Task Force is a small group seminar required of all seniors in the Henry M. Jackson School's International Studies Program at the University of Washington. Five or more seminars are offered in the winter quarter, and each focuses on a current policy issue. In recent years, Task Forces have dealt with such topics as strategic arms control, apartheid, United States policy towards Central America, the future of NATO, and United States trade with Japan. The following is an abridged version of the handbook which serves as a general guide for Task Force students, instructors, and evaluators.

The International Studies Program at the Jackson School introduces undergraduate students to world affairs through traditional and multidisciplinary coursework. Its curriculum draws on economics, geography, history, political science, sociology, languages and literature, religious studies, and many other disciplines. The program also recognizes that the study of international affairs is rooted in policy issues and processes. It is this notion which underlies the concept of Task Force.

The organization and operation of Task Force were inspired by the Policy Conference of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. The Policy Conference, which was initiated in 1930, consists of 25-30 people and operates much like a Presidential Commission or other investigative group. Its members explore a policy problem through research and discussions with experts; they debate the merits of policy proposals and arrive at a set of policy recommendations.