Brookings Institution Partnership

WashU Olin Business School long ago forged a relationship with the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC.

This long-standing relationship gives WashU Olin students access to world-renowned scholars and policymakers. Those connections give students opportunities to learn about and consider how the realms of business and public policy intersect with and influence each other.

The interplay between business and government was a passion of Robert S. Brookings. The St. Louis businessman, philanthropist and WashU board president founded the institution that bears his name in 1916, and before that, he built the Danforth campus and elevated WashU to the world stage.

An Inspired Partnership

WashU Olin and Brookings use their connection to benefit students through a number of initiatives. Brookings benefits from the relationship through Olin’s strong faculty and student body; Olin benefits from Brookings’s world-renowned research and its connections to policymakers. This relationship helps prepare Olin students for successful careers in business.

• WashU at Brookings. A component of Olin's executive education program, WashU at Brookings offers numerous DC-based programs connecting faculty, students and policymakers to research and real-world policy and leadership issues. Olin and Brookings host occasional lectures, roundtables and workshops in dedicated space at the Brookings Institution.
• Residencies. Olin’s in-person MBA programs include for-credit coursework in the form of a Brookings residency exposing students to policy experts, lobbyists, lawmakers, journalists and others with expertise on the happenings inside the DC beltway.
• Congressional Fellowships. The unique LEGIS Congressional Fellowship provides a hands-on, front-row seat to policymaking. Fellows work with legislators, participate in committee hearings, brief members of Congress, draft legislation and serve as constituent liaisons. Learn more about the LEGIS program.
• The Olin Brookings Commission. Students and Olin faculty work with policy experts at Brookings and industry players to tackle megatrend issues affecting quality of life. Past projects include the opioid crisis and the inequitable distribution of startup funding. This initiative is funded by The Bellwether Foundation. Learn more about the Olin Brookings Commission.