Content for GWU.Edu

The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was chartered in 1821 by an act of the United States Congress. The university is organized into 14 colleges and schools, including the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, the Elliott School of International Affairs, the GW School of Business, the School of Media and Public Affairs, the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, the GW Law School and the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design. George Washington's main Foggy Bottom Campus is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank located on campus and the White House and the U.S. Department of State within blocks of campus. GWU hosts numerous research centers and institutes, including the National Security Archive and the Institute for International Economic Policy. GWU has two satellite campuses: the Mount Vernon Campus, located in D.C.'s Foxhall neighborhood and the Virginia Science and Technology Campus. It is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. George Washington, the first President of the United States, advocated the establishment of a national university in the U.S. capital in his first State of the Union address in 1790 and continued to promote this idea throughout his career and until his death. In his will, Washington left shares in the Potomac Company to endow the university. However, due to the company's financial difficulties, funds were raised independently. On February 9, 1821, the university was founded by an Act of Congress, making it one of only five universities in the United States with a Congressional charter.