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 |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite | ||
| REL 1003 | Introduction to World Religions | |
| Required | ||
| REL 3901 | Thinking About Religion: Classic and Contemporary Approaches | |
| REL 4101W | Senior Capstone Seminar | |
| Electives | ||
| Nine Religion (REL) courses (27 credits). At least two of these courses must be taken at the 2000-level or above. At least two courses must focus on Abrahamic religions and at least two on non-Abrahamic religions, selected from the following: | ||
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Abrahamic religions | ||
| REL 1009 | The Hebrew Scriptures | |
| REL 1010 | The New Testament | |
| or REL 1010W | The New Testament | |
| REL 2165 | The Gospels | |
| REL 2169 | Lost Gospels | |
| REL 2201 | Judaism | |
| REL 2211 | Rabbinic Thought and Literature | |
| REL 2301 | Christianity | |
| REL 2401 | Islam | |
| REL 2981 | Women in Western Religion | |
| REL 3141 | Second Temple/Hellenistic Judaism | |
| REL 3151 | The Historical Jesus | |
| or REL 3151W | The Historical Jesus | |
| REL 3221 | Issues in Jewish Ethics | |
| REL 3291 | Modern Jewish Thought | |
| REL 3310 | Apocalypse and Social Change | |
| REL 3321 | Christian Ethics and Modern Society | |
| REL 3342 | Medieval Faith and Symbolism | |
| REL 3343 | Religion in the Renaissance and Reformation | |
| REL 3405 | Shi'ite Islam | |
| REL 3414 | Islamic Philosophy and Theology | |
| REL 3419 | Islamic Civilization and the West | |
| REL 3425 | Islamic Political Thought | |
| REL 3431 | Sufism/Islamic Mysticism | |
| REL 3432 | Persian Sufi Literature East and West | |
| REL 3475 | Islamic Religion and Art | |
| REL 3481 | Women in Islam | |
| REL 3482 | Gender and Piety in Islam | |
| REL 3666 | The Book of Revelation and Other Apocalypses | |
| REL 3701 | Religion in the United States | |
| REL 3711 | Religion in Contemporary America | |
| or REL 3711W | Religion in Contemporary America | |
| REL 3915 | Islam and Hinduism in South Asia | |
| REL 3923 | Violence and Peace in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam | |
| Non-Abrahamic religions | ||
| REL 2501 | Hinduism | |
| REL 2562 | Mythologies of India | |
| REL 2601 | Buddhism | |
| REL 2802 | Introduction to Chinese Religions | |
| REL 2811 | Confucian Literature in East Asia | |
| REL 2814 | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| REL 2831 | Introduction to Daoism | |
| REL 3566 | Dharma in Hinduism and Buddhism | |
| REL 3614 | Buddhist Philosophy | |
| REL 3814W | Religion and Philosophy in East Asia | |
| REL 3831W | Daoism in East Asia | |
| REL 3832 | Myth, Ritual, and Popular Religion in China | |
| REL 3841 | Religion and Politics in China | |
| REL 3881 | Women, Gender, and Religion in China | |
| REL 3915 | Islam and Hinduism in South Asia | |
| REL 3989 | The Goddess in India and Beyond | |
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, students must maintain a grade-point average of 3.5 in courses in the major, and receive a minimum grade of A– in REL 4101W