 | |
| Motto | Pro deo et patria (Latin) |
|---|---|
Motto in English | "For God and Country" |
| Type | Privatefederally charteredresearch university |
| Established | February 24, 1893; 132 years ago (1893-02-24) |
| Founder | John Fletcher Hurst |
| Accreditation | MSCHE |
Religious affiliation | United Methodist Church |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $1.032 billion (2024)[1] |
| President | Jonathan Alger |
| Provost | Vicky M. Wilkins |
| Students | 13,019 (fall 2023)[2] |
| Undergraduates | 7,571 (fall 2023) |
| Postgraduates | 3,613 (fall 2023) |
Other students | 1,835 (fall 2023) |
| Location | , District of Columbia ,United States 38°56′14″N77°05′13″W / 38.9371°N 77.0869°W /38.9371; -77.0869 |
| Campus | Large City,[3] 90 acres (36 ha) |
| Newspaper | The Eagle |
| Colors | Red Blue White |
| Nickname | Eagles |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Clawed Z. Eagle |
| Website | american |
 | |
 | |
TheAmerican University (AU orAmerican) is aprivatefederally charteredresearch university inWashington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) onWard Circle, in theSpring Valley andTenleytown neighborhoods ofNorthwest D.C.
American was chartered by anAct of Congress in 1893 at the urging ofMethodist bishopJohn Fletcher Hurst, who sought to create an institution that promotedpublic service,internationalism, andpragmatic idealism.[4][5] The university was founded by theGeneral Conference of theMethodist Episcopal Church as anational Methodist institution.[6] It remains affiliated with theUnited Methodist Church, however, religious affiliation is not a criterion for admission, employment, nor an academic requirement. AU broke ground in 1902, opened as agraduate education institution in 1914, and admitted its first undergraduates in 1925.
AU consists of eight schools and colleges: theSchool of International Service; theCollege of Arts and Sciences; the Kogod School of Business; theSchool of Communication; the School of Professional and Extended Studies; theSchool of Public Affairs; theLinda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education; and theWashington College of Law (WCL). American offers over 160 academic programs, including 71 bachelor's degrees, 87 master's degrees, and 10 doctoral degrees, as well asJD,LLM, andSJD programs. The university isclassified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[7] With a student body of over 13,000 representing all 50 U.S. states and 141 countries, nearly a fifth of the students are international. Student athletes compete in intercollegiate athletic teams as theAmerican Eagles in theNCAA Division I as a member of thePatriot League.[8] AU is home to The Jack I. and Dorothy G. Bender Library, which holds more than one million books and is part of theWashington Research Library Consortium, along with WCL's Pence Law Library.[9] American is one of the top three feeder schools to theU.S. Department of State.[10]
American University was established in the District of Columbia by anAct of Congress on December 5, 1892, primarily due to the efforts of Methodist bishopJohn Fletcher Hurst, who aimed to create an institution that could train futurepublic servants. Hurst also chose the university's site, which was in the rural periphery ofWashington, D.C.
After more than three decades devoted principally to securing financial support, the university was officially dedicated on May 15, 1914. Instruction began in October 1914 with 28 student enrollees, 19 of whom were graduates and the remainder special students not candidates for a degree.
American University's first commencement was held on June 2, 1915.
DuringWorld War I, the university allowed theU.S. military to use the university's grounds for testing. In 1917, the U.S. military divided American University into two segments:Camp Leach andCamp American University. Camp Leach was home to advanced research, development, and testing of modern camouflage techniques. Camp American University was an experiment station that became the birthplace of the United States' chemical weapons program and the site of chemical weapons testing.[11][12] A major cleanup effort began in the 1990s to remove chemical weapon remnants, particularly a cache of over 200 mustard-gas shells buried beneath the campus.[13] Additional material was located in June 2024.[14][15]
Instruction was first offered at only the graduate level, in accordance with the vision of the university's founders. This changed in 1925 with the establishment of the College of Liberal Arts (subsequently named theCollege of Arts and Sciences), which offered undergraduate degrees and programs. What is now theSchool of Public Affairs was founded in 1934,[16] partly to educate future federal employees inpublic administration.
AU's relationship with the U.S. government continued duringWorld War II, when the campus hosted the U.S. Navy Bomb Disposal School and aWAVE barracks. For AU's role in these wartime efforts, theVictory shipSSAmerican Victory was named in its honor.[17]
The post-World War II-period saw considerable growth and restructuring of AU. In 1949, the university merged with theWashington College of Law, which had been founded in 1896. Shortly after that, three departments were reorganized as schools: the School of Business Administration in 1955 (subsequently named the Robert P. and Arlene R. Kogod College of Business Administration and in 1999, renamed the Kogod School of Business); the School of Government and Public Administration in 1957; and theSchool of International Service in 1958.[citation needed]
In the early 1960s, theDepartment of Defense and theCentral Intelligence Agency operated theFFRDCSpecial Operations Research Office as a think-tank at American University. AU's political involvement was furthered by PresidentJohn F. Kennedy's Spring 1963commencement address.[18] In the speech, Kennedy called on the Soviet Union to work with the United States to achieve a nuclear-test-ban treaty and to reduce the considerable international tensions and the specter of nuclear war during that juncture of theCold War.
From 1965 to 1977, the College of Continuing Education existed as a degree-granting college responsible for on- and off-campus adult-education programs. The Lucy Webb Hayes School of Nursing provided an undergraduate study in Nursing from 1965 until 1988. In 1972, the School of Government and Public Administration, the School of International Service, the Center for Technology and Administration, and the Center for the Administration of Justice (subsequently named the School of Justice) were incorporated into the College of Public and International Affairs.
The university bought the Immaculata Campus in 1986 to alleviate space problems. This would later become Tenley Campus.[19]
In 1986, construction on the Adnan Khashoggi Sports and Convocation Center began. Financed with $5 million from and named for Saudi Arabian TrusteeAdnan Khashoggi, the building was intended to update athletics facilities and provide a new arena, as well as a parking garage and office space for administrative services. Costing an estimated $19 million, the building represented the largest construction project to date but met protest by both faculty and students to the university's use of Khashoggi's name on the building due to his involvement in the international arms trade.[20]
In 1988, the College of Public and International Affairs was reorganized to create two free-standing schools: the School of International Service and the School of Public Affairs, incorporating the School of Government and Public Administration and the School of Justice. That same year, construction of the Adnan Khashoggi Sports Center was completed while theIran–Contra Affair controversy was at its height, although his name remained on the building until after Khashoggi defaulted on his donation obligation in the mid-to-late 1990s.
In 1997,American University of Sharjah, the only coeducational, liberal arts university in theUnited Arab Emirates, signed a two-year contract with AU to provide academic management. This contract has since been extended multiple times through August 2009. A team of senior AU administrators relocated toSharjah to assist in the establishment of the university and guide it through theMiddle States Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation process.
In fall 2005, theKatzen Arts Center andAmerican University Museum opened, funded by a donation from Washington, D.C.philanthropists Dr. Cyrus and Myrtle Katzen.[21] The center continues to exhibit the Katzen's art collection and focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration in the arts.[22]
Benjamin Ladner was suspended from his position as president of the university on August 24, 2005, pending an investigation into possible misuse of university funds. University faculty passed votes of no confidence in President Ladner the following month.[23] One month after the faculty vote, the board of trustees decided that Ladner would not return to American University as its president.[24] According toThe Chronicle of Higher Education,[25] Ladner would receive total compensation of $4,270,665 in his final year of service, the second-highest of any university president in the nation.
Cornelius M. Kerwin, a long-time AU administrator, was then appointed interim president. On September 1, 2007, Kerwin was appointed to the position permanently after two applicants declined an offer from the board of trustees.[26]
Ground was broken for the newSchool of International Service building on November 14, 2007, and completed in 2010.[27] At the building's opening, a speech was given by then-Hawaiian SenatorDaniel K. Inouye.
In 2015, American University began offering an accredited, accelerated onlineMBA program.[28][29]
In May 2017, Kerwin retired as AU's president.[30] In June, shortly after leaving her position asHHS secretary,Sylvia Mathews Burwell was tapped to become the 15th president and the first woman to serve in that role.[31]
In 2017,Taylor Dumpson became AU's first Black female student body president. In her first full day in office, bananas were found at three places on campus, hanging from noose-like ropes, and marked with the initials "AKA," the initials of theAlpha Kappa Alpha sorority. The university considered the incident to be racist, with outgoing president Kerwin calling it a "cowardly, despicable act."[32][33]
In May 2018, Dumpson would file a lawsuit against several people, includingAndrew Anglin, the founder of theneo-Nazi websiteThe Daily Stormer. She accused Anglin of doxing and organizing a racist and sexist trolling campaign against her.[34] A federal judge ordered the defendants to pay more than $101,000 in compensatory damages, $500,000 in punitive damages, and more than $124,000 in attorney's fees, and granted Dumpson a restraining order against Anglin. In December 2018, Dumpson sued another man who had harassed her. The man was required to apologize, to renouncewhite supremacy, to stop trolling anddoxing online, and to cooperate with authorities in the prosecution of white supremacists.[33]
In 2019, theSchool of Education (SOE) was separated from theCollege of Arts and Sciences (CAS).[35] According to then dean of SOE Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy the move was made to "encourage more students to pursue careers in education."[35] Areas of study that students can pursue within the school include: teacher education, special education, education policy and leadership, and international education. The school is home to the Institute for Innovation in Education and the Center for Postsecondary Readiness and Success.[36][35]
On April 22, 2020, AU announced that it haddivested its endowment offossil fuels, becoming one of the first universities in the United States to completely divest of both direct and indirect fossil fuel holdings.[37][38] Following a studentreferendum in favor of divestment, the AU board of trustees voted against divesting the endowment in 2014.[39] The decision to divest in 2020 came after extensive student campaigning from groups like Fossil Free AU and the undergraduate student government.[40][38] In 2020, Fossil Free AU pushed for a second student referendum on the subject, and the student government released a report on divestment, presented to the board of trustees by student comptroller Robert Zitzmann.[38][40][41][42]
In early August 2023, Burwell announced she would be stepping down as AU's 15th president but would continue work in AU's Sine Institute for Policy and Politics.[43][44] On July 1, 2024,Jonathan Alger became AU's 16th president.[45] Alger named Matthew Eynon, former Associate Vice President of theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), to lead AU's University Advancement and Strategic Planning.[46]
In November 2024, it was reported that AU was considering restructuring itsSOE, potentially merging it back into theCAS or even dissolving theSOE altogether, due to budget concerns.[47] In February 2025, longtime finance professor H. Kent Baker made an undisclosed donation, the largest individual gift in AU's history, in honor of his late wife, Linda. The Board of Trustees recognized his transformative gift by renaming the schoolthe Linda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education, a move that ultimately preserved the school's independent status.[48]
American University has two contiguous campuses for academics and student housing: the main campus onMassachusetts Avenue and the East Campus on Nebraska Avenue.Washington College of Law was moved to the site of theTenley Campus located in nearbyTenleytown. AU owns several other buildings in Tenleytown,Spring Valley, East Campus inWesley Heights, andAmerican University Park areas.
The first design for the campus was done byFrederick Law Olmsted. However, it was significantly modified over time due to financial constraints. The campus occupies 84 acres (340,000 m2) adjacent toWard Circle, the intersection of Nebraska andMassachusetts Avenues. AU's campus is predominantly surrounded by the affluent residential neighborhoods characteristic of theNorthwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The campus includes a main quadrangle surrounded by academic buildings, nine residential halls, a 5,000-seat arena, and an outdooramphitheater. The campus has been designated a public garden andarboretum by theAmerican Public Gardens Association, which includes severalexotic plantings dotting the landscape.[49]
Tenley Campus, formerly the all-girlsImmaculata Preparatory School, is located half a mile east of American's main campus. The university purchased the property in 1987 to serve as asatellite campus and to host the Washington Semester program.
Since 2016,Tenley Campus has housed theAmerican University Washington College of Law (WCL). Over the years, several dormitory halls and academic buildings were renovated or replaced with modern facilities to accommodate the needs of a law school.[50]
As of the Class of 2023, 75% ofWCL graduates secured jobs requiring bar passage immediately after graduation. Additionally, 82% of graduates obtained employment that either required bar passage or considered aJuris Doctor degree an advantage. Only twenty students still sought employment post-graduation.[51]
The university is composed of eight divisions, referred to as colleges or schools, which house its academic programs. Except for WCL, undergraduate and graduate courses are housed within the same division, although organized into different programs. These colleges and schools are:
| Undergraduate | U.S. (2018) | |
|---|---|---|
| White | 55.7% | 55.2% |
| Asian | 6.9% | 7.0% |
| Hispanic | 12.6% | 19.5% |
| Black | 7.8% | 13.4% |
| Two or More Races | 5.7% | 3.9% |
| American Indian | 0.03% | 0.7% |
| Pacific Islander | 0.05% | 0.3% |
| International | 8.1% | N/A |
| Unknown | 3.1% | N/A |
| Male | 36.7% | 43% |
| Female | 63.3% | 57% |
| Undergraduate admissions statistics | |
|---|---|
| Admit rate | 47% (  +6.8) |
| Yield rate | 26.2% (  −0.2) |
| Test scoresmiddle 50%[i] | |
| SATEBRW | 670–740 |
| SAT Math | 620–710 |
| ACT Composite | 29–32 |
| |
Admission to American is considered to be "more selective" by theU.S. News & World Report.[56] For the Class of 2027 (enrolling fall 2023), AU received 17,786 freshmen applications; 8,427 were admitted (47%) and 1,856 enrolled.[52] The middle 50% range ofSAT scores were 670–740 for Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and 620–710 for Math.[57] The middle 50% range of theACT Composite score was 29–32.[57]
In 2025,U.S. News & World Report ranked American University 4th in study abroad programs.[58] American University operates three premier programs inBrussels, Belgium;Madrid, Spain; andNairobi, Kenya but, also partners with universities across the globe.
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Forbes[59] | 141 |
| U.S. News & World Report[60] | 91 |
| Washington Monthly[61] | 103 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[62] | 132 |
| Global | |
| QS[63] | =587 |
| THE[64] | 601–800 |
| U.S. News & World Report[65] | 590 |
American University's undergraduate program was tied for 91st overall among "national universities" inU.S. News & World Report's 2025 rankings, tied for 26th in "Best Undergraduate Teaching", 38th in "Most Innovative Schools", and 114th in "Best Value Schools".[58]
In 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2018, American University was named the most politically active school in the nation byThe Princeton Review's annual survey of college students.[66][67] In 2006, theFiske Guide to Colleges ranked AU as a "Best Buy" college for the quality of academic offerings in relation to the cost of attendance. However, in 2013, the Daily Beast listed the school in their list of "20 Least Affordable Colleges".[68] For two years in a row, American University has had more students chosen to receivePresidential Management Fellowships than any other college or university in the country. In spring 2006, 34 graduate and law students were chosen for the honor.[69] American University routinely ranks among the top mid-sized universities for producingPeace Corps volunteers.[70]
TheSchool of Public Affairs is ranked 10th in the U.S. byU.S. News & World Report for 2023.[71]
| Discipline | Literary journal |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publication details | |
| History | 1984-present |
| Publisher | American University (United States) |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Standard abbreviations ISO 4 (alt) · Bluebook (alt) NLM (alt) · MathSciNet (alt  ) | |
| ISO 4 | Folio |
| Indexing CODEN (alt · alt2) · JSTOR (alt) · LCCN (alt) MIAR · NLM (alt) · Scopus · W&L | |
| ISSN | 1547-4151 |
| OCLC no. | 20236678 |
| Links | |
Folio is aliterary magazine founded in 1984 and based at American University.[72][73] It publishes fiction,poetry, visual art, andcreative nonfiction twice each year.Folio has printed interviews with prominent writers, most recentlyAnn Beattie,Alice Fulton,Leslie Pietrzyk,Gregory Orr, andAdam Haslett. Work that has appeared inFolio was short-listed for thePushcart Prize multiple times in the 1980s. Among the notable stories that first appeared inFolio areJacob M. Appel's "Fata Morgana" and "Becoming Coretta Davis" by I. Bennett Capers.
On September 24, 2018, AU PresidentSylvia M. Burwell announced theSine Institute of Policy and Politics.[74] Taking advantage of AU's location in the nation's capital, the institute aims to bring together scholars, journalists, and experts from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to find common ground and bipartisan policy solutions to the nation's problems.[75] The Sine Institute launched with a conversation between Burwell and Republican SenatorBob Corker of Tennessee.[76]
| American University Library | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Established | 1926 as Battelle Library |
| Collection | |
| Size | over 1 million volumes |
| Access and use | |
| Population served | 10,000 students & 1,000 faculty |
| Other information | |
| Director | Jeehyun Davis |
| Employees | 72 (full-time) |
| Website | www |
The Jack I. and Dorothy G. Bender Library and Learning Resources Center is the main library facility for the campus. The University Library is part of the Washington Research Library Consortium (WRLC), which includes seven other libraries. The WRLC operates a consortium loan service between member institutions and has a shared collections site in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
The Library's Archives and Special Collections houses unique and rare materials and information on the institution's history. The University Archives is the repository for papers and other documents, including sound recordings and photographs, spanning more than a century of the university's history. Special Collections houses rare materials.[77]
AU has over 150 recognized organizations on campus, ranging from political to social.
American has a Model United Nations team, ranked 1st in North America since the 2021–2022 academic year.[78][79] The team competes actively at intercollegiate tournaments, and also hosts "AmeriMUNC" (American Model United Nations Conference) a yearly High School Model UN competition on campus.[80][81]
American University Student Government (AUSG) is the governing body of the student population and has been ranked as the most active student government in the United States.[82] It comprises the Undergraduate Senate and the Executive Branch. AUSG promotes advocacy and launches initiatives on campus supported by the student body.[83][84]
AU has eight student-run university-recognized media organizations, includingThe Eagle newspaper, radio stationWVAU, the Second District Records record label, the American Literary Magazine (AmLit), and several magazines. These media organizations are governed by a Student Media Board and are funded through the university's undergraduate student activity fee.[85]
The university also ownsNational Public Radio's flagship capital affiliate,WAMU, which has been a source of nationally and internationally distributed programming such asThe Diane Rehm Show and1A.[86]
While AU is affiliated with theUnited Methodist Church and hosts the AU United Methodist Community,[87] AU has a variety of other religious life groups, including Catholic,[88] Chabad Lubavitch of the AU Community,[89] American University Hillel,[90] and the Jewish Student Association.[91]
American University has a Panhellenic Association (PHA), Interfraternity Council (IFC), and an Intercultural Greek Collective comprising organizations from theNational Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC),National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO), andNational APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).[92][93] There are also several independent organizations.
An environmental science class at American conducted a study from February to April 2009 to measure the amount offood waste avoided by eliminating trays from one of the college's dining halls. The class found that trayless dinners resulted in 47.1% less solid waste than dinners during which trays were used, spurring a student-driven campaign to go trayless across campus.[94]
In 2011, theAssociation for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) awarded American University a gold rating, the highest possible, on their STARS scale for sustainability. Since then, American University has earned five consecutive gold ratings, the most recent in 2020.[95]
Also in 2011, American University's School of International Service building earned Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification for its 70,000 square foot building renowned for sustainable design and "cradle-to-cradle" philosophy.[96]
In 2014, American University ranked #2 in theSierra Club's list of the 'Top 10 Greenest Colleges'.[97]
In 2014, the university announced an ambitious project to build a solar farm in partnership with George Washington University.[98] As of January 2016[update], the completed solar farm provides an equivalent of 50% of the university's electricity.[99]
In 2018, American University became the first university in the United States to achieve carbon-neutral status.[100] In 2020, AU announced that it had eliminated all public fossil fuel investments from its endowment.[101]
A member of thePatriot League,[102] AU has several sports teams including men's and women'sbasketball,soccer,cross-country,swimming anddiving,track, women'svolleyball,field hockey, andlacrosse, and men'swrestling. Club sports, such as tennis, rugby, rowing, ice hockey, field hockey, equestrian andultimate frisbee also have teams.
Bender Arena, a multi-purpose facility, hosts many of American's athletic competitions. Bender Arena opened on January 23, 1988, when AU's women's basketball team hostedJames Madison University.[citation needed]
Reeves Field, home to AU's soccer team, earned the 2002 College Soccer Field of the Year by the Sports Turf Managers Association, hosted its fifthNCAA Tournament game, and served as the training site for theUruguay national football team.[citation needed] Reeves Field features a six-lane track to accommodate the track and field programs at AU and functions as a multi-purpose event site.
American University has seven tennis courts and two basketball courts in the outdoor recreational facility located next to Reeves Field and behind Bender Arena. AU has hosted Patriot League tennis team championships three times since joining the league.[citation needed] Both the men's and women's tennis teams have been cut from the athletics program.[103]
On March 14, 2008, AU earned its first NCAA tournament berth in men's basketball by defeatingColgate University in the Patriot League Championship Game. However, AU lost its first-round NCAA tournament game against theUniversity of Tennessee. On March 13, 2009, AU's men's basketball team repeated as Patriot League Champion by defeating Holy Cross 73–57, earning an automatic bid to theNCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. They ultimately lost toVillanova University in the first round on March 19, 2009, with a final score of 80–67.
Notable university alumni, faculty, and affiliates include eight foreign heads of state; over 30U.S. senators andrepresentatives; twogovernors; alieutenant governor; multipleU.S. Cabinet members; twoNobel laureates; twoPulitzer Prize winners; anAcademy Award recipient; manyFulbright Scholars; more than 30ambassadors; and prominentglobal finance leaders.[104]
