Alpna J. Doshi

The George Washington University actively engages Washington, D.C., and the world. Their location in the heart of Washington places them at the core of U.S. government, policy and law. They sit where the worlds of science, technology, media and the arts converge. Their students and faculty have the unparalleled opportunity to study and work alongside leaders and practitioners in every discipline, to take part in the interchanges that shape our community and the world. The George Washington University was created in 1821 through an Act of Congress, fulfilling George Washington’s vision of an institution in the nation’s capital dedicated to educating and preparing future leaders. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. They have more than 20,000 students—from all 50 states, the District and more than 130 countries—studying a rich range of disciplines: from forensic science and creative writing to international affairs and computer engineering, as well as medicine, public health, the law and public policy. GW comprises three campuses—Foggy Bottom and Mount Vernon in Washington, D.C., and the GW Virginia Science and Technology Campus in Ashburn, Va.—as well as several graduate education centers in the metropolitan area and Hampton Roads, Va.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (often referred to as UMBC) is an American public research university, located in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, mostly in the community of Catonsville, approximately 10 minutes (8.3 miles) from downtown Baltimore City and 30 minutes (33.5 miles) from Washington, D.C. With a fall 2014 enrollment of about 14,000 students, over 50 undergraduate majors, over 60 graduate programs, and the first university research park in Maryland, UMBC has been named the #1 Up-and-Coming University for six years in a row, since 2009, by US News & World Report.