipelines.
Mr Curran said he was thrilled to have been selected for the program, pointing out that it would add context to his university studies and help prepare him for future employment.
He said he was interested in entering the fields of transport management and policy when he graduates in October next year.
"Any exposure to policy making is valuable," Mr Curran said.
"I'm trying to go in without any expectations ... but it will be a valuable experience getting to see the inner workings of the US political system."
Also selected for the program is third-year commerce/law student Lachlan Foster, who will work in the Washington DC office of Democrat representative Mark DeSaulnier, who is based in California.
Mr DeSaulnier represents California's 11th congressional district, taking in an area close to Oakland.
Mr Foster, a member of the ALP, will be working in his office on daily tasks.
"He has a role similar to a backbencher in our federal Parliament," Mr Foster said.
As a result Mr Foster expects that during his internship the focus will be on constituents and helping office staff, but he shares a passion about workplace rights with the congressman.
The internships will run from January 5 to February 27, 2016.
The Uni-Capitol Washington Internship Program has paired up-and-coming Australian students with various congressional offices for the past 16 years and to date, 170 students across Australia have been successfully matched with different Congressional offices.
UOW hasn't sent a student on the program for two years, so the university's Office of Global Student Mobility said it was ecstatic to learn UOW had scored two places out of a possible 14 across the country.
Internship prospects are offered in Democratic and Republican offices, personal and committee offices, the House and the Senate, and one commission office.
Matched students are drawn from a breadth of academic disciplines including international relations, politics, commerce, law, political communications, economics, the sciences, and, of course, American studies.
