Hi again everyone! I am writing about my experiences with the online courses that The George Washington University offers during the summer. This is probably of interest to those of you who may have fallen behind on one or two requirements or are just interested in getting ahead!

GW offers some of the same courses that they offer during the regular school year throughout the summer online.  They are mostly six-week courses (the summer is divided into two sessions of six weeks each) and are all worth their usual credit amounts, be it 3 or 4 credits. They also fulfill the same requirements that they would during the regular school year.  These courses,  run mostly through your online Blackboard portal, can be a great way to take courses that you know will count for college credit while satisfying your GW major requirements as well – all while balancing a job and/or other summer activities! You don’t need to be on campus, in D.C., or even in the United States to take these courses – so long as you have access to the internet, you are good to go.

Professors are very available to talk via email and usually respond quite quickly. One heads up though is that the content of these courses are the same as when regularly offered at GW, so still cover the same amount of material but in just six weeks during the summer.  This means that the courses do require a fair bit of reading and time, but I have found that they are really worth it.

I took two courses online last summer and I am now in my second online course again this summer. Last summer I took ENGL 081 W – Intro to Creative Writing and REL 120 – Religions Wage Peace. Both of these courses counted towards my Humanities and Creative Arts requirements and I was able take these courses while having an internship at the same time! This summer I am at the same internship while balancing two more courses. These are HIST 182 – US Diplomatic History and GEOG 127 – Population Geography. So far I have really enjoyed my courses and am very satisfied with my decision to take them online during the summer.

If you are interested in learning more about what GW has to offer for summer online courses or anything else related to the summer take a look at their website

Elizabeth is a rising junior majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Contemporary Cultures and Societies.  She is also pursuing a second major in Philosophy-Public Affairs and a minor in Applied Ethics.

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Hi! My name is Elizabeth Gerke and I am a sophomore majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Contemporary Cultures and Societies.  I am also majoring in Philosophy-Public Affairs and minoring in Applied Ethics.  I have recently joined the peer advising team here at the Elliott School and I love it.  I hope that my take on how to pick an International Affairs concentration will be helpful and stress-relieving!

The first thing that I recommend is to become familiar with the options available to you as an Elliott School student. The concentrations are listed online at the Elliott School website under the International Affairs major. The potential concentrations are divided into two groups: functional and regional. Regional group concentrations focus on geographic areas of the world and functional group concentrations focus on specific themes of international affairs that students can make their area of expertise.

From here you can decide if you want to focus in a world region or a functional group.  Are you especially interested in Latin America, the Middle East or Asia?  Africa and Europe/Eurasia are also potential concentrations here. If you can’t seem to decide on one portion of the world (or you would just prefer not to), then you should consider the functional group concentrations. These include Conflict & Security, International Economics, International Politics, Global Public Health and my concentration: Contemporary Cultures and Societies. For the full list of functional group concentrations please take a look at the website.

Each concentration requires that you take five courses out of those listed. Some concentrations have prerequisites recommended at the beginning of the course list as they are needed for many of the other courses listed below.  For your concentration to be considered complete, you must take courses from at least 2 different departments. One of the five courses that you take may be double-counted between your major and concentration requirements. Your concentration must be declared using the Group Concentration Form no later than the first semester of your junior year. This means that if you are considering studying abroad during your junior year, you should consider declaring your concentration your sophomore year. The form is simple to fill out and only takes about ten minutes.

I hope this guide to picking a concentration was helpful for you! If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask a peer advisor at esiapeer@gmail.com.

Elizabeth is a sophomore majoring in International Affairs with a concentration in Contemporary Cultures and Societies.  She is also pursuing a second major in Philosophy-Public Affairs and a minor in Applied Ethics.

Hey all!  My name is Hayley Haldeman.  I am the Head Peer Advisor for the Elliott School Office of Undergraduate Advising and Student Services, which means that I help coordinate the Peer Advising program in the Elliott School.  Peer advising is a great resource, as it allows students to speak with Elliott School upperclassmen who have received basic training in academic advising and can offer advice based on their own experiences with Elliott School classes, internships, and study abroad.

From my own experience in the Elliott School, I know that one of the most daunting administrative and academic tasks in your first year can be completing your four-year plan.  When I started this assignment, I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to take next semester, let alone the next three years!  There are several differents ways to approach this assignment, and I want to provide you with a few tips that I’ve found helpful, both as a student and as a Peer Advisor.

1. Relax! Contrary to popular belief, you will not be required to take the classes you list on your four-year plan — in other words, it is definitely not binding.  It is, however, a great resource that familiarizes you with the classes available at GW and the guidelines for graduation.  You should, therefore, take it seriously, but do not let yourself become overwhelmed.
2. Check Yourself! Remember all those AP, IB, etc. classes you took in high school that you are almost certain already count as credit?  Be certain!  One of the most important parts of registering for next semester is verifying in GWeb that all the credit you believe you should have received is in fact posted.  I have had students come in for advising who are missing various credits.  In order to fulfill the four-year plan assignment, you need to make sure that Bio class you took last year actually will count for the Math/Science Requirement…
3. Concentrate! The most daunting part of the four-year plan is choosing a concentration.  If you don’t know what area you would like to focus on, again, relax — most freshmen are in the same situation.  However, you will need to choose one for the purpose of the assignment.  If you have no idea whatsoever, here are two pieces of advice: First, go through the top five or so concentrations that appeal to you, and put stars by whatever classes sound interesting.  Whatever concentration has the most stars, go with that one!  Second, there are a few class options that pop up for numerous concentrations.  If you are still unsure during your sophomore year, consider taking one or two of these classes as opposed to something really specific that will only apply to one concentration.  This way you will have the chance to take a class that will give you an idea of several different aspects of international affairs.  Geography 120 (Regional Geography) and Anthropology 150 (Human Rights and Ethics) are great examples and fantastic classes for many concentrations.
4. Order! Another area of concern with the four-year plan is the order to take classes.  Some quick personal advice — definitely start Econ before your sophomore year.  No matter what concentration you choose, professors may touch on basic economic tenets from Econ 11 or 12 — it is very helpful to become familiar with them early.  Also, I know students will frequently try to get the Humanities requirement out of the way early, as these classes offer a nice balance to the more intense Political Science/History/International Affairs classes.  However, consider saving one or two for if/when you go abroad.  Although D.C. has great resources in regards to the Arts, it is much more impressive to take History of French Art while abroad in Paris, or Chinese Literature in Beijing.

Good luck!  For more help, come in to Peer Advising!

Hayley is a senior in the Elliott School, double concentrating in Europe and Conflict & Security and double minoring in History and Art History.  She will be attending the University of Virginia Law School in Fall 2009 to study International Law.

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