Imagine a USC class in which the professor never lectures and there is no established classroom. Instead, meetings take place in conference rooms and cafeterias scattered across an Eastern city. The attendance policy is quite strict. And the dress code – yes, there is a dress code – is fairly formal.

Sound unusual? It is. This is International Relations 445, formally titled “U.S. Defense and Foreign Policy: Nonproliferation and Weapons of Mass Destruction.” The course is taught each summer by professor Wayne Glass. Students lucky enough to get into the class spend a month in Washington, D.C., where they attend lectures delivered by key legislators and influential policymakers.

The class, which is usually scheduled for the month of June, is kept to fewer than 15 students because, Glass said, “that’s all that will fit in a conference room.” The diverse and impressive roster of lecturers includes representatives from Congressional offices, executive branch agencies, nongovernmental organizations and academic institutions. Some speakers reappear for the course year after year. Ambassador Robert Gallucci, who negotiated an agreement with North Koreans during the nuclear missile crisis of 1994 and is currently the dean of the School of Foreign Policy at Georgetown University, is one of the regulars.

The course is the professor’s brainchild, born of his own interesting history in Washington. Glass spent 11 years working as a researcher for the Congressional Budget Office and another six as a senior policy adviser for Sen. Jeff Bingham (D-N.M.). In both jobs, his work centered on nonproliferation and security issues. Now he uses the extensive contacts that he made during his years on the Hill to set up meetings and briefings for USC students. “It makes me feel good that I can give this to young people,” he said. “This is my unique contribution to the university.”

Beyond learning about national security, Glass’ Trojan scholars ascertain a great deal about the unique culture inside the Beltway. “[The students] are getting a sense of who these people are, how they do their job,” he said. They learn where their lawmakers live, what they eat, how they get to work – and they begin to pick up the personal as well as the technical aspects of policymaking. “Students will ask questions like, ‘So if you think the Secretary of Defense should do X, how do you convince him that X is a good idea?’ ”

Sporting a smile, Glass added, “Really, this is a class for everyone. You don’t have to be a geek on weapons of mass destruction to enjoy this.”


Do you know of someone who takes undergraduate research and learning beyond classroom walls? If so, please e-mail Professor Mark Kann at mkann@usc.edu to suggest a feature for this column.