Undergraduate Academics
Liberal Arts Degrees With a Global Focus
The Elliott School offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in international affairs, Asian studies, Latin American and Hemispheric studies, and Middle East studies. The school also offers a Bachelor of Science in international affairs. All students complete a core curriculum of courses in the liberal arts — humanities, social sciences, math, science and language — during the first two years of study. In the third and fourth years, students take coursework underscoring international issues within their chosen field.
Our B.A. major in international affairs allows students to study global issues through the disciplines of political science, history, economics, anthropology and geography before they focus their studies on a functional or regional concentration. The B.S. major in international affairs allows students to study global issues through those disciplines. B.S. majors have the option of focusing their studies on a functional or regional concentration OR a second major. They also must complete six advanced STEM courses.
Our regional majors — Asian studies, Latin American and Hemispheric studies, and Middle East studies — emphasize the history, politics, cultures, economics and current events that shape each of these regions.
All majors require language proficiency at or above the third year of college instruction; many of our students pursue this study through a semester or a year abroad.
University General Education Requirements
For students admitted to GW Fall 2015 or after only.
Students who graduate from GW must meet the University General Education Requirements. (This requirement applies to students admitted to GW in fall 2015 or after.) Elliott School students automatically satisfy the University General Education Requirements by completing all their Elliott School requirements.
The general education curriculum engages students in active intellectual inquiry across the liberal arts. Students achieve a set of learning outcomes that meaningfully enhance their analytical skills, develop their communication competencies and familiarize them with modes of inquiry. The university general education curriculum includes 19 credits of approved courses in writing, natural or physical science, mathematics or statistics, social science, and the humanities, plus two writing-in-the-discipline courses.
More information about the University General Education Requirements can be found online in the University Bulletin.
Degree Programs
Everything about the Elliott School is unique to the DC experience: endless international study opportunities, classes in the heart of the city, often accidental networking opportunities, and professors with experience ranging from NASA to the State Department.
Chloe King
B.A. International Affairs '19
Opportunities at Elliott
Study Abroad
The Office for Study Abroad (OSA) provides and facilitates quality international educational opportunities at the George Washington University. As educators, we promote students' academic, personal, professional, and intercultural development before, during, and after their study abroad experiences.
Internships
The Center for Career Services features resources—online and in-person—that can help you learn how to target potential employers, negotiate salaries, draft and edit superior resumes or cover letters and interview well. These resources can increase opportunities for internships and part-time employment while you’re a student and for full-time jobs in the future.