George Washington University

George Washington University International Student Insurance

George Washington University (GWU), located in Washington, D.C., was established in 1821. President George Washington had long advocated for the presence of a national university in the capital city, and the school was chartered by an act of Congress. It opened as Columbian College, and after the Civil War, it was renamed Columbian University in 1873. It adopted its present name in 1904 in an agreement with the George Washington Memorial Association. Today, GWU enrolls about 28,000 students and counting each year. The school colors are buff and blue, and its athletic nickname is the colonials.

Academic Offerings

GWU offers a full spectrum of undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and professional degrees across its 14 academic schools and colleges, including GW Law (established in 1865), the School of Medicine & Health Sciences (established in 1824), the Graduate School of Political Management (established in 1987), and the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration (established in 2003). It also operates two satellite campuses, the Mount Vernon Campus and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus.

On Campus

Located just four blocks from the White House and within easy walking distance of many other D.C. institutions, GWU has become a hub for many prominent events in the area. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are both on campus, and the university has hosted their annual meetings since 2013. It’s also the site of U.S. Presidential Debates and was the location of the Town Hall with President Clinton in 1999, the first-ever presidential town hall meeting to be webcast live.

Research Opportunities

Noteworthy research centers and institutes at GWU include the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; the Space Policy Institute; the Institute for International Economic Policy; the Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, and the Project on Forward Engagement.

Notable Alumni

Notable George Washington University alumni include former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, journalist Bob Woodward, actor Alec Baldwin, actress Courteney Cox, and Church of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard.

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