In 2024, Georgetown University added a new core requirement, “Pathways to Social Justice” (PSJ). Along with a one-credit seminar for all first-year students, the university now asks that all undergraduate students take an additional six credits under the PSJ attribute. This requirement facilitates discussion on racial, gender, class and religious differences so students can better understand the sociopolitical factors shaping the world.

The university established the PSJ requirement in response to student concerns over the university’s handling of its legacy of slavery and modern-day injustices. Despite its good intentions, the PSJ requirement ultimately places an undue burden on students, as the PSJ attribute for many classes does not carry over from one semester to the next. The PSJ attribute should apply to a course indefinitely, giving students flexibility to meet the requirement, to maximize student learning and engagement.

Professors must apply for each course to carry the PSJ attribute, and whenever a course changes its professor, the new professor must reapply for the attribute.

Erick Langer, a professor in the history department, said the application process is straightforward but can be overlooked.

“It’s a relatively easy process. It takes about fifteen minutes,” Langer said. “The issue here is that we aren’t asked consistently every semester, as we give different classes to write about that requirement.”

However, I’ve found that the courses that do end up on GU Experience, the university’s internal information platform, are limited and inaccessible to many students. Although the PSJ Oversight Committee told me that 51 courses had been approved for Spring 2026, there is no easy way to find that list. The schedule of classes and the course catalog yield vastly different numbers. As a result, many students struggle to find and fit these courses into their schedules along with core and major requirements.

I also believe that options are limited, although many courses exist that fulfill the goals of the PSJ requirement. Courses like “Race, Gender, and Medicine,” “Disability, Ethics, EcoJustice” and “The Economics of Immigration” embody the goals of the PSJ requirement, and yet they do not carry the attribute. Failing to include courses that fulfill these goals is counterintuitive to PSJ priorities.

Additionally, the current system of available courses that fulfill PSJ may favor students in certain major programs over others. Students whose major courses typically do not carry the PSJ attribute, like those in the sciences and business, are forced to fulfill the PSJ requirement with their theology, philosophy and history core classes, giving them fewer chances than humanities majors. Meanwhile, according to the schedule of classes, 10 Spanish classes count for the PSJ requirement, but those taking a different language or students who tested out of the language requirement will not benefit. This goes against the PSJ requirement’s goals, specifically its inclusive scholarship and interdisciplinary priorities.

Even courses that carry the PSJ attribute don’t automatically fulfill the requirement.

Adithya Kashyap (SFS ’28) said he had to speak with his dean to have a course applied.

“I met my dean this year to put a history course I took last year to count for PSJ,” Kashyap wrote to me. “I wasn’t sure why, but it didn’t automatically cross-list, even though it was in the attributes and also in the syllabus.”

Even though Kashyap eventually succeeded in cross-listing the course toward his PSJ requirement, he knows some friends weren’t so lucky.

Students interested in studying abroad or graduating early may also struggle to find PSJ courses that fit into their schedules and timelines. This might force students to take summer classes to keep their plans. It is an unforgivable economic barrier to ask students to pay for summer classes to meet this requirement at a time when they already pay nearly $100,000 per year before financial aid.

Nadya Kotlyarevska (CAS ’28), a student on the pre-medical track trying to graduate a year early, registered for a history department survey course, titled “Atlantic World,” because it had displayed the PSJ attribute during course registration. This semester, she learned that the paperwork hadn’t been filled out. Nothing could be done. She was starting at zero.

Kotlyarevska said that since the PSJ attribute had not been applied to the course, she might have to defer graduation.

“My inability to register for a cross-listed PSJ course has put me off track and made me reconsider my plans,” Kotlyarevska told me.

While I do not profess to understand how university administration works, there are some possible solutions.

Fundamentally, more courses across disciplines and schools should count for PSJ. Given that the PSJ oversight committee has members from all but one of Georgetown’s undergraduate schools, it is in the committee’s best interest to ensure all students, regardless of major or graduation plan, can quickly complete the requirement.

Next, the university must work to better inform faculty and encourage them to apply for the attribute for a variety of courses. Staff meetings, modules, or email reminders could easily address this gap. Similarly, the university should extend the deadline to apply for PSJ attribution, allowing professors and students more time to come to conclusions about which courses best fulfill PSJ goals.

In the case that professors don’t complete the paperwork for a course that fulfills PSJ goals, like “Race, Gender, and Feminism” or “Intro to Feminist Disability Studies,” there should be a standardized mechanism for students to retroactively apply the credit. This way, students have more control over course planning and don’t face scheduling conflicts if the attribute isn’t applied.

Most importantly, the PSJ attribute must carry over each semester, regardless of whether a new professor is teaching the course or not. When a course unexpectedly drops the PSJ attribute, students are blindsided and left scrambling. By having the attribute carry over semesters — unless professors drastically change their course syllabus — students could safely register for courses that fulfill the PSJ requirement. Thus, more courses would carry the attribute, expanding access across disciplines and hopefully making the requirement more accessible to all students.

Fundamentally, the PSJ requirement is about students. It is an answer to student voices on a better university policy surrounding diverse backgrounds and the discussion of difficult topics. It is also a step to better prepare students for the real world, where these topics and their consequences are pervasive. Because of that, it is a disservice to the requirement and an injustice to students to create such tight restrictions that bar students in different studies, financial backgrounds or graduation plans from fulfilling their PSJ requirement on time.

Karina Bhatt is a sophomore in the School of Foreign Service.