The Columbian College oversees The Trachtenberg School. You can think of The Trachtenberg School as a unit within the Columbian College.

It typically takes a full-time student two years to complete the MPP or MPA, and three years as a part-time student.

It depends on several variables: full-time or part time status; number of credits transferred in from a master's degree; time to research and write the dissertation. Our average is about 6 years, though many finish faster.

Typically, two semesters.

Not at this time.

Depending on your academic and professional interests (or simply your personal preference), you may change advisors at any time. Students who want to change their advisor should first make sure that the faculty member agrees to act as their advisor. Students then need to inform the Program Coordinator of the change in advisor, and notify their previous advisor of the change.

Comprised of thirteen universities and two colleges, the Consortium provides 130,000 students with opportunities to benefit from the combined resources of its members. Students in approved programs leading to degrees in any one of these institutions have the opportunity to select from the combined offerings the particular courses that best meet their needs. This privilege is subject to regulations of the school in which the student is enrolled. Participation is limited to degree candidates. For specific regulations and further information, please see the University Bulletin.

American University, Catholic University of America, Corcoran College of Art + Design, Gallaudet University, George Mason University, George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University, Marymount University, National Defense Intelligence College, National Defense University, Southeastern University, the University of the District of Columbia, Trinity University, and the University of Maryland. For more information, please see the member school listing.

Students must complete and submit the Consortium Registration Form to their advisor for signature; the form will be routed to the Registrar's Office through the CCAS Dean's Office.

Course registration is online.

Course registration information is posted on the Registrar's Office website. Typically it begins in:

• Late March or early April for the fall semester,
• Late March or early April for the summer semester, and
• Early November for the spring semester.

During the registration period (before the end of the second week of classes) students may add or drop courses using GWeb. After the second week of classes, students who wish to add or drop a course must complete a Registration Transaction Form and submit the form to the office of their dean; forms are available on line, at deans' offices, and in the Office of the Registrar. Adding a course after the second week requires a signature of the instructor or other authorized member of the department.

Starting on the first day of classes, to avoid financial penalties, students switching classes (swapping one 3 credit class for another 3 credit class) should use the hard copy registration transaction form. Students should complete and submit the form to the program coordinator.

A course dropped during the first four weeks of classes will not appear on the student's transcript. A course dropped after the fourth week but before the end of the eighth week will be assigned a notation of W (Authorized Withdrawal).

The deadline for dropping a course without academic penalty is the end of the eighth week of classes in the fall and spring semesters. After the end of the eighth week of classes, dropping a course without academic penalty is only possible after the student presents a petition to the dean and receives written permission.

All charges for courses from which the student withdraws are subject to the refund policy listed under Fees and Financial Regulations. Failure to withdraw by these procedures can result in an extended financial obligation and the recording of a grade of F (Failure) or a notation of Z (Unauthorized Withdrawal).

The refund schedule is posted on the Office of the Registrar's Registration page, for each semester (look for "printable pdf version").

Before classes begin: students can use GWeb to simultaneously add and drop a course of equal credit value.

First week of classes: students can use GWeb to simultaneously add and drop a course of equal credit value.

Second through fourth week of classes: students must complete a registration transaction form to swap (add and drop) classes of equal or lesser credits. Students should then return the form to the TSPPPA office for approval and forwarding to the appropriate office. Students should not attempt to do this through GWeb, and should not follow up with the same actions on GWeb; GWeb will not process the add/drop as a transfer (single action), but as an add/drop (two unrelated actions). This means that financial penalties may be assessed to your account.

Yes. See our Summer Sessions website.

Registration error message information is online.

These classes are crosslisted classes, meaning they are the same class, but listed under multiple programs. Courses with section numbers in the 80s are crosslisted courses. (Also see PPOL 204 and ECON 221.)

It is not necessary to declare a field early in the program, especially since you may take mainly the core courses during your early semesters. You should choose your field of study before you begin taking field courses.

Students can use their program of study form to declare their field of study. This form needs to be submitted to the program coordinator with the Application for Graduation form at the beginning of the student's last semester.

Students can change their field of study by submitting a revised program of study form to their advisor for review. Then, the advisor will give it to the program coordinator for the student's file.

All of our programs (MPP, MPA, Ph.D., and Certificate) programs can be completed full-time or part-time, as the majority of our courses are in the evenings. We do not have a separate part-time program for each degree, rather, we offer degrees that can be pursued part-time or full-time. Many of our classes contain a mixture of full-time and part-time students. The application and admission requirements, courses, faculty, and program quality are the same; the only difference is the time to completion.

Full-time students normally take three courses (9 or 10 credits) per semester and work at a part-time (up to 20 hours per week) policy-related job or internship.

Part-time students normally take two courses (6 credits) per semester and work at a full-time job.

There are some cases in which full-time status is important including:
(1) foreign students must maintain full-time status to fulfill student visa requirements and,
(2) TSPPPA fellowships and assistantships are normally granted only to full-time students.
Please note that the "repayment status" of student loans often is affected by whether a student is enrolled part-time or full-time, and it is the responsibility of individual students to be aware of this when they consider how many courses to take.

Official definitions and regulations are posted in the University Bulletin (Student Status).

Yes. As this status is determined by the number of credits undertaken in a given semester, it is simply a matter of registering for fewer (or more) credits. If you are financing your degree with student loans, you should also notify your lender so they can disburse the appropriate loan amount. If you have received an assistantship, fellowship, or scholarship, you should review the terms of that award before switching status (some awards are predicated on full-time or part-time status).

MPA, MPP, and PhD students must submit the Application for Graduation to the program coordinator by the appropriate deadline. Certificate students must submit the Certificate Completion form.

MPA and MPP students need to submit their program of study form, if not already on file, along with their Application for Graduation.

PhD students should review the information contained on the GW Electronic Theses and Dissertations pages, and contact the program coordinator or their advisor with any questions.

GW has one graduation activity-filled weekend each year, the weekend following Mother's Day (typically on/around May 20). There are four major events:

• GWU Commencement: located on the Mall, this event features all GW graduates and a major speaker. (Sunday, tickets required)
• PhD Hooding Ceremony (Friday, tickets required)
• CCAS Celebration: located at the Smith Center, this event features graduates walking across the stage. (Saturday, tickets required)
• TSPPPA Reception: this reception celebrates our graduates. (Saturday)

Information about these events is available online.

Degrees are conferred for spring, summer, and fall semesters. The dates of graduated are posted on the Registrar's Office.

Diplomas are mailed, typically 8-12 weeks after your graduation date. More information about diplomas is available from the Office of the Registrar.

As a matter of university policy, students must maintain continuous registration. You should complete the CCAS Student Petition, and briefly explain why you will not be taking classes at GW.

Submit the form to the Program Coordinator or the Program Director for signature (the Program Director must sign); it will then be forwarded to the CCAS Dean's Office for review and processing. The Dean's Office will determine the course for which you will be registered; it will likely be one credit of Continuous Research.

Students can register for classes as usual for the semester of their return.

As a matter of university policy, students must maintain continuous registration. You should complete the CCAS Student Petition. Briefly explain why you will not be taking classes at GW, and request that the desired course(s) be counted toward your degree. Include a course description with the petition.

Submit the form to the Program Coordinator or the Program Director for signature (the Program Director must sign); it will then be forwarded to the CCAS Dean's Office for review and processing. The Dean's Office will determine the course for which you will be registered; it will likely be one credit of Continuous Research.

Upon returning, you will need to complete the CCAS Transfer of Credit form, following the same process (see above).

Students can register for classes as usual for the semester of their return.

We do allow non-degree (visiting) students and students from other GW degree programs to take TSPPPA courses, pending sufficient space. Course registration will require TSPPPA approval. Please visit the Office of University Students for application and tuition information.

To learn about transferring courses taken as a non-degree student into the Trachtenberg School, please see our Transfer Applicants page.

Many of our courses are coded such that Trachtenberg School students receive priority registration. Registration requests depend on availability of space in courses as well as a variety of factors, including year of study and degree/concentration. (Selection of students to be promoted from the waitlist is not always simply a first-come, first-served process.) The School maintains a waitlist (spreadsheet) for courses on which these restrictions are placed.

1. Start with the Office of University Students.
2. Once you have identified which course you would like to take, you should determine if it is being offered in the desired semester by viewing the Schedule of Classes. Note that some courses have labs, or are cross-listed with other departments (see "Linked" and "XList" in the far right column); an example of this is our Research Methods and Applied Statistics course, PAd 202, which is cross-listed with PPol 202 and is linked to a required computer lab.
3. Then, email the Trachtenberg School to request to be added to the waitlist for the course.
4. We will notify you the week before classes start whether (or not) we will be able to add you. This will depend on available space.
5. The week before classes begin we will evaluate space in courses and the waitlists to determine if there is space.
6. We will then notify you if there is (or is not) space; if there is space, we will request that you confirm interest and submit a Registration Transaction Form to be signed by the School. (This form can be emailed to tshelp@gwu.edu, faxed to 202-994-6792, or hand-delivered to the office in the MPA Building, Suite 601.)
7. The form is then forwarded to the Office of University Students for their signature; they will forward it to the Registrar's Office where the form is officially processed.
See also Non-Degree Students.

1. Once you have identified which course you would like to take, you should determine if it is being offered in the desired semester by viewing the Schedule of Classes. Note that some courses have labs, or are cross-listed with other departments (see "Linked" and "XList" in the far right column); an example of this is our Research Methods and Applied Statistics course, PAd 202, which is cross-listed with PPol 202, and is linked to a required computer lab.
2. Then, email the Trachtenberg School (tshelp@gwu.edu) to request to be added to the waitlist for the course.
3. We will notify you the week before classes start whether (or not) we will be able to add you. This will depend on available space.
4. The week before classes begin we will evaluate space in courses and the waitlists to determine if there is space.
5. We will then notify you if there is (or is not) space; if there is space, we will request that you confirm interest and submit a Registration Transaction Form to be signed by the School. (This form can be emailed to tshelp@gwu.edu, faxed to 202-994-6792, or hand-delivered to the office in the MPA Building, Suite 601.)
6. The form is then sent to the relevant office (Colonial Central for RTF-EZ; student's Dean's Office for regular RTF). The form is officially processed by Registrar's Office, so students may not appear immediately on the course roster (nor on the course enrollment counts in GWeb).

Tuition and costs are posted our website. Additionally, Colonial Central posts the tuition and fees online.

Tuition is charged by the credit hour; students pay for the courses
taken rather than a flat semester/annual rate. This allows students to switch between full-time and part-time status.

Our financial aid office is Colonial Central, which houses the Offices of Student Financial Assistance, Student Accounts, the Cashier, and the Registrar.

Billing and payment information is available Colonial Central's billing page.