United States Senate Youth Program

The United States Senate Youth unanimously passed a resolution in 1962 creating the UNITED STATES SENATE YOUTH PROGRAM, a national initiative to provide a yearly opportunity for talented young people with demonstrated leadership abilities to deepen their understanding of America’s political processes and encourage them to consider careers in public service.

The United States Senate Youth program brings the highest level officials from each branch of government together with an outstanding group of high school students - two high school juniors of seniors from each of the fifty states, the district of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity - during an intensive week-long educational program held in Washington, D.C. The program is merit based and highly completive. In addition, each student receives a one-time $5000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to pursue coursework in history and political science. Now in its forty-eight year, the program has been fully funded since inception by THE HEARST FOUNDATIONS as part of the Foundations’ commitment to preparing young people for citizenship and leadership in our participatory democracy. Now more than 4,700 strong, United States Senate Youth Program alumni go on to serve the country in many ways, often in critical national positions.

IMPORTANT 2009-2010 DATES

• Monday, August 3, 2009:  Application forms posted
• Friday, October 9, 2009: Applications are due to the New York State Education Department
• Wednesday, October 28, 2009: Review Committee selects semi-finalists
• Monday, November 9, 2009: Interviews to select two delegates and 2 alternates
• March 6-13, 2010: Forty-eighth Annual Washington Week