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:
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite courses | ||
| PSC 1001 | Introduction to Comparative Politics | |
| or PSC 1001W | Introduction to Comparative Politics | |
| PSC 1002 | Introduction to American Politics and Government | |
| or PSC 1002W | Introduction to American Politics and Government | |
| PSC 1003 | Introduction 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 (PSC) courses (18 credits) from the groups below, including at least one course from group D and at least one from group E: ** | ||
| Group A (comparative politics) | ||
| PSC 2330 | Comparative Politics of Western Europe | |
| PSC 2331 | Comparative Politics of Central and Eastern Europe | |
| PSC 2332 | European Integration | |
| PSC 2333 | Reunification, Reconciliation, and Resentment | |
| PSC 2334 | Global Perspectives on Democracy | |
| PSC 2336 | State–Society Relations in the Developing World | |
| PSC 2337 | Development Politics | |
| PSC 2338 | Nationalism | |
| PSC 2339 | Comparative Political Economy | |
| PSC 2366 | Russian Politics | |
| PSC 2367 | Human Rights | |
| or PSC 2367W | Human Rights | |
| PSC 2368 | Politics in the Two Koreas | |
| PSC 2369 | Comparative Politics of South Asia | |
| PSC 2370 | Comparative Politics of China and Northeast Asia | |
| PSC 2371 | Politics and Foreign Policy of China | |
| PSC 2373 | Comparative Politics of Southeast Asia | |
| PSC 2374 | Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan | |
| PSC 2377 | Comparative Politics of the Middle East | |
| or PSC 2377W | Comparative Politics of the Middle East | |
| PSC 2379 | Politics and Foreign Policy of Israel | |
| PSC 2381 | Comparative Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa | |
| PSC 2383 | Comparative Politics of Latin America | |
| PSC 2993 | Special Topics in Comparative Politics | |
| Group B (American government and politics) | ||
| PSC 2211 | State and Urban Politics | |
| PSC 2212 | State and Urban Policy Problems | |
| PSC 2213 | Judicial Politics | |
| PSC 2214 | U.S. Constitutional Law and Politics I | |
| PSC 2215 | U.S. Constitutional Law and Politics II | |
| PSC 2216 | The American Presidency | |
| PSC 2217 | Executive Branch Politics | |
| PSC 2218 | Legislative Politics | |
| or PSC 2218W | Legislative Politics | |
| PSC 2219 | Political Parties and Interest Groups | |
| PSC 2220 | Public Opinion | |
| PSC 2221 | African American Politics | |
| PSC 2222 | Science, Technology, and Politics | |
| PSC 2223 | Campaigns and Elections | |
| PSC 2224 | Issues in Domestic Public Policy | |
| PSC 2225 | Women and Politics | |
| PSC 2228 | Media, Politics, and Government | |
| PSC 2229 | Media and Politics | |
| PSC 2230 | Law and Justice: The View from Hollywood | |
| PSC 2240 | Poverty, Welfare, and Work | |
| PSC 2241 | The Politics of Education Policy | |
| Group C (international politics, law, and organizations) | ||
| PSC 2439 | International Political Economy | |
| PSC 2440 | Theories of International Politics | |
| PSC 2442 | International Organizations | |
| or PSC 2442W | International Organizations | |
| PSC 2444 | Public International Law | |
| PSC 2446 | U.S. Foreign Policy | |
| PSC 2447 | American Presidents at War | |
| PSC 2449 | International Security Politics | |
| or PSC 2449W | International Security Politics | |
| PSC 2451 | Theory of War | |
| or PSC 2451W | Theory of War | |
| PSC 2453 | U.S. Foreign Policy Perspectives | |
| PSC 2454 | Humanitarianism | |
| PSC 2455 | Global Governance | |
| PSC 2461 | European-Atlantic Relations | |
| PSC 2468 | Post-Soviet Foreign Policy | |
| PSC 2475 | International Relations of East Asia | |
| PSC 2476 | The Arab-Israeli Conflict | |
| or PSC 2476W | The Arab-Israeli Conflict | |
| PSC 2478 | International Relations of the Middle East | |
| PSC 2482 | African International Politics | |
| PSC 2484 | International Relations of Latin America | |
| Group D (research methods) | ||
| PSC 2101 | Scope and Methods of Political Science | |
| or COMM 3110 | Research Methods in Communication | |
| or IAFF 2101 | Qualitative Methods in International Affairs | |
| or PSC 2102 | Visualizing and Modeling Politics | |
| or PSYC 2101 | Research Methods in Psychology | |
| or SMPA 2151 | Research Methods | |
| or SOC 2101 | Social Research Methods | |
| PSC 2102 | Visualizing and Modeling Politics | |
| Group E (political thought) | ||
| PSC 2105 | Major Issues of Western Political Thought I | |
| PSC 2106 | Major Issues of Western Political Thought II | |
| or PSC 2106W | Major Issues of Western Political Thought II | |
| PSC 2107 | Twentieth-Century Political Thought | |
| PSC 2109 | Global Justice | |
| PSC 2110 | American Political Thought | |
| PSC 2120W | Freedom in American Thought and Popular Culture | |
| PSC 2991 | Special Topics in Political Thought | |
| One proseminar (3 credits) and one advanced topics course (3 credits) | ||
| PSC 3192W | Proseminar: Political Science (taken in the junior or senior year) | |
| PSC 3500 | Advanced Topics in Political Science | |
| or PSC 3500W | Advanced Topics in Political Science | |
| Required courses in related areas | ||
| MATH 1232 | Single-Variable Calculus II | |
| STAT 1051 | Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics (only one may be taken for credit) | |
| or STAT 1053 | Introduction to Statistics in Social Science | |
| or STAT 1111 | Business and Economic Statistics I | |
| Four additional courses in statistics, mathematics, and computer science, excluding the following: | ||
| CSCI 1010 | Computer Science Orientation | |
| CSCI 1011 | Introduction to Programming with Java | |
| CSCI 1020 | Applications Software | |
| CSCI 1021 | Introduction to Computers and the Internet | |
| CSCI 1022 | Introduction to Internet Technology | |
| CSCI 1023 | Introduction to Web Software Development | |
| CSCI 1030 | ||
| or CSCI 1030W | ||
| MATH 1000 | Dean's Seminar | |
| MATH 1008 | History of Mathematics | |
| MATH 1009 | Mathematical Ideas I | |
| MATH 1220 | Calculus with Precalculus I | |
| MATH 1221 | Calculus with Precalculus II | |
| MATH 1231 | Single-Variable Calculus I | |
| MATH 1252 | Calculus for the Social and Management Sciences | |
| MATH 2991 | Introductory Special Topics | |
| STAT 1000 | Dean's Seminar | |
| STAT 1129 | Introduction to Computing | |
| STAT 4195 | Reading and Research | |
*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.