By Douglas Ernst - The Washington Times - Friday, December 23, 2016
George Washington University now joins a growing list of elite
American schools that no longer require history majors to take
a U.S. history course before earning a diploma.
An education watchdog reported Thursday that GWU has
embraced a policy by one-third of the nation’s most prestigious
 schools, which makes a U.S. history course optional for
 students who call the field their vocation. The College Fix
said GWU History Department Chair Karin Schultheiss and
multiple instructors at the university rebuffed inquiries on the
 new rule.
“At GWU, history majors must take eight to ten upper level
courses: one on a time period before 1750, and three on
different regions of the world, including Europe, North
 America, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East,
” the watchdog group reported. “Previously, students were
 required to take two courses focused on Europe and North
 America and complete a thesis or capstone project. Though
 the thesis requirement still exists, students can choose to
 complete ‘digital capstone projects.’ “
The school’s newspaper, The Hatchet, recently said faculty
 framed the new policy as a way to “recruit students” and
 “better reflect a globalizing world,” The College Fix reported.
GWU’s decision is the second to raise eyebrows in recent
 months. The school, located in the heart of the nation’s capital,
made national headlines in August when it hired Jesse Morton,
a former recruiter for al Qaeda, as a homeland security expert.
Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism
 at George Washington University’s Center for Cyber &
 Homeland Security, defended the hire Aug. 30 on CNN,
 saying, “I trust him. We did our due diligence.”