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 (CCAS), Undergraduate Programs. CCAS stipulates that a student must complete the major requirements published in the Bulletin for the academic year in which the student declares their major.*

Program-specific curriculum:

Prerequisite courses
PSC 1001Introduction to Comparative Politics
or PSC 1001W Introduction to Comparative Politics
PSC 1002Introduction to American Politics and Government
or PSC 1002W Introduction to American Politics and Government
PSC 1003Introduction to International Politics
or PSC 1003W Introduction to International Politics
or IAFF 1005 Introduction to International Affairs
Students in the Politics and Values program are required to take PSC 1011 and PSC 1012W. For such students, these two courses fulfill the prerequisite requirement and count as a Group E (political thought) course.
Required for the major
Six 2000-level political science courses (18 credits) selected from the groups below, including at least one course from Group D and at least one course from Group E. **
Group A (comparative politics)
PSC 2330Comparative Politics of Western Europe
PSC 2331Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe
PSC 2332European Integration
PSC 2333Reunification, Reconciliation, and Resentment
PSC 2334Global Perspectives on Democracy
PSC 2336State–Society Relations in the Developing World
PSC 2337Development Politics
PSC 2338Nationalism
PSC 2339Comparative Political Economy
PSC 2366Russian Politics
PSC 2367Human Rights
or PSC 2367W Human Rights
PSC 2368Politics in the Two Koreas
PSC 2369Comparative Politics of South Asia
PSC 2370Comparative Politics of China and Northeast Asia
PSC 2371Politics and Foreign Policy of China
PSC 2373Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia
PSC 2374Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan
PSC 2377Comparative Politics of the Middle East
or PSC 2377W Comparative Politics of the Middle East
PSC 2379Politics and Foreign Policy of Israel
PSC 2381Comparative Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa
PSC 2383Comparative Politics of Latin America
PSC 2993Special Topics in Comparative Politics
Group B (American government and politics)
PSC 2211State and Urban Politics
PSC 2212State and Urban Policy Problems
PSC 2213Judicial Politics
PSC 2214U.S. Constitutional Law and Politics I
PSC 2215U.S. Constitutional Law and Politics II
PSC 2216The American Presidency
PSC 2217Executive Branch Politics
PSC 2218Legislative Politics
or PSC 2218W Legislative Politics
PSC 2219Political Parties and Interest Groups
PSC 2220Public Opinion
PSC 2221African American Politics
PSC 2222Science, Technology, and Politics
PSC 2223Campaigns and Elections
PSC 2224Issues in Domestic Public Policy
PSC 2225Women and Politics
PSC 2226The Politics of Race and Ethnicity in the United States
PSC 2228Media, Politics, and Government
PSC 2229Media and Politics
PSC 2230Law and Justice: The View from Hollywood
PSC 2240Poverty, Welfare, and Work
PSC 2241The Politics of Education Policy
PSC 2992Special Topics in American Politics and Government
Group C (international politics, law, and organizations)
PSC 2439International Political Economy
PSC 2440Theories of International Politics
PSC 2442International Organizations
or PSC 2442W International Organizations
PSC 2444Public International Law
PSC 2446U.S. Foreign Policy
PSC 2447American Presidents at War
PSC 2449International Security Politics
or PSC 2449W International Security Politics
PSC 2451Theory of War
or PSC 2451W Theory of War
PSC 2453U.S. Foreign Policy Perspectives
PSC 2454Humanitarianism
PSC 2455Global Governance
PSC 2461European-Atlantic Relations
PSC 2468Post-Soviet Foreign Policy
PSC 2475International Relations of East Asia
PSC 2476The Arab-Israeli Conflict
or PSC 2476W The Arab-Israeli Conflict
PSC 2478International Relations of the Middle East
PSC 2482African International Politics
PSC 2484International Relations of Latin America
PSC 2994Special Topics in International Relations
Group D (research methods)
PSC 2101Scope and Methods of Political Science
or COMM 3110 Research Methods in Communication
or IAFF 2101 Qualitative Methods in International Affairs
or PSYC 2101 Research Methods in Psychology
or SMPA 2151 Research Methods
or SOC 2101 Social Research Methods
PSC 2102Visualizing and Modeling Politics
Group E (political thought)
PSC 2105Major Issues of Western Political Thought I
PSC 2106Major Issues of Western Political Thought II
or PSC 2106W Major Issues of Western Political Thought II
PSC 2107Twentieth-Century Political Thought
PSC 2109Global Justice
PSC 2110American Political Thought
PSC 2111Nietzsche and Political Theory
PSC 2120WFreedom in American Thought and Popular Culture
PSC 2991Special Topics in Political Thought
One proseminar (3 credits) and one advanced topics course (3 credits)
PSC 3192WProseminar: Political Science (taken in the junior or senior year)
PSC 3500Advanced Topics in Political Science
or PSC 3500W Advanced Topics in Political Science

*Bulletins covering prior academic years are archived.

**In addition to the courses listed, a maximum of 3 credits in PSC 2987 may count toward the 2000-level course requirement. However, these credits do not count toward any group.

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, to be considered for graduation with Special Honors a student must have a minimum GPA of 3.8 in all upper-level Political Science (PSC) courses. The GPA is calculated using only PSC courses taken at the 2000, 3000, and 4000 levels; GW courses other than those specified and transfer courses are not included.

The designation of Honors appears on the student's transcript, not on the diploma.

Combined programs