Academic & Professional Resources
The Sociology Department offers resources to help students declare a major or minor, find an internship, join a professional association or get the academic support they need to make the undergraduate experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible.
How to Declare a Major or Minor
- Sociology or Criminal Justice Major or Minor
- Download and complete the relevant portions of the Declaration of Major/Minor Form.
- Bring it to the Sociology Department director of undergraduate studies (DUS) during office hours or send it via email to be completed and signed. The DUS will sign the form and become your advisor. You can also request a specific advisor at that time if you like.
- Submit the signed declaration form to the CCAS Undergraduate Advising Office.
- Law and Society Minor
Law and Society is a selective minor, meaning that students cannot declare it simply by completing a Declaration of Major/Minor Form. Minimum requirements for acceptance include a GPA of 3.3 and completion of at least 30 credit hours at GW. Achievement of the minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to the minor.
To apply to the minor:
- Download and complete the relevant portions of the Declaration of Major/Minor Form and the Law and Society Minor Application Form (PDF).
- Bring it to the director of the Law and Society Minor during office hours or send it via email to be completed and signed.
- Submit the signed declaration form to the Undergraduate Advising Office.
Visit the Human Services and Social Justice Program website for details on the HSSJ major and minor.
Departmental Grading Policy
Students in all three departmental majors are required to earn a grade of C− or better in any course required for the major. If a student receives a grade of D+, D or D− in a required course, the student may either:
- Repeat the course, in which case the grade in the repeated course must be no lower than a C− and grades for both the original and repeated courses will appear on the student’s transcript; or
- Take a 100-level course in the same department, in addition to the minimum number of courses required for the major, and receive a grade no lower than C−.
Note: Repeating a course must be approved by the department chair in writing before the student may register for a course a second time.
Internships
All students majoring in criminal justice must complete ONE of these senior capstone options: SOC 4195W: Senior Research Seminar or SOC 4196: Criminal Justice in the Field.
- SOC 4195W (3 credits) offers students the opportunity to develop and complete a senior research thesis.
- SOC 4196 (3 credits) is a weekly classroom seminar alongside a criminal justice-related internship.
Criminal Justice Internship Sites
Students are not required to choose an internship site from this list, but most do.
*Recommended by past GW student interns.
- U.S. Federal Departments
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Justice
- Department of Justice, Criminal Division
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Naval Criminal Investigative Service
- United States Park Police
- Secret Service
- United States Sentencing Commission
- U.S. Marshals Service
- Law Enforcement
- Alexandria Police Department
- Alexandria Sheriff’s Office
- Arlington County Police Department*
- Arlington County Sheriff's Department
- D.C. Office of Police Complaints*
- International Association of Chiefs of Police
- INTERPOL criminal justice positions — avoid the General Counsel office
- Metropolitan Police Department
- Metropolitan Police Department, Sexual Assault Unit
- Prince George’s County Police Department
- Research and Associations
- Courts
- Arlington County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
- Council for Court Excellence*
- D.C. Office of the Attorney General
- D.C. Superior Court
- Fairfax County Juvenile & Domestic Relations Court
- Montgomery County State's Attorney
- Office of Research and Evaluation of Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia (CSOSA)
- Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia Criminal Law Internship Program*
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts
- Other Groups
- American Bar Association
- Campaign for Youth Justice
- The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
- Criminal Justice Policy Foundation*
- D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence*
- D.C. Prisoners Legal Service Project*
- D.C. Prisoners' Project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs*
- D.C. Rape Crisis Center
- Death Penalty Information Center
- Drug Policy Alliance*
- Equal Justice USA
- Families Against Mandatory Minimums
- Georgetown Law Clinic
- HIPS: Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive
- International Association of Chiefs of Police
- International Center for Missing & Exploited Children
- Justice Policy Institute*
- Marijuana Policy Project
- D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, Sexual Assault Unit, Cold Case Squad
- Milmujeres
- My Sister’s Place
- National Center for Victims of Crime
- National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Public Policy Office
- National Crime Prevention Council
- Offender Aid and Restoration
- Petey Greene Program, volunteers needed for GED tutoring*
- Protect Our Defenders
- Pretrial Justice Institute
- Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network
- Safe Shores: The D.C. Children's Advocacy Center
- The Sentencing Project
- Stop Child Abuse Now
- Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs
- A Wider Circle
American Sociological Association
The American Sociological Association (ASA) is dedicated to encouraging sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good. The GW Department of Sociology encourages undergraduates to join the ASA as student members. The ASA offers a variety of printed resources on opportunities for students, as well as information on grants and fellowships, conferences, publishing venues and employment.
Academic Resources
Academic Commons
Book peer tutoring or review sessions, research and writing help, step-by-step study strategies, language support and more.
GW Libraries
Explore on-campus libraries and online research databases.
Language Center
Sign up for English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courses, practice with language meet-up groups, take a language exam or talk to someone about waiving language requirements.
CCAS Undergraduate Advising
Get assistance from your Columbian College academic advisor to navigate declaring a major or minor and other academic support.
Writing Center
Make a free appointment to work with a writing consultant on your next project, from the brainstorming phase through drafting and revising.