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 courses | ||
| Two courses selected from the following: | ||
| GEOL 1001 | Physical Geology | |
| GEOL 1002 | Historical Geology | |
| GEOL 1005 | Environmental Geology | |
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required courses in related areas | ||
| CHEM 1111 & CHEM 1112 | General Chemistry I and General Chemistry II | |
| PHYS 1011 & PHYS 1012 | General Physics I and General Physics II | |
| or ASTR 1001 & ASTR 1002 | Stars, Planets, and Life in the Universe and Origins of the Cosmos | |
| One course selected from the following: | ||
| MATH 1220 & MATH 1221 | Calculus with Precalculus I and Calculus with Precalculus II | |
| MATH 1231 | Single-Variable Calculus I | |
| STAT 1051 | Introduction to Business and Economic Statistics | |
| STAT 1053 | Introduction to Statistics in Social Science | |
| STAT 1111 | Business and Economic Statistics I | |
| STAT 1127 | Statistics for the Biological Sciences | |
| Required courses for the major | ||
| GEOL 2111 | Mineralogy | |
| GEOL 2112 | Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology | |
| GEOL 2122 | Structural Geology | |
| GEOL 3128 | Sedimentology and Stratigraphy | |
| GEOL 3129 | Sedimentology and Stratigraphy Lab | |
| GEOL 4195 | Geological Field Methods | |
| Four courses selected from the following and approved by the program advisor: | ||
| GEOL 2106 | Oceanography | |
| GEOL 2151 | Introduction to Paleontology | |
| GEOL 2190 | Special Topics in Geology (3 credits only) | |
| GEOL 2333 | Evolution and Extinction of Dinosaurs | |
| GEOL 3118 | Volcanology | |
| GEOL 3131 | Global Climate Change | |
| GEOL 3138 | Hydrogeology | |
| GEOL 3140 | Geochemistry | |
| GEOL 3189 | Geophysics | |
| GEOL 3191 | Geology of Energy Resources | |
| GEOL 4199 | Undergraduate Research or Reading (3 credits only) | |
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.