By Car
From I-95 North (Balt., NY/NJ, Phil.): Take Beltway WEST toward Silver Spring
From I –95 South (Virginia/NC): Take Beltway WEST toward Tysons Corner
From I-270: Take Beltway toward Northern Virginia
From Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway): Take exit 39 (River Road) and follow signs toward Washington. Continue east on River Road to the fifth traffic light. Turn right onto Goldsboro Road. At the first traffic light, turn left onto Massachusetts Avenue. Continue on Massachusetts Ave. for about two miles, through the first traffic circle (Westmoreland Circle). Continue straight for one mile, and enter Ward Circle. At Circle, turn right onto Nebraska Avenue. At first traffic light, turn left onto New Mexico Avenue, and make the first left into the AU parking lot.
From Arlington, VA: Cross the Key Bridge and turn left onto Canal Road at traffic light at end of bridge. Get into right lane and follow Canal Road up hill until it becomes Foxhall Road. Continue on Foxhall Road until it ends at Nebraska Avenue. Turn right onto Nebraska Avenue. At the second traffic light, turn right onto New Mexico Avenue, and make the first left into the AU parking lot.
Please note that parking at the university is by meter and by permit every weekday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Hourly permits are valid in the Nebraska lot and can be purchased from the Pay-As-You-Go machines in the lot. Metered parking is also available in the lot adjacent to the Bender Library.
For parking instructions for the Job and Internship Fair click here.
Washington’s Metro system directly serves Reagan National Airport and Union Station (Amtrak, MARC, VRE). The closest metro station to American University is Tenleytown/AU (also called Tenley Circle) on the Red Line.
AU operates a shuttle bus to and from the metro station every 15 minutes. To get to the shuttle stop, turn left after the second set of escalators, and at the top of the third set of escalators, walk straight ahead to the curb and wait for the bus with the AU logo. Get off the bus at the first stop on the main campus (ask the driver to alert you when the bus reaches the first main campus stop.) Refer to campus map for further directions to destination.
For further information on ground transportation from the metro area’s three airports, visit their websites: