Undergraduate Student Resources

Virtual office hour appointments with Professor Tien, the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), have ended for the semester. Office hour will resume at the start of the Fall 2022 semester.

In the meantime, 

please e-mail [email protected] with your advising related inquiries.

We appreciate your interest in declaring an economics major/minor.

The department is currently not accepting major/minor declarations until the GW Bulletin for the new academic year is updated on DegreeMap. Please check back at the beginning of August for updated instructions on major/minor declarations.

In the meantime, you can read through the major/minor requirements and recommended schedules on our website and carefully construct a tentative 4 year plan before you declare your major or minor. 

Due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak and telework policies put into place by the university administration, approved transfer credit requests will be e-mailed to students rather than printed for pick-up in person.  Please allow a minimum of 5 business days for responses and forms.

1. Complete the Transfer Credit Approval Form (PDF). Leave the “GW Equivalent,” “Dept. Approval Name” and “Approval Signature” fields blank.
2. Send the completed form to [email protected], along with relevant syllabi or course descriptions.
3. The DUS will confirm by email whether the request is approved or if more information is needed.  If approved, the DUS will return the scanned form via email.

View the list of previously approved courses and associated institutions. Use the list as a guide when exploring classes to take outside of GW. Even if a course is listed, it does not mean transfer approval is guaranteed. Students will still need to complete the formal credit transfer process.

Students who enroll in a summer abroad program that is outside of GW’s approved study abroad programs should also follow this transfer credit process. Students who travel with an approved GW Office for Study Abroad program follow a separate transfer credit process.

• Study Abroad Transfer Credit
• Study Abroad vs. Study Away Credits

The DUS will provide letters of certification to international students seeking Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or Optional Practical Training (OPT) from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The DUS can also provide certification letters to Elliott School students majoring in economics who have completed the BS in Economics requirements.

While classes are in session, please allow a minimum of 10 business days from the initial completed request for the letter to be ready. The letters can be provided as a hard copy or a scanned PDF file. During winter or summer breaks, requests will be handled per the DUS’s availability, and the time required for the requests to be honored cannot be guaranteed.

Please email the DUS with your request with the required information:

For international students requesting OPT letters

• GWID
• Expected date of program completion (typically the last day of exams for your final term).

For international students requesting CPT letters

• GWID
• A training proposal letter. The letter must describe the type of training you would like to do and how the proposed training is directly related to economics.
• An official offer letter from the entity that is offering the training. The letter must indicate the name and address of the entity, title of your position, detailed description of your duties, number of hours of training per week and exact training starting and ending dates. 

For Elliott School students requesting BS certification letters

• GWID

Students who cannot register for ECON courses via Gweb for Fall 2022 should fill out the Registration Google Form (Google Form will accept registration requests starting from 4/11/2022 until 9/23/2022) and attach a completed RTF-Classic (RTF-C) form.

Students can e-mail the Academic Department Administrator with inquiries, but any requests for RTF signatures would have to go through the Registration Google Form. Requests will be processed in the order they are received. Please allow at least 2 business days for responses (possibly longer during peak pre-registration period).

RTFs will only be signed by the Academic Department Administrator, course instructors will not sign RTFs. If a course is closed, the RTF does not guarantee enrollment, it only puts the student on the digital waitlist. RTFs will be signed electronically and e-mailed directly to the student’s advising office for processing.

Non 4198W Registration:

• The only circumstances for which an RTF-Classic form will be signed are:
  • If you are taking a prerequisite for a GW ECON course at another institution over summer break. In this case, you must attach some evidence to the Registration Google Form showing completion of the course (e.g. transcript) and the preapproved signed transfer credit form. Note that prerequisites must be completed before RTF-Classic forms can be signed, so please do not fill out the Registration Google Form until you have completed your course.
  • If you need to repeat a course for credit.  

4198W Registration:

• Registration procedure has been updated and the new procedure will be implemented beginning with Fall 2022 pre-registration.
• All sections of 4198W will be open for Fall 2022 pre-registration via GWeb on April 18^th, 2022.
• Registration for 4198W via GWeb will be the same as registration for any other ECON courses. As long as the pre-requisites are satisfied, declared senior economics majors can register for their preferred section of 4198W, first come first served. Switching sections or waitlisting for sections at capacity can all be done via GWeb.
• This capstone course is restricted to senior economics majors. Students must have completed at least three ECON elective courses at the 2000 level or above in addition to the prerequisite courses prior to enrollment. Prerequisites: ECON 2101 or ECON 2103; and ECON 2102 or ECON 2104; and ECON 2123 or STAT 2123 or STAT 2112 or STAT 2118. No exceptions will be made for these pre-requisites for students graduating Spring 2023 or later.
• The only circumstances for which an RTF-Classic form will be signed are:
  • If you are a declared senior Economics major graduating in Fall 2022 and you are planning to take ECON 2123/STAT 2123/STAT 2112/STAT 2118 concurrently with 4198W. In this case, your pre-registration schedule must show you are registered for a section of ECON 2123/STAT 2123/STAT 2112/STAT 2118 before RTF-Classic forms can be signed.
  • If you are a senior Economics major who is taking a prerequisite for 4198W at another institution over summer break. In this case, you must attach some evidence to the Registration Google Form showing completion of the course (e.g. transcript) and the preapproved signed transfer credit form. Note that prerequisites must be completed before RTF forms can be signed, so please do not fill out the Registration Google Form until you have completed your course.
  • If you need to repeat 4198W for credit.