Lobbyists, advocates and other downtowners looking to fight back against the widespread perception that their profession is an unsavory and unethical racket consisting mostly of the boozy fundraisers and backroom Capitol Hill deal-making will have a new weapon: a diploma.

Two brand-new programs will offer aspiring downtowners and K Street veterans alike a chance to learn new skills, hit the books and beef up their resumes.

George Washington University unveiled a new master’s degree last month with a focus on global advocacy and lobbying. And the Washington, D.C.-based professional organization Public Affairs Council unveiled a certificate program aimed at giving mid-career professionals a chance to expand their expertise and improve their management skills.

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Other established programs include the Association of Government Relations Professionals’ Lobbying Certificate Program and the Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute at American University.

“These programs can help combat the negative connotations around the L word — the scarlet letter” said Julian Ha, a veteran K Street headhunter with Heidrick & Struggles who is also on the board of the Public Affairs Council. “These certifications can impart justified legitimacy to this space.”

The public’s opinion of K Street has slipped to record lows. Just 6 percent of Americans told Gallup that lobbyists have high or very high honesty and ethical standards in a poll released last year — ranking dead last on a list of 22 professions polled.

Adam Smith, communications director for the watchdog group Public Campaign joked: “I hope the syllabus includes strategies for dodging phone calls from members of Congress asking for money.”

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GWU announced its program in April in response to the increasing trend of K Street shops opening outposts in Brussels, Asia and elsewhere around the world. The program — housed in the university’s Graduate School of Political Management — will accept a small inaugural class of less than 20 students, with plans to expand. It’s aimed at training future lobbyists, trade association staffers, strategic consultants, NGO staffers or other professionals who want to work in either the United States or abroad.

David Rehr, an adjunct professor at GWU and a former trade association president and CEO who pushed to create the program, said that the school’s hands-on training combined with a faculty of working professionals makes it an attractive proposition for students.

“Our students are drawn to that applied methodology,” Rehr told POLITICO. “They’re just not opening books and reading the great thoughts.”

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Rehr expects the program to take a combination of career-switchers, students just out of college and working professionals looking for a promotion or to expand their skill set.

The school has offered a master’s in legislative affairs since 1987 — a degree program that had former or sitting members of Congress sign on as adjunct faculty, including Reps. Adrian Smith, Jason Altmire, Bob Carr and Mark Kennedy.

Public Affairs Council President Doug Pinkham said that the surge of interest in additional training for lobbyists is coming as the field is in the midst of a profound change. “It’s an indication of the fact that the profession is growing — and it’s growing beyond conventional lobbying,” Pinkham said.

The field now includes a variety of tools and approaches — all of which intertwine in most successful major advocacy efforts.

“The whole field of public affairs has become much more sophisticated and much more complex than it was 20 or 30 years ago,” he said. “It requires a much wider array of knowledge and tools and strategies to be effective. Direct lobbying is still a very important component. But the story of the outside game of grass-roots lobbying and building alliances and working effectively with your coalitions is definitely a direction that the whole profession is going.”

For the Public Affairs Council program, candidates need a minimum of seven years of experience (a decade is preferred) in a PR field. Successful graduates will also be required to serve as a mentor and resource to younger professionals.

Lobbying and advocacy veterans say that the perception that effective K Streeters are just networkers with no policy chops is outdated. Thorough knowledge of policy as well as training in how to best advocate for that policy is often just as important as a thick rolodex and a calendar full of fundraising invites.

“I think there’s a misconception that having a strong network on the Hill equals success in the government affairs field,” said Scott Kamins, a co-founder of Burton Kamins Advocacy and a former top staffer at the Republican National Committee. “It’s obviously an asset to have a strong network and it’s a tool that one needs to be effective. But a network by itself is not going to change policy. It might get you the first meeting. But what happens once you’re in the room obviously matters the most to the outcome of the issue.”

The new programs trace their lineage to other political training programs, like the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, which has several lobbying and advocacy classes within its master’s programs in public policy. American University has a Public Affairs and Advocacy Institute that offers symposiums, courses and workshops on lobbying.

Several trade associations and professional organizations also have their own internal programs. The Association for Government Relations Professionals runs a certificate program that trains about 1,300 people each year, while the Bryce Harlow Foundation runs a yearlong fellowship that places aspiring lobbyists in shops and associations around town.

“I think education is always a good thing,” said Monte Ward, president of the AGRP. “I think in any field it’s important that you keep up with the latest trends.”