The George Washington University has earned the 2026 Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a prestigious national designation awarded by the American Council on Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Established in 2006, the classification has served as the leading framework for institutional assessment and recognition of community engagement in U.S. higher education for the past 20 years.
GW’s selection marks a reclassification; the university first earned the designation in 2020. The new designation is valid through 2032.
Since 2020, GW has expanded structures that support multidisciplinary engagement, including the creation of new research hubs such as the GW Institute for Socioeconomic Opportunity, the Global Food Institute and the Alliance for a Sustainable Future. Community-engaged scholarship at GW is defined as collaboration among faculty, students and community members in mutually beneficial partnerships that address issues of the common good. This reclassification recognizes that these values are central to GW’s mission