I know American University is renowned in the Governmental area, however what is its reputation in disciplines such as Economics, Philosophy, and History?
AU has a strong reputation and some outstanding faculty in the social sciences and humanities. In particular, the History department has some niche areas in which it excels, such as Russian history (being the home of the Carmel Institute of Russian History and Culture). You’ll also get well-known names such as Oliver Stone collaborating with faculty and coming into the classroom. The Econ department has strengths including international business, development economics, and econometrics. Majors are offered both for students more interested in the qualitative side of econ, as well as a Math and Economics major for those interested in pursuing advanced degrees where a background in mathematics will be essential. I have less knowledge about the Philosophy department. Small class sizes and opportunities for close collaboration with faculty are also highlights of these departments, based on my experiences as an undergraduate a number of years ago (and as far as I know, they’ve only gotten stronger since).
When it comes to these majors, I’d recommend thinking about where you’d like to go with your education. Are there particular areas you want to focus on? Does AU have concentrations or faculty that focus on these areas? These will be some of the more important factors as you weigh all of your choices.
Hope that helps!
Political science and international relations make up a good portion of the school and is best known for these programs but AU does have other majors. The Kogod school of business is very good and the economics program is very strong. It is a good school for other humanities programs like history and psychology but these programs don’t get much attention as poli sci and IR.
You can see some of the rankings here: http://www.american.edu/about/rankings.cfm