GW Columbian College of Arts & Sciences

Today’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences students become the global leaders of tomorrow, helping to solve the world’s most pressing issues.

Scholarship support – regardless of the amount – changes lives and enables Columbian College to attract a talented and diverse student body. Student aid helps ensure that qualified students, regardless of financial resources, can take full advantage of a GW education. Your support opens doors to CCAS’ experiential learning, career development, and student wellbeing opportunities.

Create a greater world for tomorrow by building their world today. Open a door for the next generation of leaders at GW.

"This scholarship has greatly relieved some anxiety I've experienced due to financial issues, it has allowed me to better focus on my education. Additionally, I feel this scholarship demonstrates the wonderful and giving community present at GW." Marisol Cabrera, CCAS ’22

Priorities

GW Columbian College Endowed Scholarship

For many outstanding Columbian College applicants, a GW education is simply not possible without scholarship support. Annual unmet financial need for Columbian College students totals $9.8M. To assist in funding the gap between what students can afford and the cost of a GW education, open the door to the engaged liberal arts by generously contributing to the Columbian College Endowed Scholarship. Financial support helps attract a broader group of highly talented students from across the country and around the world.

Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute

The Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute’s Cisneros Scholarship offers a scholar-cohort program providing culturally-competent financial, academic, and social support for students with significant financial need, who are predominantly first-generation, throughout their undergraduate career at GW. Cisneros Scholars participate in a professional development series and mentorship from faculty and staff who support the students’ growth into the leaders of their generation, committed to service to their community. Each gift makes a positive impact on the lives of students and goes to support the Latinx community on and off campus in a variety of ways including scholarships, paid internships, summer programs, and executive coaching.

Cokie Roberts Tuition Relief Fund

Cokie Roberts was known to millions for both her reporting and her commentaries, as she easily moved among radio, television and print to explain the impact of world events and the intricacies of policy debates. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband, Steve Roberts, the J.B. and M.C. Shapiro Professor of Media and Public Affairs, established this fund to provide emergency tuition relief to School of Media and Public Affairs students. This scholarship, which has been awarded to 54 students to date, serves as a lasting tribute to a pioneering journalist.

Corcoran School of Arts and Design

Corcoran School of the Arts and Design develops the next generation of cultural leaders, artists, designers, and scholars, creating a community of civically engaged artists and practitioners who impact the world through social change. Students develop expertise, hone their craft, and refine their skills to prepare for exciting careers after graduation. Gifts to the Corcoran help support students, faculty, exhibitions, scholarships, fellowships, and academic enrichment activities, including guest speakers, visiting artists and symposia. Every gift makes a positive impact on our educational mission and furthers our standing as one of the nation's preeminent art schools at one of the world's most respected universities.

Dr. Kathryn E. Newcomer Scholarship for Social Equity in Public Service

This fund supports a scholarship awarded to a Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration (TSPPPA) student who values and is dedicated to equity and public service and/or to recruit and retain students from diverse, historically underrepresented populations. This scholarship honors Dr. Kathryn Newcomer who has been the linchpin of public affairs education, research, and public service for more than 35 years. During Dr. Newcomer’s tenure, thousands of students have pursued graduate programs and completed degrees that prepared them for active and reflective engagement in local, national, and global policy and governance and nonprofit, academic, and research organizations, both domestically and internationally.

Planet Forward Fund

Launched in 2009 by Emmy Award-winning journalist Frank Sesno, Planet Forward — a project of GW’s School of Media and Public Affairs — has worked with thousands of diverse students from across the country who share a passion for the planet and the ideas that move it forward. Planet Forward’s mission is to teach and empower the next generation of sustainability storytellers to inform, inspire, and generate positive social and environmental impact. Students produce stories for PlanetForward.org, attend the annual Planet Forward Summit in Washington, D.C., and experience life-changing storytelling expeditions. Financial support provides travel stipends for students to get on-the-ground experience to create compelling narratives that prompt change.

"Planet Forward has given me the tools and once-in-a-lifetime experiences to hone my environmental storytelling skills. From an internship at Mongabay to a fellowship with Comcast, Planet Forward has connected me with some of the most influential media outlets in the environmental space and given me the platform to share my stories with the world. Most recently, Planet Forward gave me the life-changing opportunity to attend COP26, where I learned so much about the future of climate action and the role that storytelling plays in this movement." Francesca Edralin, ESIA ’22