Current Students
Elliott School students are service-oriented, civically-engaged, and internationally–minded. Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, the Elliott School provides diverse learning experiences that prepare you to address global challenges and questions in ways that go beyond single disciplinary perspectives.
The Elliott School is leading the way in the training of ethics and practice to produce the next generation of leaders in international affairs. Through experiences in and outside of the classroom, you are trained and prepared to show employers not only what you know, but what you know how to do.
Student Advising Services
While students are responsible for determining their schedule and meeting all degree requirements, an Academic Advisor can help you to:
- Learn and understand your degree requirements
- Navigate course options, programs and other learning opportunities
- Plan for a study abroad experience
- Monitor your progress towards graduation
- Utilize other campus resources
- Successfully complete your degree
International Internship Grant: A Reflection by Elliott School Student Francesca Diggs
Since 2012, Children Peace Initiative has been working with remote communities in northwestern Kenya to resolve conflict between feuding pastoralist tribes by engaging their children in peacebuilding programs that depend upon inter-ethnic friendships. Through this fellowship, I have been able to travel to these villages and interview beneficiaries to monitor and evaluate impact. The stories I've heard from children and their families reflect that CPI's peacebuilding model has not only developed enduring friendships, but has completely transformed these communities so that they depend on each other to share resources, services and markets. I am gaining invaluable experience working on the ground with stakeholders and hearing their stories.
Elliott School Affiliated Student Organizations and Groups
- China Affairs Forum at GW
For undergraduate and graduate students.
Formerly known as the USCSSO, the China Affairs Forum at GW is an organization driven by GW students dedicated to studying US-China strategic competition from an objective, nonpartisan perspective. Facilitating discussion, analysis, and research of strategic developments driving US-China relations encourages members to gain an understanding of this crucial relationship and emphasize its importance to a young audience. The China Affairs Forum at GW offers open platforms available to the Elliott School and GW community which provide refreshingly unbiased dialogue, high-level research opportunities, professional development, cultural education, and an appreciation for the holistic study of US-China relations.
- DC Consortium on Women, Peace and Security
For undergraduate and graduate students.
Student Consortium on Women, Peace and Security Established in 2020, the Student Consortium on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) is a student-led organization that aims to — in collaboration with the US Civil Society Working Group on WPS (U.S. CSWG) — promote awareness of the implications of women and gender in security and foreign policy. We strive to ensure that policymakers around the globe are aware of the importance of gender issues and the urgent need to institutionalize a feminist approach when solving critical issues surrounding peace and security.
Email: [email protected]
- Delta Phi Epsilon Fraternity
For undergraduate students.
Delta Phi Epsilon Professional Foreign Service Fraternity was founded in 1920 in Washington, D.C. We strive to provide a professional atmosphere in which our members can form friendships over a mutual interest in International Affairs and help advance each others' professional goals.
Email: [email protected]
- ESIA Graduate Student Board
For graduate students.
The Elliott School Graduate Board (ESGB) is the umbrella organization for graduate student organizations at the Elliott School. The mission of ESGB is to foster a strong sense of community among graduate students in the Elliott School, represent them at the university level, and enrich the professional and intellectual advancement of Elliott School students. ESGB accomplishes this by providing Elliott School graduate students with activities to expand their academic, professional, and social networks and encouraging involvement in the wider DC community.
Email: [email protected]
- ETA Society for Global Affairs
For undergraduate students.
The Eta Society for Global Affairs is a professional organization dedicated to promoting leadership of our members in international affairs. We strive for intellectual education that will facilitate growth and encourage our members to pursue careers and curiosity in global service. By this we refer not only to the United States Foreign Service, but extend the definition to include careers in diplomacy, law, banking, education, consulting, journalism, non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations, multinational corporations and much more.
Email: [email protected]
- GW Foreign Film Society
For undergraduate and graduate students.
The GW Foreign Film Society educates the GW community on global issues through the medium of cinema. The GW Foreign Film Society acts as a central organization on-campus for students of various backgrounds and identities to converge and discuss films and their pivotal relevance to everyday life and history. We intend to create a safe space for discussions on historical events, international politics, and society alongside GW Elliott faculty members who provide context to thematic topics relevant to the field of International Relations. By doing so, the GW Foreign Film Society hopes to increase the appreciation of international films and provide a deeper understanding of their significance through robust conversations and added context while addressing various misconceptions and stereotypes of cultural communities and the perception of the international community.
Email: [email protected]
- International Affairs Review
For graduate students.
IAR is a graduate student-run publication of The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, D.C., devoted to providing a forum for graduate student publication in international affairs and related fields, and graduate student training in academic writing and editing, via the twin outlets of a twice-yearly academic journal and a constantly updated news and op-ed website.
Email: [email protected]
- International Affairs Society
For undergraduate students.
Founded in 1993, the International Affairs Society (IAS) is the largest non-partisan student organization on campus. We are dedicated to promoting a better understanding of international affairs as they concern the students of GWU. The IAS is largely composed of international affairs, political science, economics, and business majors but also has members from across GW's various schools with varying interests. Our student body spans from all corners of the globe as we embrace a truly international perspective.
Email: [email protected]
- John Quincy Adams Society
For undergraduate and graduate students.
The John Quincy Adams Society (JQAS) is an international affairs-related student organization focused on building a new generation of U.S. leaders who understand the limits of power, will keep America out of unnecessary wars, and refrain from attempts to socially engineer countries halfway across the globe.
Email: [email protected]
- LATAM@GW
For undergraduate and graduate students.
LATAM@GW is a professional, research, and social forum dedicated to bringing together students, who share a broadly defined interest in Latin America and the Caribbean, and to promoting awareness and knowledge of the region’s trials, contributions, and diversity. We advocate for solidarity among all Latin American-focused student organizations, by strengthening student connections to the Latin American and Hemispheric Studies academic program and providing an intellectual forum for open dialogue about Latin America-related topics at The George Washington University.
Email: [email protected]
- No Lost Generation GW
For undergraduate and graduate students.
No Lost Generation GW is a student group tasked by the United States Department of State to support those affected by the ongoing refugee crisis and ensure that this generation of displaced refugees is not lost. Our current objectives include raising awareness, fundraising, raising in-kind donations, volunteering and creating educational resources for refugees. NLG-GW's main issue areas are refugee education and well-being of young refugees, however, it also engages with programming that supports refugee communities broadly.
Email: [email protected]
- Onero Institute
For undergraduate and graduate students.
The Onero Institute is a youth-driven, nonprofit research organization that seeks to develop the next generation of leaders and foreign affairs experts by bridging the divide between young people and the academic community and by better engaging youth and the world community on international issues. We offer support and a platform for aspiring young professionals to improve upon and share their work. We place special emphasis on creating intergenerational dialogues and discussing underrepresented and youth issues. This chapter of the Onero Institute seeks to engage the GW and Washington, D.C. communities with the aforementioned mission and strives to empower the voices of students and young people.
Email: [email protected]
- Organization of Asian Studies
For graduate students.
The Organization of Asian Studies aims to perpetuate the Elliott School of International Affairs’ tradition of creating professional networks by connecting young professionals interested in Asia, sharing cultural experiences, and expanding the academic experience by bridging the gap between classroom and the DC policy community. By organizing a graduate student run forum to facilitate academic and professional interaction, OAS looks to increase awareness of the issues affecting the various countries of Asia, highlight interesting and important subject matter not often covered in classes, and promote an understanding of these issues from a global perspective.
Email: [email protected]
- Organizations of International Development Studies
For graduate students.
Since its founding in 1992, the Organization of International Development (OID) has been the leading student group examining and promoting the theory and practice of international development at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs. We are a student group dedicated to examining and promoting the theory and practice of international development at The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs.
Email: [email protected]
- OUT in International Affairs
For undergraduate and graduate students.
OUT in International Affairs is the Elliott School’s LGBTQ affinity group, connecting and empowering students, faculty, staff, and alumni through community building, academic engagement, and professional development. We foster a safe space where LGBTQ+ individuals can share their lived experiences, engage with peers, and connect with resources, and we aspire to be a key partner in efforts to lift up LGBTQ+ voices and perspectives across all subdisciplines of international affairs, both in the academy and in the field.
Email: [email protected]
- The Security Policy Studies Student Board
For graduate students.
The SPS Student Board at the Elliott School of International Affairs strives to support and enhance the student experience by:
- Developing and implementing high quality events with high profile speakers and alumni
- Promoting student leadership within the SPS program
- Enhancing communication between students, faculty, and the program directors
- Highlighting student voices and needs from both first-year and second-year cohorts
- Creating social events to solidify the SPS community
The SPS Student Board is dedicated to promoting inclusion, access, support, community involvement, and student well-being.
Email: [email protected]
- Sigma Iota Rho
For undergraduate students.
The purpose of Sigma Iota Rho shall be to promote and reward scholarship and service among students and practitioners of international studies, international affairs, and global studies and to foster integrity and creative performance in the conduct of world affairs. This organization was started to honor those students who have shown exemplary work and dedication to the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University.
Email: [email protected]
- Strategic Crisis Simulations
For undergraduate and graduate students.
Strategic Crisis Simulations (SCS) is a student organization focused on educating young professionals about U.S. national security, and foreign policy through interactive exercises and experiential learning.
Email: [email protected]
- Women in International Security — GWU
For undergraduate students.
The mission of the George Washington University Student Branch of the Women in International Security DC Chapter (WIIS-GWU) is to introduce students to the fields of foreign and defense policies through academic, networking, and social events.
Email: [email protected]
- Young Black Professionals in International Affairs
For undergraduate and graduate students.
Founded in 2020, The George Washington University Young Black Professionals in International Affairs (YBPIA) is dedicated to enhancing, promoting, and increasing African and African diaspora (African-American, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Caribbean) participation, conversation, and perspective in both the Elliott School of International Affairs and the field of international affairs overall. YBPIA has a goal of affirming, valuing, and amplifying the voices and concerns of black students in the Elliott School of International Affairs on and off campus, as well as, strengthening and encouraging one another in what can be an alienating field. This organization aims to provide a supportive, enriching environment for fostering intellectual community and facilitating the development of both African and African Diaspora studies and thought.
Email: [email protected]
How to Report a Bias-Related Act
Diversity and inclusion are crucial to an educational institution's pursuit of excellence in learning, research, and service. We strive to build a community of respect for all community members.
"My career goal is to work for the UN or Department of State. Eventually, I hope to serve as an elected official. I chose the Elliott School because, after visiting several schools in the area, I felt this was where I fit in."
Camisha Johnson
Master of Arts in International Affairs