While hundreds of UC Berkeley students marched in the parades celebrating Barack Obama's presidential victory, 29 will be playing a direct role in the political process next semester.

As members of UC Berkeley's Washington Program, a division of the UC Washington Center, these students will spend their spring in Washington, D.C. taking classes and pursuing a full-time internship on the brink of a new administration.

"Students are really fired up about going next semester," said Kathy Slusser, the campus's program coordinator. "We have at least half a dozen on the Hill."

UC Berkeley's Washington Program, which began in 1996, has gained a larger following recently, but students said their motivation for applying for the spring was not contingent on the outcome of November's elections.

"I don't think people are necessarily going because of the elections, but once people heard the results, they were like, 'Wow this is amazing,' so it's an added bonus for sure," said UC Berkeley junior Krisse Gannon, who plans to intern either with Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., or Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., in the spring.

There were 38 applicants for this year's spring program compared to about 28 in previous years, said Emily Perhamus, a co-student director of the program.

While some of the program's members have already been placed, others are still applying for internships with non-profits, think tanks and incoming administrative officials. One student was even interviewed by Sen. Hillary Clinton's office, Slusser said.

Although the number of program applicants has increased, recent budget cuts may make the opportunity inaccessible to students in the future.

With one-third of the Washington Center's budget subsidized by the UC Office of the President-whose state funds were cut this year by $33 million-scholarships awarded to Pell Grant recipients may be removed. Last year's budget for the immediate office of the UC Washington Center executive director was about $4.5 million.

Bruce Cain, a UC Berkeley political science professor and the executive director of the UC Washington Center, said the center could see a double dose of cuts in July, with additional revisions to the state's already constrained budget and the pending announcement of the 2009-10 budget.

"The chancellor was able to spare us this semester, but it doesn't look like he's going to spare us next semester," he said.

Despite donations from organizations like the Matsui Foundation for Public Service, which gives the program roughly $20,000 a year in fellowships, Cain said that a reduced budget is likely to have a large impact.

Despite the possible cuts, Perhamus said she is excited to see more students participate in the political process.

"Now that elections have settled down, we hope that more will apply in upcoming semesters to work with the new administration," she said.

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