Graduate assistantships provide up to 18 credit hours of tuition remission per year. Although many graduate students live off campus, the University provides graduate dormitory rooms and apartments. The Off-Campus Housing Office maintains a referral file of rooms and apartments. Housing costs in Washington, D.C., are comparable to those in other major metropolitan areas. The graduate students in the department represent many cultures and nationalities.
Formal classes are generally small, ensuring that students receive individual attention.
There are close working relationships between faculty members and students in research activities. The national capital area offers students access to a variety of educational, governmental, and cultural resources that enrich the student's degree program with opportunities for practical applications of theoretical studies. Opportunities exist for research, internships, cooperative educational placements, and part-time jobs. Local bus and rail transportation from the campus provides easy access to sites such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, and numerous other government and private research laboratories. The University American University was founded as a Methodist institution, chartered by Congress in 1893, and originally intended for graduate study only.