Undergraduate Student Resources

Virtual office hours with Professor Tien, the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), are available during the Spring 2022 semester by appointment. Appointments can be made through Calendly.

Note that Calendly reports appointment hours in your local time zone, so please be aware of that when you schedule appointments.

Appointments are updated on a weekly basis, and there may be last minute cancellations, so if there is no availability please check back.

You can also e-mail the DUS your advising questions ([email protected]).   

All major/minor declaration will be handled electronically. To declare your economics major or minor, please click on the relevant google form link below. The google form will guide you through the process of building your course plan. You are welcome to schedule an appointment with the DUS to discuss your course plan, but the google form still needs to be completed.

It is useful to have read the major/minor requirements and recommended schedules on our website and construct a tentative 4 year plan before you attempt to fill out the relevant google form to declare your major or minor. 

The DUS will look through the declaration submissions carefully. If there are no issues, you will receive a signed declaration form from the DUS electronically. If the DUS has any questions or concerns about your plan, you will be contacted. After you receive the signed declaration form, follow the instructions on the form to finish declaring your major. 

During Fall and Spring semesters while classes are in session, allow a minimum of 5 business days for the request to be processed. During winter and summer breaks, the processing time cannot be guaranteed.

Minor Declaration (Link to Google Form)

BA Major Declaration (Link to Google Form)

BS Major Declaration (Link to Google Form)

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

Due to the current circumstances all registration issues for Spring 2022 will be handled online through email to the Academic Department Administrator. When emailing please include your GWid. Signed RTFs will be e-mailed directly back to you which you then send to your advisor or the registrar’s office for processing. Please allow at least 48 business hours for responses.

Non 4198W Registration:

• 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.
• The only circumstances for which an RTF will be signed are:
  • If you are a student who is taking a prerequisite for a course at another institution over winter break. In this case, you must email [email protected] with an image of completion of the course and the preapproved signed transfer credit form. Note that prerequisites must be completed before RTF forms can be signed.
  • You need to repeat a course for credit.  

4198W Registration:

• On Nov 10^th: All sections of 4198W will be open for pre-registration via GWeb.
• On Nov 22^nd: All sections of 4198W will be set to Department Approval and will require paperwork to register even if you are just switching sections.  
• Seniors who have taken both 2101/2103 and 2102/2104 will be able to register for 4198W through GWeb.
• Seniors who have not taken both 2101/2103 and 2102/2104 will not be able to register for 4198W through GWeb.
• Rising Seniors (coded as a junior at the time of registration) will not be able to register for 4198W through GWeb.  
• If you are unable to register for 4198W through GWeb for any reason you will need to sign up for the 4198W Registration List through the Google Form that will be sent out at 9 am on Nov 15 to the Econ Majors listserv. Submissions via the Google Form will be accepted until Dec 31, 2021.
• Access to the Google Form is only for declared economics majors, hence anyone interested in registering for 4198W must be a declared major by the end of the Fall 2021 semester (Dec 22, 2021).
• Registration from the 4198W Registration List will begin after the Department Approval restriction is in effect. Students will be contacted in the order in which they submitted the Google Form and will be sent signed RTF form for their indicated preferred section. If none of the stated preferences are available a list of sections with open seats will be provided for students to choose from.  
• The department cannot guarantee seating in a Spring 2022 4198W section for students who declared their economics major after the end of the Fall 2021 semester. The same applies to students who do not complete the pre-requisites for 4198W by the end of the Fall 2021 semester.