For information about the admission process, including deadlines, visit the Office of Undergraduate Admissions website. Applications can be submitted via the Common Application.
Supporting documents not submitted online should be mailed to:
Office of Undergraduate Admissions
The George Washington University
800 21st St NW Suite 100
Washington, DC 20052
For questions visit undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/contact-us.
The following requirements must be fulfilled:
The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs.
Program-specific curriculum:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Recommended | ||
| PHIL 1051 | Introduction to Philosophy | |
| Required | ||
| The following three courses (9 credits): | ||
| PHIL 2045 | Introduction to Logic | |
| PHIL 2111 | History of Ancient Philosophy | |
| or PHIL 2111W | History of Ancient Philosophy | |
| PHIL 2112 | History of Modern Philosophy | |
| And one course (3 credits) selected from the following: | ||
| PHIL 3113 | Nineteenth-Century Philosophy | |
| or PHIL 3113W | Nineteenth-Century Philosophy | |
| PHIL 3172 | American Philosophy | |
| or PHIL 3172W | American Philosophy | |
| PHIL 4192 | Analytic Philosophy | |
| or PHIL 4192W | Analytical Philosophy | |
| PHIL 4193 | Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy | |
| or PHIL 4193W | Twentieth-Century Continental Philosophy | |
| Electives | ||
| Four additional philosophy (PHIL) courses (12 credits) numbered 2000 or above. | ||
| One of the following 6-credit options: | ||
| Option A: Two proseminars | ||
| Proseminar (taken twice for a total of 6 credits) | ||
| or | ||
| Option B: Honors thesis. Requires departmental approval and successful completion of a senior thesis. | ||
| PHIL 4198 | Proseminar (3 credits) | |
| PHIL 4199 | Readings and Research (3 credits) | |
In addition to the University General Education Requirement, undergraduate students in Columbian College must complete a further, College-specific general education curriculum—Perspective, Analysis, Communication (G-PAC) as well as the course CCAS 1001 First-Year Experience. Together with the University General Education Requirement, G-PAC engages students in active intellectual inquiry across the liberal arts. Students achieve a set of learning outcomes that enhance their analytical skills, develop their communication competencies, and invite them to participate as responsible citizens who are attentive to issues of culture, diversity, and privilege.
Coursework for the University General Education Requirement is distributed as follows:
-
One course in critical thinking in the humanities.
-
Two courses in critical thinking, quantitative reasoning, or scientific reasoning in the social sciences.
-
One course that has an approved oral communication component.
- One course in quantitative reasoning (must be in mathematics or statistics).
- One course in scientific reasoning (must be in natural and/or physical laboratory sciences).
- UW 1020 University Writing (4 credits).
- After successful completion of UW 1020, 6 credits distributed over at least two writing in the discipline (WID) courses taken in separate semesters. WID courses are designated by a "W" appended to the course number.
Coursework for the CCAS G-PAC requirement is distributed as follows:
- Arts—one approved arts course that involves the study or creation of artwork based on an understanding or interpretation of artistic traditions or knowledge of art in a contemporary context.
- Global or cross-cultural perspective—one approved course that analyzes the ways in which institutions, practices, and problems transcend national and regional boundaries.
- Local or civic engagement—one approved course that develops the values, ethics, disciplines, and commitment to pursue responsible public action.
- Natural or physical science—one additional approved laboratory course that employs the process of scientific inquiry (in addition to the one course in this category required by the University General Education Requirement).
- Humanities—one additional approved humanities course that involves critical thinking skills (in addition to the one course in this category required by the University General Education Requirement).
- CCAS 1001 First-Year Experience
Certain courses are approved to fulfill GPAC requirements in more than one category.
Courses taken in fulfillment of G-PAC requirements may also be counted toward majors or minors. Transfer courses taken prior to, but not after, admission to George Washington University may count toward the University General Education Requirement and G-PAC, if those transfer courses are equivalent to GW courses that have been approved by the University and the College.
Lists of approved courses in the above categories are included on each undergraduate major's page in this Bulletin.
In addition to the general requirements stated under University Regulations, in order to be considered for graduation with Special Honors, a student must
- have at least a 3.7 grade-point average in the major and a 3.3 average overall;
- submit an honors paper prepared under the supervision of a faculty advisor in the department.
Only if a committee of three faculty members in the department approves the honors paper are Special Honors recommended.