In the heart of the nation’s capital, where decisions that shape the world are made daily, George Washington University diploma, George Washington University certificate. an institution founded by an act of Congress and inspired by the vision of America’s first president has spent more than two centuries preparing the leaders who make those decisions happen.
The George Washington University (GW) is not merely located in Washington, D.C.—it is woven into the fabric of the city, inseparable from the institutions of government, international finance, and public service that surround it.
The story of GW begins with a dream of George Washington himself. The nation’s first president believed that the new republic required a national university in the federal capital—a place where young people from across the country could come to study and prepare for lives of public service. Washington left 50 shares of Potomac River stock to fund the project. Though the shares proved worthless, his vision did not die.
On February 9, 1821, President James Monroe signed an Act of Congress establishing “The Columbian College” in the District of Columbia. It was one of only five universities in the United States ever created by an act of Congress—a distinction that speaks to the institution’s unique relationship with the federal government.
Over the decades, the institution grew, moving from its original location near the Capitol to its current home in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. How to order a GWU degree online? In 1904, the university was renamed in honor of its visionary founder, becoming The George Washington University.
GW’s location in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood, just blocks from the White House, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the State Department, is not incidental—it is essential to the university’s identity. Approximately 70 percent of undergraduates live on campus in 44 residence halls, many of which offer views of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol.
The university’s 25,939 students—11,482 undergraduates and 14,457 graduate and professional students—represent all 50 states and more than 130 countries. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1, GW offers the intimacy of a smaller institution within the resources of a comprehensive research university.
