The following programs showcase unique learning and research opportunities exclusive to American University. Programming is arranged by college or school. Contact us with more information about your school's signature learning options!
College of Arts & Sciences
The Institute’s mission is to promote the interdisciplinary study of information, information processing and decision rules based on efficient use of information. That mission is achieved through collaborations among researchers across the scientific spectrum and dissemination of knowledge through conferences, workshops and seminars as well as through short-term, hands-on classes at the graduate and post-graduate level.
Founded in 1995, the Institute is dedicated to educating the public about crucial aspects of nuclear history. To that end, the Institute offers a summer program consisting of two classes at American University plus a third class—a study abroad trip to Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Kyoto, Japan.
Kogod School of Business
At the Kogod School of Business, we believe in extending education beyond the classroom to include experiential learning that will enhance our students' intellectual development, leadership ability, communication skills, and professional self-confidence. That's why we created the K-LAB, a series of programs and activities that enables business students to work in supportive settings, where they can test and improve their professional skills.
School of Communication
The Community Voice Project is a cross-campus initiative of faculty and students from SOC’s journalism and film divisions and the College of Arts and Sciences anthropology department. The project enhances the academic missions of SOC and CAS while showcasing ways to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. A digital library of the students’ work is being created to serve as a model for other university and non-profit collaborations throughout the country
J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism launched in 2002 to help journalists and citizens use digital technologies to develop new ways to people to participate in public life through the media. It quickly became one of the first players in the news innovations space, drawing on more than a decade of pioneering civic journalism work, led by J-Lab founder Jan Schaffer.The center publishes web tutorials on how to launch and manage startup news sites, and it develops information and resources for online community news sites at the Knight Citizen News Network.
The School of Communication's weekend MA programs in Producing for Film & Video, Interactive Journalism, and Public Communication are for focused, working professionals who want to excel at their current careers or launch new ones.
All three programs are intense, structured and collaborative, running on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 20 months. You move through them as part of a cohort--a group of colleagues with whom you take a prescribed sequence of classes. The cohort style helps you create enduring professional networks and ensures that you learn from accomplished communicators--members of American University's full-time faculty, outstanding practitioners brought in as guest lecturers and adjuncts; and perhaps most important, your fellow students.
School of International Service
Providing students with the practical tools and academic framework to become participants and leaders in the international environmental field, the Global Environmental Politics program concentrates on sustainable development, environmental ethics, international political economy, international diplomacy, and environmental justice. The GEP program hosts two Masters degrees, one in Global Environmental Policy, and a dual degree with UN-affiliated University for Peace (Costa Rica) in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development.
SIS has launched a school-wide Social Enterprise Initiative that builds on and expands our approach to teaching social entrepreneurship. For many years our graduates have started new NGOs and led change efforts in existing international organization. We have always been a school centered on a mission of service. This initiative is the latest expression of that purpose.
School of Public Affairs
The School of Public Affair's Department of Justice, Law & Society offers courses of study at the doctoral, graduate, and undergraduate levels, including master's and Ph.D. programs in Justice, Law and Society. Through SPA’s Justice Programs Office, JLS faculty scholarship is shared with the AU and Washington communities, and across the nation.
The Key MPA Program largely serves leaders employed by the federal government, though a significant number of state, local, nonprofit and private leaders also graduate from the program. Each course is highly relevant to the complex roles and tasks of public-sector team leaders, managers, and executives. Each course is also continually reviewed to reflect changes occurring in business and the public sector.
Washington College of Law
International Visiting Scholar Program
The International Visiting Scholars Program at American University Washington College of Law welcomes visitors from across the world. This program is designed to provide scholars, judges, lawyers, and government officials with an opportunity to engage in research and scholarship. In addition to adding to the unique international environment of WCL, International Scholars promote international exchange and understanding in the general Washington, D.C. area by participating in various community volunteer opportunities and site visits to international organizations, governmental agencies and non-governmental institutions.
Gender cuts across many of the traditional boundaries that separate legal disciplines. At Washington College of Law, we take multiple approaches to integrate gender throughout the entire curriculum. We offer basic and advanced upper level courses in gender and law (such as Feminist Jurisprudence or Gender, Cultural Difference and Human Rights). Many professors include significant components on gender in more general courses (such as Human Rights or Employment Law) Finally, many professors integrate a gender perspective into courses where students might not expect it (such as Tax or Environmental Law), which is a wonderful reminder that there is no area of the law that is not affected by gender.
