The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences is the original college of George Washington University and one of the oldest colleges in the United States. It was created as a Baptist institution by Reverend Luther Rice, and officially founded as the Columbian College on February 9, 1821 by an act of Congress signed by President James Monroe. Originally, the college consisted of two departments: the Theological Department and Classical Department, with individual professors covering other subjects such as mathematics and anatomy. The college's first class graduated in 1824, where the president presented each of the three graduates with their degree in the presence of the Marquis de Lafayette and college president William Staughton. The college conferred its first Master of Arts degree in 1831. It was one of the first institutions in the United States to award a doctorate, awarding a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1888. However, the graduate program was not formally established until 1905. With the dawn of the Civil War in 1861, the majority of the students left the college to fight for the Confederacy, and the campus buildings were used as a hospital and barracks. In 1873 the college becomes Columbian University and in 1904 the George Washington University was established by an Act of Congress, with Columbian College and its Graduate School being integrated in the Department of Arts and Sciences. In 1962 Columbian College changed its name to the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Facilities
The College contains many research centers and institutes, including the Biostatistics Center. Its main facilities are located at George Washington University's Foggy Bottom campus.
Organization and administration
The college is managed by a team of administrative staff currently led by Interim Dean Paul Wahlbeck and Vice DeanEric Arnesen. The leadership is also supported by the National Council for Arts and Sciences, which is composed of national and international alumni and others associated to the college, and serves a volunteer advisory board. Other affiliated advisory councils are the Corcoran Strategic Advisory Council, the National Council for Media and Public Affairs and the Trachtenberg School Advisory Board.
Academics
The Columbian College houses 42 academic departments and programs. CCAS is also host to three distinct schools:
It offers a total of 61 undergraduate minors, 58 undergraduate major, 51 master's degrees and 33 combined degree program's. The College offers degrees in the main fields Arts & Design, Clinical Programs, Humanities, Mathematics & Statistical Analysis, Natural & Forensic Sciences, Policy & Public Affairs and Social & Behavioral Sciences. The college also offers different engaged learning programs, an extensive on- and offline summer school program, 16 graduate certificates and more than 30 doctoral degrees. The college has an international network of partnering universities and schools. For students there are currently more than 300 study and exchange programs in 50 countries available.
Rankings
The College is ranked as the 7th best college of political sciences in the United States, by USA Today College rankings. In the 2018 Academic Ranking of World Universities, Columbian ranks in the top 76-100 schools of social sciences in the world. U.S. News & World Report ranks its graduate programs as:
History, 59th best in the United States
Economics, 63rd best in the United States
English, 67th best in the United States
Research
The College is home to 28 research centers and institutes with an average annual research expenditure of $18.6 million. Research is supported by internal funding and external grants from institutions like the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. It also offers different undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral student research fellowships and programs.
