Table Of ContentTHE GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAMS BULLETIN
2006–2007
GW Undergraduate Bulletin 2006
Information in this bulletin is generally accurate as of fall 2005. The University reserves the right
to change courses, programs, fees, and the academic calendar, or to make other changes deemed
necessary or desirable, giving advance notice of change when possible.
Program information needed to fulfill a major appears under the name of the department or
program concerned in Columbian College of Arts and Sciences and the Elliott School of
International Affairs. For the School of Business, the School of Engineering and Applied
Science, and the School of Public Health and Health Services, program information appears
under the school’s entry.
Depending on the degree program, students must fulfill program requirements stated in the
bulletin in effect at the time they matriculate or declare their major. Any subsequent changes in
programs that may appear in future bulletins do not affect the program a student has already
entered.
The entries under Courses of Instruction represent departments and programs, rather than all
categories of courses taught. For example, to find Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or Vietnamese
courses, look under East Asian Languages and Literatures. There are many cross-references to
help the reader.
CONTENTS
The Academic Calendar 6
The University
About the University 9
Admissions 16
Fees and Financial Regulations 21
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GW Undergraduate Bulletin 2006
Financial Aid 25
Student Services 32
Other Programs and Services 38
University Regulations 47
The Schools
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 57
School of Business 68
School of Engineering and Applied Science 74
Elliott School of International Affairs 88
School of Public Health and Health Services 92
School of Medicine and Health Sciences 94
Courses
Key to Abbreviations 99
Explanation of Course Numbers 100
Accountancy 100
Africana Studies 102
American Studies 102
Anthropology 105
Applied Science 110
Asian Studies 111
Biological Sciences 112
Business Administration 116
Chemistry 118
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Civil and Environmental Engineering 120
Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures 122
Columbian College of Arts and Sciences 125
Computer Science 125
Counseling/Human and Organizational Studies 130
Dramatic Literature 131
Early Modern European Studies 131
Earth and Environmental Sciences 132
East Asian Languages and Literatures 134
Economics 137
Educational Leadership 140
Electrical and Computer Engineering 140
Engineering Management and Systems Engineering 144
English 146
English as a Foreign Language 152
Exercise Science 152
Film Studies 156
Finance 157
Fine Arts and Art History 157
Forensic Sciences 166
Geography 166
Health Sciences 169
History 169
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Honors 175
Humanities 177
International Affairs 178
International Business 179
Judaic Studies 180
Latin American and Hemispheric Studies 181
Liberal Arts 182
Linguistics 182
Management Science 183
Marketing 184
Mathematics 185
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 188
Media and Public Affairs 191
Middle Eastern Studies 196
Music 196
Naval Science 201
Organizational Sciences and Communication 203
Philosophy 206
Physics 209
Political Science 212
Psychology 216
Public Administration 219
Public Health 219
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Religion 220
Romance, German, and Slavic Languages and Literatures 224
School of Engineering and Applied Science 236
Service–Learning Program 236
700 Series 236
Sociology 236
Speech and Hearing Science 241
Statistics 242
Strategic Management and Public Policy 244
Theatre and Dance 245
Tourism and Hospitality Management 248
University Professors 249
University Writing 252
Women’s Leadership Programs 253
Women’s Studies 253
Faculty 259
Index 313
THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR 2006–2007
2006 Fall Semester
September 5 Classes begin
September 5–15 Late registration
October 1 Applications due for winter graduation
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GW Undergraduate Bulletin 2006
November 8 Registration for spring semester classes begins*
November 23–25 Thanksgiving holiday
December 9 Makeup classes
December 11 Last day of regular fall semester classes
December 12–13 Reading period
December 14–22 Examination period
2007 Spring Semester
January 16 Classes begin
January 16–26 Late registration
February 1 Applications due for May graduation
February 19 George Washington’s birthday observed (holiday)
March 12–17 Spring recess
March 21 Registration for fall semester classes begins*
May 1 Makeup classes
May 2 Designated Monday
Last day of regular spring semester classes
May 3–4 Reading period
May 7–15 Examination period
May 20 Commencement
The University
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY
1821–1827 William Staughton
* Registration dates are tentative; consult the Schedule of Classes.
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1828–1841 Stephen Chapin
1843–1854 Joel Smith Bacon
1855–1858 Joseph Getchell Binney
1859–1871 George Whitefield Samson
1871–1894 James Clarke Welling
1894–1895 Samuel Harrison Greene, Acting
1895–1900 Benaiah L. Whitman
1900–1902 Samuel Harrison Greene, Acting
1902–1910 Charles Willis Needham
1910–1918 Charles Herbert Stockton
1918–1921 William Miller Collier
1921–1923 Howard L. Hodgkins, ad interim
1923–1927 William Mather Lewis
1927–1959 Cloyd Heck Marvin
1959–1961 Oswald Symister Colclough, Acting
1961–1964 Thomas Henry Carroll
1964–1965 Oswald Symister Colclough, Acting
1965–1988 Lloyd Hartman Elliott
1988– Stephen Joel Trachtenberg
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY
George Washington was determined to have a great national university in the nation’s capital.
His hope was that students from all parts of the country would gain a first hand knowledge of the
practice as well as the theory of republican government while being instructed in the arts and
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sciences. He bequeathed 50 shares of The Potomac Company “towards the endowment of a
University to be established within the limits of the District of Columbia, under the auspices of
the General Government, if that government should incline to extend a fostering hand towards
it.” Despite Washington’s intentions, The Potomac Company folded and Congress never
extended a “fostering hand,” so the University did not take shape until a group of Baptist
clergymen led by Reverend Luther Rice took up the cause. They raised funds for the purchase of
a site and petitioned Congress for a charter. Congress insisted on giving the institution a non-
sectarian charter which stated “That persons of every religious denomination shall be capable of
being elected Trustees; nor shall any person, either as President, Professor, Tutor or pupil be
refused admittance into said College, or denied any of the privileges, immunities, or advantages
thereof, for or on account of his sentiments in matters of religion.”
Columbian College, as it was originally named, took up residence on College Hill, a 46-acre
tract between the present 14th and 15th Streets extending from Florida Avenue to Columbia
Road. The name of the institution was changed in 1873 to Columbian University and in 1904 to
The George Washington University.
By 1918, the University had moved to the Foggy Bottom neighborhood—between 19th and
24th Streets, south of Pennsylvania Avenue—in the heart of Washington, D.C. The more than 90
buildings, including 14 residence halls, are situated on 43 acres bordered by the White House,
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the State Department, and the World Bank,
as well as numerous federal agencies, national galleries and museums.
GW’s Virginia Campus, initiated for graduate studies, research projects, and professional
development programs, is located along the high-tech corridor on Route 7, just to the west of
Route 28, in Loudoun County. In 1998, GW established The George Washington University at
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Mount Vernon College; the Mount Vernon Campus is on Foxhall Road in Northwest
Washington.
Currently, the University’s enrollments total more than 24,000, of which 10,400 are
undergraduates, over 12,000 are graduate and professional students, and more than 1,000 are
nondegree students. The students come from all 50 states and about 125 different countries.
Mission Statement
The George Washington University, an independent academic institution chartered by the
Congress of the United States in 1821, dedicates itself to furthering human well-being. The
University values a dynamic, student-focused community stimulated by cultural and intellectual
diversity and built upon a foundation of integrity, creativity, and openness to the exploration of
new ideas.
The George Washington University, centered in the national and international crossroads of
Washington, D.C., commits itself to excellence in the creation, dissemination, and application of
knowledge.
To promote the process of lifelong learning from both global and integrative perspectives, the
University provides a stimulating intellectual environment for its diverse students and faculty.
By fostering excellence in teaching, the University offers outstanding learning experiences for
full-time and part-time students in undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs in
Washington, D.C., the nation, and abroad. As a center for intellectual inquiry and research, the
University emphasizes the linkage between basic and applied scholarship, insisting that the
practical be grounded in knowledge and theory. The University acts as a catalyst for creativity in
the arts, the sciences, and the professions by encouraging interaction among its students, faculty,
staff, alumni, and the communities it serves.
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