American University

The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spring Valley and Tenleytown neighborhoods of Northwest D.C.

American was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893 at the urging of Methodist bishop John Fletcher Hurst, who sought to create an institution that promoted public service, internationalism, and pragmatic idealism. AU broke ground in 1902, opened as a graduate education institution in 1914, and admitted its first undergraduates in 1925.

The university was founded by the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church as a national Methodist institution. It remains affiliated with the United Methodist Church, an affiliation reaffirmed by the University Senate of the United Methodist Church in 2014. However, religious affiliation is neither a criterion for admission nor an academic requirement.

AU consists of eight schools and colleges: the School of International Service, College of Arts and Sciences, Kogod School of Business, School of Communication, Professional Studies and Executive Education, School of Public Affairs, Linda A. and H. Kent Baker School of Education, and the Washington College of Law (WCL). American offers over 160 academic programs, including 71 bachelor's degrees, 87 master's degrees, and 10 doctoral degrees, as well as JD, LLM, and SJD programs. It is also one of the 187 U.S. universities classified as an "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". With a student body of over 13,000 representing all 50 U.S. states and 141 countries, nearly a fifth of the students are international. Student athletes compete in intercollegiate athletic teams as the American Eagles in the NCAA Division I as a member of the Patriot League. American is also one of the top three feeder schools to the U.S. Department of State. AU is home to The Jack I. and Dorothy G. Bender Library, which holds more than one million books and is part of the Washington Research Library Consortium, along with WCL's Pence Law Library.

Notable university alumni, faculty, and affiliates include eight foreign heads of state, over 30 U.S. senators and representatives, two governors, a lieutenant governor, multiple U.S. Cabinet members, two Nobel laureates, two Pulitzer Prize winners, an Academy Award recipient, many Fulbright Scholars, more than 30 ambassadors, and prominent global finance leaders.

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