International Visiting Scholars Program

Welcome to the College of Arts & Sciences. 

Our International Visiting Scholars Program is aimed to provide a unique opportunity for select scholars around the world to pursue scholarly and intellectual development in the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences at the George Washington University.

Scholars will have access to resources such as the Gelman Library, the Brookings Institution, the Library of Congress, and much more. Our university's prime location in Washington D.C. provides scholars with rich opportunities to engage all the government agencies, institutions, foreign embassies, and intellectual communities located in the U.S. Nation's capital. 

As the first step, any scholar should be in contact with his or her faculty mentor to confirm research interests and a mutual desire to collaborate. After, CCAS would be able to review and provide sponsorship after receiving the international scholar’s request from the selected hosting academic department. View Academic Departments in the Columbian College.

How to Apply

Visiting Scholars can conduct teaching and research in CCAS under short-term, semester-long, and year-long appointments.

Visiting Scholars to the College of Arts & Sciences (CCAS) must be sponsored by a faculty member within an academic department in CCAS who is willing to act as an advisor to the proposed research project. Applicants who wish to become a Visiting Scholar at GW are required to submit a detailed plan for conducting his or her independent research for review.

In order to be considered, the applicant must submit the following application package:

• A Completed Application Form

• A Completed Teaching or Research Project Proposal (English)

• Current CV (English)

• Demonstration of English Proficiency 

• One Letter of Recommendation

• Proof of Personal Health Insurance Coverage

• A Statement of Funding: Each candidate must demonstrate that he or she has the funds to obtain the J-1 visa, if needed, and to cover medical insurance and any administrative fee to be imposed. Please note that the J-1 visa requires that the documentation, written in English, show funding in the amount of US $1200 per month for the principal visitor, US $600 per month for the spouse, and US $300 per month of each child plus medical insurance coverage. 

To Apply, please submit the application package online. All applications are reviewed by the academic departments where the hosting faculty member is located, in consultation with the CCAS Dean's Administration.

If accepted as a Visiting Scholar, the candidate will receive a formal notification letter and a request for additional information. The additional information will concern the application for the J-1 visa. 

Any questions can be sent to the CCAS Global Initiatives Team at [email protected]