Quad
George Washington UniversityWashington, DC · Private nonprofit

Academics

Majors and faculty

The most popular major is International Relations and Affairs (16% of graduates). 13 students for every faculty member, fewer than at 50% of colleges. 49% of faculty are full-time. Spends $24,525 a year on instruction per student.

Most popular majors

2,607 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates

The top 5 programs account for 44% of graduates; 82 programs in 20 fields awarded at least one.

  1. International Relations and Affairs 45.090116% 426
    Graduates in this field earn $76,751 4 years out
  2. Political Science and Government, General 45.100111% 292
    Graduates in this field earn $79,692 4 years out
  3. Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.38017.1% 184
    Graduates in this field earn $96,741 4 years out
  4. Psychology, General 42.01015.7% 149
    Graduates in this field earn $79,187 4 years out
  5. Business Administration and Management, General 52.02014.0% 105

Fastest-growing field: Health professions, 9.1% → 13% of graduates since 2014–15 (335 graduates in 2024–25).

Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)

Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.

Top-earning majors here

By earnings 4 years after completion

  1. Computer Science$150,716 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $104,200

    4 years after completion$150,716
    National median: $107,009Above typical

    Median federal debt: $19,500 · 126 graduates, two most recent years combined

  2. Finance and Financial Management Services$126,638 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $73,833

    4 years after completion$126,638
    National median: $83,343Above typical

    4 years out, Pell: $100,130 · Non-Pell: $100,334(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)

    Median federal debt: $18,148 · 214 graduates, two most recent years combined

  3. Systems Engineering$120,976 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: Too few graduates to report

    4 years after completion$120,976
    National median: $105,185Above typical

    Median federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 46 graduates, two most recent years combined

  4. Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$120,730 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $66,362

    4 years after completion$120,730
    National median: $86,176Above typical

    Median federal debt: $20,500 · 60 graduates, two most recent years combined

  5. Accounting and Related Services$116,795 4 yrs out

    1 year after completion: $69,151

    4 years after completion$116,795
    National median: $76,194Above typical

    Median federal debt: $24,750 · 69 graduates, two most recent years combined

Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.

Students per faculty member vs. every college13 to 1
13 to 1
← Fewer students per facultyfewer students per faculty member than 50% of 1,892More students per faculty →

The college also reports 12.9 to 1 in its Common Data Set (16,479 students, 1,279 faculty).

Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.

Class sizes

52%

of classes have fewer than 20 students; 10% have 50 or more

Under 20 students 20 or moreStudents per class section
Undergraduate class sections by number of students
StudentssectionsShare
2–91788%
10–1992743%
20–2941619%
30–3924311%
40–491648%
50–991638%
100+472%

This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.

Programs & curriculum

  • Accelerated program
  • Cross-registration
  • Distance learning
  • Double major
  • Dual enrollment
  • English as a Second Language
  • Domestic exchange program
  • Honors program
  • Independent study
  • Internships
  • Liberal arts/career combination
  • Student-designed major
  • Teacher certification
  • Study abroad

Requires coursework in arts, English composition, humanities, intensive writing, math, a natural science, and social science.

Full-time faculty49%
National median: 67%Below typical
Average faculty salary

$151,751

9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.

Spending and endowment

Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other private nonprofit colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable.

Instruction spending per student$24,525
$24,525
← Lessmore than 90% of 1,199More →
Endowment per student$116,333
$116,333
← Lessmore than 80% of 1,065More →

Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;George Washington University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;George Washington University Common Data Set 2025–26, 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)