American University
American University is a fully-accredited university located in Washington, DC. It currently has roughly 5,000 undergraduate students, and approximately the same number of graduate students.
It is served by the Tenleytown-AU station on the Washington Metro, which is located roughly a mile from the main campus, and is located in and around the neighborhood of Tenleytown.
AU has recently entered the first tier of US News & World Report's College Guide.
History
AU traces its history back to a letter written by George Washington, in which he expressed a desire for a "national university" to be located in the nation's capital. AU was chartered by an Act of the United States Congress in 1893, nearly a century after Washington's death, and ground was broken in 1896. After some difficulties with funding, the first degrees were given out in 1916, and undergraduates were not admitted until 1925.
During both World War I and World War II, the university allowed the military to use some of its grounds for testing. In WWI especially, chemical weapons were tested on the grounds; this led to a major cleanup effort in the 1990s.
American took over the previously-unaffiliated Washington College of Law in 1949, and added a business school and an international relations program in the 1950s.
Organization
- College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)
- Kogod School of Business (KSB)
- School of Public Affairs (SPA)
- School of International Service (SIS)
- School of Communications (SOC)
- Washington College of Law (WCL)
Professors of American University
