You are here: American University School of International Service Student Resources

Back to top

Your virtual information desk

Students at the School of International Service have many opportunities to engage, connect, work, study, and learn. The resources aggregated here are intended to assist you as you pursue not just a degree, but also the growth of a lifelong network of colleagues and friends.

SIS Scholarships & Endowed Funds

SIS, through the generous support of past donors, offer scholarships and awards that help fund your education, research, and more.

Browse SIS Funds

More Fellowship & Funding Opportunities

Many organizations offer fellowships and funding awards for which SIS students may be eligible.

Learn More

General Resources

AU offers numerous resources that can assist you in everything from improving your writing to finding an on-campus yoga class.

Academic Support Center (ASAC): Offers academic skills workshops, individual appointments, peer tutoring, and academic writing assistance. ASAC’s Office of Disability Support Services ensures that students with disabilities have equal access to university services and programs.

AU Central: Provides student services related to student accounts, financial aid, and veteran's benefits.

AU Graduate Studies: Contains a comprehensive list of links to campus resources and services for graduate students, including Academic Regulations, information about health insurance, and options for academic support. 

AU Student Writing Center: Helps students improve their writing, including generating ideas, organizing ideas and research, and polishing their prose.

Center for Teaching, Research, and Learning (CTRL): Provides students with tools needed for research and learning.

Graduate Academic Regulations: Provides regulations that govern all American University students enrolled in graduate degree programs, in graduate certificate programs, or as graduate non-degree students.

Health and Wellness: Contains resources from the AU Office of the Dean of Students. Believing that academic success is more easily achieved when a student takes responsibility for his or her own health, they provide up-to-date resources corresponding to the university’s wellness model of balance that combines physical, intellectual, spiritual, occupational, social, and emotional health.

Institutional Review Board for Protection of Human Subjects in Research (IRB): Provides guidance to students as either researchers or research subjects.

Intergroup Dialogue: A seven-week program that provides a unique learning opportunity for AU students to engage on a range of identity topics, including but not limited to: race, ethnicity, gender, class, sexuality, and faith. Housed in the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, dialogues are intergroup, gathering people from multiple backgrounds and identities for sustained, ongoing dialogue for two-hours each week.

International Student Information: Since 1954, International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) has welcomed thousands of students and scholars to AU.

Office of Campus Life (OCL): Made up of 15 student-focused departments designed to support AU students on their journey to explore, connect, and grow into global citizens.

Office of Merit Awards (OMA): Provides information to students and maintains a national directory of scholarships. OMA assists students in preparing applications for Fulbrights, Boren Fellowships, and other awards.

Tool of Research (TOR) Language Examination: The College of Arts and Sciences offers reduced cost language coaching and course options, CAS-025 Reading Preparation for TOR and CAS-600 Language Preparation for TOR, for students to prepare for the TOR exam to fulfill their language requirement.

Optimizing your AU email

All AU student email address are Gmail addresses. Gmail attempts to predict which incoming emails are and are not important; however, this feature works poorly when paired with AU’s listserv system. Information here will assist you in consistently receiving emails from SIS’s listservs.

In order to consistently receive emails from SIS Graduate Advising (sisgradadvising@american.edu) or other SIS offices in your primary inbox, we recommend that you add us to your list of contacts and use the filter feature to "Never send it to Spam," "Always mark it as important," and "Categorize as Personal." We also recommend that you use labels to easily sort emails from your program listserv, Grad Advising, and Career Advising, as well as for your classes.

To update your Gmail preferences to prioritize emails from SIS offices, please follow the below steps, using sisgradadvising@american.edu as the example address:

  1. Add to List of Contacts

    First, select an email from SIS Graduate Advising (sisgradadvising@american.edu). Hover your mouse over the name of the sender. A box will pop up. Click "Add to contacts."

  2. Filter for and Apply Label to Emails

    First, open an email from SIS Graduate Advising (sisgradadvising@american.edu). Click the down arrow next to the reply button. Click "Filter messages like this." Then, click "Create filter with this search."

  3. Check "Never send it to Spam," "Always mark it as important," and "Categorize as Personal"

    If you would like to create labels for different AU departments for easy searching and sorting, check "Apply the label" and type the name of the label you would like to apply to emails from this sender, e.g. "SIS Grad Advising." Click "Create filter."

Now, all emails sent from SIS Graduate Advising should appear in your primary Gmail inbox, be marked as important, and be labeled as SIS Grad Advising. Please consider adding similar filters to other important AU email addresses.

Student Organizations

SIS prides itself on a long tradition of student activism, and a variety of opportunities are in place for current students who wish to be involved. Student groups have helped to endow scholarships, been catalysts for changes in the curriculum, and supported various programs with recruitment, alumni relations, and student life. Volunteering with various organizations offers you a chance to make a lasting impact on the school and university and truly enhance your time at SIS.