Camp Leach

The McKinley Building was the second building constructed on the American University campus, built in 1907, in northwest Washington, D.C. McKinley was designed by Henry Ives Cobb, well known for his architectural work in Chicago. The McKinley Building became the new home for the School of Communication after renovations were completed in 2014.

The School of International Service (SIS) is American University's school of advanced international study, covering areas such as international politics, international communication, international development, international economics, peace and conflict resolution, international law and human rights, global environmental politics, and U.S. foreign policy. The School of International Service was established in 1957 and has an alumni network of over 20,000. SIS enrolls more than 3,000 students from over 150 countries. The school makes extensive use of the academic and governmental resources offered by its location in Washington, D.C. The School of International Service consistently ranks highly among international relations programs. SIS is a member of the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs. SIS also has partnerships with schools such as the Balsillie School of International Affairs.

The National United Methodist Church is a United Methodist congregation in the Wesley Heights neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Designated as the national church of the United Methodist Church, the building complex occupies a 6-acre campus adjoining the American University, comprising a church structure and administrative building. It includes a neo-Gothic main church, the fourth largest religious structure in the nation's capital.

Bender Arena is a 4,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Washington, D.C. The arena opened in 1988. It is home to the American University Eagles basketball, volleyball and wrestling teams. The arena, named for Washington, D.C. philanthropists, Howard and Sondra Bender, is also the primary campus venue for concerts, commencement and speakers, seating up to 6,000. The arena's main court is named for the late former American University athletic director and coach Stafford H. "Pop" Cassell, another AU alum. Bender Arena's current main scoreboard, installed prior to the 2001–02 season, includes a 7-by-9-foot (2.1 by 2.7 m) animation and video display and advertising signage for corporate sponsors. At the same time new chairback seating for the west bleachers was installed and new back-lit scorers tables surrounding the playing surface were added. Bender Arena is the flagship facility of the American University Sports Center, which also includes a fitness center, wrestling room, the Reeves Aquatic Center, a mini-mall, the campus store, and a 470-car, seven-level parking garage. The 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m2) building is adjacent to the Mary Graydon Center, a design intended to increase campus interaction. AU students are able to go to class, have dinner, attend a game or concert and stop by the Tavern or The Eagles Nest convenience store for refreshments without ever leaving the confines of the building. In addition, the facility houses the athletics department and health and fitness offices. Both buildings virtually mark the geographic center of the American University campus. Bender hosted the 2002, 2008, and 2009 Patriot League men's basketball tournament final and 2012 National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic. The American University gymnastics club team uses the wrestling room in the fitness center. The arena has also played host to many concerts, including Pearl Jam in November 1991 opening for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phish, who played Bender Arena during their New Year's run in 1993.

WAMU (88.5 FM) is a public news–talk station that services the greater Washington, DC metropolitan area. It is owned by American University, and its studios are located near the campus in northwest Washington. WAMU has been the primary National Public Radio member station for Washington since 2007.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest academic unit at American University in terms of student enrollment and faculty lines. It was established in 1893. It offers more than 50 masters, doctoral, and certificate programs. The College of Arts and Sciences faculty includes nationally and internationally noted artists, scholars, and teachers, as well as students from all 50 states and 150 countries. It also administers the Katzen Arts Center and the Greenberg Theatre.

The Nuclear Studies Institute was founded in 1995 at American University in Washington, D.C. as a component of the American University College of Arts and Sciences. The purpose of the Institute is to educate American University graduate and undergraduate students, as well as the general public, about the key points of nuclear history, nuclear culture in the United States, and the threats still posed by nuclear weapons in the modern world.Under the direction of Dr. Peter Kuznick, the Institute runs during the University summer session, offering on-campus classes dealing with American nuclear culture and also a two-week study trip to Japan. In Japan, American University students, along with other American and Canadian students, travel and study alongside Japanese students, mainly from Ritsumeikan University as well as other universities in Japan and the region. The study tours the cities of Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, where the students hear lectures, visit landmarks, and attend the memorial ceremonies for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as their respective peace museums, in an effort to foster closer ties on both sides of the Pacific. The 2010 Nuclear Studies Institute trip to Japan was covered by NHK, Japan's national broadcasting corporation, and broadcast on Japanese television and featured on the NHK program “Japan Seven Days.”The Institute provides participants to hear many stories of the hibakusha (被爆者, literally “explosion-affected people"), including those of Koko Kondo, peace activist, American University graduate, and daughter of Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto, who figures heavily in John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Tadatoshi Akiba, mayor of Hiroshima and president of the Mayors for Peace organization, also regularly meets with the participants during their study in Hiroshima. The Institute participates in the Nuclear Education Project; a worldwide effort to improve access to teaching and learning materials regarding the history of the nuclear arms race and the ongoing movement to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Education Project was founded in 2004 by Dr. Peter Kuznick, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, Dr. John W. Dower of MIT and Dr. Mark Selden.

The Navy Bomb Disposal School , was a World War II era U.S. naval training installation built on American University property in Washington, D.C.

The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1893 at the urging of Methodist bishop John Fletcher Hurst, who sought to create an institution that would promote public service, internationalism, and pragmatic idealism. AU broke ground in 1902, opened as a graduate education institution in 1914, and admitted its first undergraduates in 1925. Although affiliated with the United Methodist Church, religious affiliation is not a criterion for admission. American University has eight schools and colleges: the School of International Service, College of Arts and Sciences, Kogod School of Business, School of Communication, Professional Studies and Executive Education, School of Public Affairs, School of Education, and the Washington College of Law (WCL). It has over 160 programs, including 71 bachelor's degrees, 87 master's degrees, and 10 doctoral degrees, as well as JD, LLM, and SJD programs. AU's student body numbers over 13,000 and represents all 50 U.S. states and 141 countries; around a fifth of students are international. American University is among the top three feeder schools to the Department of State. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".The university owns National Public Radio's flagship capital affiliate, WAMU, which has been a source of nationally and internationally distributed programming such as The Diane Rehm Show and the more recent 1A, styled as "the 1A", as in "the 1st Amendment".

WMMJ (102.3 FM), known on air as "Majic 102.3 & 92.7," is an urban oldies-leaning urban adult contemporary radio station owned by Urban One in the Washington, D.C. market. It is co-owned with WKYS, WOL, WPRS-FM and WYCB and has studios located in Silver Spring, Maryland. It is licensed to Bethesda, but its transmitter is located in Tenleytown. During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the station had been home to the original "progressive rock" formatted WHFS, which later migrated to the higher powered Annapolis, Maryland-based 99.1 frequency. WMMJ simulcasts on WDCJ (92.7 FM, Prince Frederick, Maryland) for the southeastern counties of the Washington metro.WMMJ broadcasts in the HD format.

Ward Circle is a traffic circle at the intersection of Nebraska and Massachusetts Avenues in Northwest, Washington, D.C. The circle, totaling 30,243 sq ft (2,809.7 m2), is owned and administered by the National Park Service through its Rock Creek Park unit. On three sides is the campus of American University, while the fourth is occupied by the Nebraska Avenue Complex, a U.S. government facility. The circle was constructed and landscaped in the 1930s to display the 27.5-foot (8.4 m) bronze, memorial statue of Artemas Ward. Ward was the first Commander-in-Chief in the American Revolutionary War. Sculptor Leonard Crunelle created the statue over a three-year period, while the base and pedestal were built by J. F. Manning Co. The pedestal is made from Stony Creek granite.The president and fellows of Harvard University donated the $50,000 to cover the cost of the statue. The donation fulfilled the terms of the will of Artemus Ward, an alumnus of Harvard and the great-grandson of Maj. Gen. Artemus Ward. The statue was unveiled on November 3, 1938, by Mrs. Wesley Feick, the great-great-granddaughter of Maj. Gen. Ward. Secretary of War Harry Hines Woodring spoke at the unveiling.Located on the west side of the circle, the home of American University's School of Public Affairs was named for and is still sometimes known as Ward Circle. In 2017, the official name of the building was changed to Kerwin Hall after former university president Cornelius M. Kerwin. On the North side of the circle is American University's Katzen Arts Center.