College Profile:
American University

American University is an independent, coeducational university chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893 as a Methodist Church-related institution. Its 76-acre main campus, Washington College of Law building, and 8-acre Tenley satellite campus are located the residential neighborhood of northwest Washington, D.C. All three campuses are minutes away from downtown and the wealth of educational and cultural resources in the nation's capital. The university licenses WAMU 88.5 FM, which ranks among the top three public radio stations in the country, providing listeners with news, talk programming and traditional American music.

The AU campus is a microcosm of the world community. Our cosmopolitan, multicultural campus has more than 12,000 students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the territories and 137 countries. Like our students, our faculty members also come from around the world and our curriculum, research and programming all have a decidedly international dimension and perspective. AU prepares its students for the global realities and opportunities of the twenty-first century.

The university comprises six schools and colleges:

• College of Arts and Sciences prepares students for advanced study in a leading graduate or professional school or for a career in the arts, education, humanities, social sciences or sciences.
• Kogod School of Business is the oldest business school in Washington, D.C., and was recently recognized by U.S. News & World Report and the Wall Street Journal as one of the top 50 business schools in the nation.
• School of Communication is a laboratory for professional education, communication research and innovative production across the fields of journalism, film and media arts, and public communication.
• School of International Service is the largest, most comprehensive and most frequently applied-to school of its kind in the United States.
• School of Public Affairs, ranked among the top 10 schools of its kind, offers public affairs education on the undergraduate, graduate and executive levels. The school is also home to research centers and institutes in the fields of political science, public administration, public policy and justice.
• Washington College of Law is one of the nation's top law schools and has renowned programs in experiential learning (clinics and externships), international law, law and government, intellectual property, business and gender.

Academic offerings include 55 bachelor's degrees, 51 master's degrees, 9 doctoral degrees, JD and LLM degrees, certificate programs, and associate degree programs. Nearly 80 percent of AU undergraduates complete at least one internship, whether in Washington, D.C. or elsewhere in the United States or abroad. Freshmen don't need to formally declare a major until the end of the sophomore year.

At AU, "access" and "engagement" are not merely catchphrases; the spirit of the words permeates the campus environment. Students are attracted to AU because of its history and culture of engagement - they intend to make a difference in the world. The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Report shows that active learning is the norm at AU. Our student's responses placed AU at the top for the "Level of Academic Challenge," "Student-Faculty Interaction" and "Enriching Educational Experiences" provided at AU.

From first-semester undergraduates to graduate students, AU students are personally involved, confident of their goals and the support they get in pursuit of those goals from faculty and staff.

For example, for the second consecutive year, AU was the most published institution in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research Journal. This annual competition, which judges academic papers presented by undergraduates, received nearly 2,000 submissions. Only 341 of these were published, and 56 of those published came from AU students.

While engagement between faculty and students occurs at most institutions, AU faculty display a strong commitment to have the teaching/learning experience extend beyond the classroom. They are involved with students in a manner similar to the faculty of smaller liberal arts colleges. Professors know students personally and work with them as individuals in mentoring their creative and scholarly work. The faculty are committed teachers. They are ward-winning authors, policy-makers, artists, scholars and researchers, filmmakers, lawyers, scientists, and journalists, and 96% have the highest degree in their fields.

American University is committed to preparing a generation of leaders who are broadly educated, passionately engaged, and capable of translating in a complex environment the lasting values which are the hallmarks of a human, humane, and civilized world. Our community lives by the motto, Ideas into Action; Action into Service.