Very long trip report for American University below!
American University is located in a residential area of Washington DC, near Embassy Row, approximately 4 miles from the White House. It has a total enrollment of more than 12,000 students with about 7000 undergraduates.
The campus is pretty, with light-colored buildings, attractive green spaces, and many trees. Most of the campus is self-contained without regular city streets running through it. We were surprised that the campus is not perfectly flat. Everyone we interacted with was friendly.
Undergrads are separated in five schools: College of Arts and Sciences, Kogod School of Business, School of Communication, School of International Service (SIS), and School of Public Affairs. SIS is by far the largest with 2000 students. More than 40 majors offer a combined 5-year bachelor/masters program.
The university general education requirements are two classes each from five different areas: Creative Arts; Traditions the Shape the Western World; the Global and Cross-Cultural Experiences; Social Institutions and Behaviors; and the Natural and Mathematical Sciences. AP credit appears to be generous.
American is proud of their internship program (85% of students participate in at least one) and their study abroad program. 60% of undergrads study abroad for a semester, a year, or a summer (language-acquisition programs or credit-bearing internships only). About half of the students study at AUās three centers in Brussels, Madrid, and Nairobi. The others choose from 140 programs spread across 39 countries. Specific study-abroad scholarships are available through AU. American has an impressive number of recipients of nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships such as Boren, Fulbright, and Udall, with an Office of Merit Awards to mentor applicants.
Freshman and sophomores are guaranteed university housing. There have been many forced triples over the past few years. New sophomore housing is being built which should alleviate the tripling but those may not be ready for this fall. A main dining hall takes meal swipes, and there are multiple locations that accept their points/dollars system. No eateries or shops are immediately off campus but are within a 15 minute walk (or free shuttle ride). The nearest Metro stop is in that location as well.
We attended a special visit day for the School of International Service (SIS) so the rest of my notes will focus on that.
About 2000 undergrad students are enrolled in SIS as International Studies majors who choose from 8 concentrations. There are 125 full-time faculty and more than 25 adjuncts who come from the State Department, other government agencies, and NGOs to teach a course or two each year. A retired ambassador led a discussion with the students in our group.
The current SIS program is four years old. During the first semester of freshman year all the students take World Politics in large lectures but with small discussion sections. During the second semester, the students choose from various cross-cultural communications classes, all with a maximum enrollment of 25. The third required course of freshman year is a 19-person seminar taken either semester, chosen from a wide variety of topics.
Required during sophomore year are an intro to research class during the fall and a choice of themed (by topic, region, or methodology) research classes during the spring.
Students are required to take 3 survey classes from the 8 thematic area concentrations: environmental sustainability and global health; foreign policy and national security; global and comparative governance; identity, race, gender, and culture; justice, ethics, and human rights; peace, global security, and conflict resolution; and the global economy.
Students take additional classes from 2 of the 8 thematic areas, as well as 3 classes from regional areas (Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, Western Hemisphere). The foreign language requirement does not have to match the regional focus.
Other SIS major requirements include 3 economics classes, US politics, and a senior capstone.
D was favorably impressed with the university and especially with SIS. The internship possibilities are a definite draw! Sheāll need to return to talk with professors from SIS and language departments and to sit in on a class or two. She would also need to be awarded one of their highest merit scholarships to attend because it is way too expensive for this family who cannot pay their high EFC.
and I donāt think that those are her career goals, though those are pretty fluid right now. She knows what she wants to major in, but is far less clear about what she wants to do with it. She has talked about working with refugees, so that may qualify.