The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences sits at the heart of Washington, D.C., providing students with an excellent education in the breadth of arts and sciences, cultural opportunities and discovery through research.

We are the cornerstone of GW's academic program, with 42 departments and programs, from biology to dance, sociology to anthropology, museum studies to forensic sciences.

Discover new worlds through lab sciences, humanities, literature, languages, performing arts, social sciences and more. Partner with some of the most prestigious institutions in the nation here in D.C., such as through our 100-year partnership with the Smithsonian; working with a 400-year-old book at the Folger Shakespeare Library; on the Hill; and in D.C.'s most prestigious think tanks, national headquarters and non-profits.

Join us in our commitment to generate and share knowledge and improve our world through research.

Arts and Sciences News

Professor Appears in "Stealing America" Film

American Studies Professor Libby Anker appears in a documentary, "Stealing America: Vote by Vote," playing at the E Street Cinema. In Washington, D.C. Learn more or find show times.

Professor Helps Identify
Victim in 1948 Crash

Forensic Science Professor Edward Robinson used fingerprinting techniques to identify human remains found at the site of a 1948 airplane crash in Alaska. Robinson worked with a team to identify the only human remains recovered from the crash that killed 30 people. The team's investigation took nine years.

Read the article in The Washington Post.

Excavating Armageddon:
Professor To Discuss Dig at Smithsonian

Archaeologist and professor Dr. Eric Cline will present the history and latest archaeological discoveries from this summer’s Megiddo Dig at the Smithsonian at 6:45 p.m. Sept. 16. Cline will discuss his findings at the site of Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley of Israel, the spot of the biblical Armageddon as well as countless history-changing events, from ancient battles to Pope Paul VI’s first visit to the Holy Land in 1964. Thirty cities have risen and fallen on this one site.

Megiddo guarded the most important highway of the ancient world; the Via Maris was a military and trade route between Egypt and Mesopotamia. Its stormy history covers six millennia and for this reason, the site has been excavated for more than 100 years. Beginning April 1, 1903, the findings of this dig have provided the majority of questions and answers from the Bronze and Iron Ages in this part of the world.

Jesse Krinsky, documentary filmmaker, will be premiering his latest film immediately following Cline’s talk. The 30-minute piece, The Megiddo Expedition: The Untold Story of Life on a Dig, has been in the works since 2006 and looks into the lives of student archaeologists and volunteers. Their goals and drive are explained against the backdrop of this major excavation. Krinsky is an experienced filmmaker who has worked with both the Discovery Channel and the History Channel.

Dr. Cline is the Chair of the Department of Classical and Semitic Languages and Literatures at George Washington University, and serves as the U.S. Associate Director of the Megiddo Expedition.

Listen to Dr. Cline talk about Megiddo on YouTube.

For tickets and more information, click here.

Who Listens to Blogging Heads?

Political Science Professors John SIdes and Eric Lawrence talk about their results of a political blogging study in the Los Angeles Times. Read the article.

Immigration's Impact on Cities Worldwide

GW Associate Professors of Geography Lisa Benton-Short and Marie Price, in photo, discuss the economic and socio-cultural impacts that immigrants have on major cities worldwide, as well as the linkages immigrants create with their countries of origin.

Benton-Short and Price recently published Migrants to the Metropolis: the Rise of Immigrant Gateway Cities. The analysis, based on field research, redirects the global narrative surrounding migration away from states and borders toward cities, where the majority of economic migrants settle.

It examines contemporary global immigrant trends and the profound effects on specific host cities, focusing not only on destinations with long-established diverse populations, but also on lesser-known gateway cities such as Amsterdam and the emerging gateways of Johannesburg, Singapore, Dublin, and Washington, D.C.

Making Solar Work

Ken Zweibel, a research faculty member at GW's Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, spoke at the National Academy of Sciencies on July 29 at its project meeting, "Making Big Solar Work: Achievements, Challenges & Opportunities." Zweibel's talk focused on how we can use solar energy: how much, how fast, and at what cost. View his presentation.

Graduate Student Wins First Place in Competition

Fourth-year graduate student Felicia Gomez, currently working on a Ph.D. in Hominid Paleobiology, was recently honored at the “Yale Bouchet Conference on Diversity in Graduate Education,” sponsored by the Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society. Gomez won first place for her presentation of her research on malaria susceptibility candidate genes. Read the story.

The Real Jurassic Park

National Geographic Magazine features the research of Biology Professor James Clark, who uncovered ancestors of T. rex and other reptile giants in China.

Read the article.

Watch the National Geographic video series on YouTube.

Check out the latest Columbian College of Arts and Science news in By George!

GW Creates Global Media Institute

Mapping a Volcano's History

Project Sheds Light on Eleanor Roosevelt's Legacy