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:

Required foundational courses
BISC 1006The Ecology and Evolution of Organisms
or BISC 1112 Introductory Biology: The Biology of Organisms
GEOG 1002Introduction to Physical Geography
GEOG 1003Society and Environment
GEOG 2104Introduction to Cartography and GIS
STAT 1053Introduction to Statistics in Social Science
or STAT 1051 Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics
or STAT 1111 Business and Economic Statistics I
or STAT 1127 Statistics for the Biological Sciences
Required for the major
Capstone
ENVR 4195Environmental Studies Capstone
One field course selected from the following:
BISC 3459Field Biology *
GEOG 2196Field Methods in Geography (or equivalent) *
GEOG 3128Geomorphology and Natural Hazards
Three science courses selected from the following:
ANTH 3407Conservation in a Changing World: Human and Animal Behavior
BISC 2010Global Change Biology
BISC 2333Evolution and Extinction of Dinosaurs
BISC 2401Biodiversity in A Changing World
BISC 2452Animal Behavior
BISC 2454General Ecology
BISC 3454Marine Ecology
BISC 3458Plant Comparative Structure and Function
BISC 3459Field Biology *
BISC 3460Conservation Biology
or BISC 3460W Conservation Biology
BISC 3461Plant-Animal Interactions
BISC 3464Ecology and Evolution of Societies
CHEM 2085Environmental Chemistry
GEOG 2129Biogeography
or GEOG 2129W Biogeography
GEOG 2136Water Resources *
GEOG 2196Field Methods in Geography *
GEOG 3108Weather and Climate
GEOG 3128Geomorphology and Natural Hazards (or equivalent)
GEOG 3218Arctic Systems
GEOG 3275Sustainable Food Systems
GEOL 2106Oceanography
GEOL 2151Introduction to Paleontology
GEOL 3128Sedimentology and Stratigraphy
GEOL 3138Hydrogeology
GEOL 3191Geology of Energy Resources
Three society courses selected from the following:
ANTH 3407Conservation in a Changing World: Human and Animal Behavior
ANTH 3502Cultural Ecology
CIAR 3350Basic Sustainability Design Strategies
ECON 2136Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
GEOG 2124Urban Transportation
GEOG 2125Transportation Systems and Networks
GEOG 2127Population Geography
GEOG 2133People, Land, and Food
GEOG 2134Energy Resources
or GEOG 2134W Energy Resources
GEOG 2137Environmental Hazards
GEOG 2140Cities and Societies
GEOG 2141Cities in the Developing World
GEOG 3132Environmental Quality and Management
GEOG 3143Urban Sustainability
or GEOG 3143W Urban Sustainability
GEOG 3193Environmental Law and Policy
GEOG 3810Planning Cities
HIST 3001Special Topics (an environmental topic)
PHIL 2281Philosophy of the Environment
PPPA 2701Sustainability and Environmental Policy
PUBH 3132Health and Environment
PUBH 3150Sustainable Energy and Environmental Health
SUST 2002The Sustainable City
SUST 3003World on a Plate
Electives
Two additional upper-level courses selected from the science and society course lists above.

*BISC 3459 and GEOG 2196 can count as a field course or a science course, but not both.

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.