School of international affairs at Georgetown University
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS ) is the school of
international relations at
Georgetown University in
Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both
undergraduate and
graduate levels.
Founded in 1919, SFS is the oldest continuously operating
school for international affairs in the United States,
[2]
[3] predating the
U.S. Foreign Service by six years; many of its graduates have assumed prominent roles in
American and
international politics ,
[4] as well as in
journalism ,
finance and
business .
[5]
[6]
[7]
SFS was established by
Edmund A. Walsh with the goal of preparing Americans for various international professions in the wake of expanding U.S. involvement in world affairs after
World War I . Today, the school hosts a student body of approximately 2,250 from over 100 nations each year. It offers an undergraduate program based in the
liberal arts , which leads to the
Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) degree, as well as eight interdisciplinary graduate programs.
[1]
History
20th century
The SFS is housed in the
Intercultural Center on Georgetown's main campus.
With the help of Georgetown University president
Fr. John B. Creeden, S.J. , Fr. Walsh spearheaded the founding of the School of Foreign Service and its establishment was announced on November 25, 1919.
[2]
[3] The school's use of the name “Foreign Service” preceded the formal establishment of the U.S. Foreign Service by six years. The school was envisioned by Fr. Walsh to prepare students for all major forms of foreign representation from commercial, financial, consular to diplomatic.
[8]
In 1921, it graduated its first class of
Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS) undergraduate students.
[9] The following year, the school began to offer the first international relations graduate program in the United States, the
Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS).
[10]
[11] In August 1932, the SFS was moved to the
Healy Hall , a
National Historic Landmark .
[12]
In 1958, two years after the death of Fr. Walsh, the school was renamed after him
[13] and moved to the Walsh Building in a ceremony dedicated by
President Eisenhower in honor of Fr. Walsh.
[14]
Since 1982, the school has been housed in the
Edward B. Bunn, S.J. Intercultural Center (ICC) on the
main campus .
[15]
[16]
21st century
In June 2023, the administrators announced the plan to rename the school in honor of the late
Madeleine Albright , who served as a professor at SFS both before and after
her tenure as U.S. secretary of state . It attracted criticism due to
Albright's controversial legacy and the lack of consultation with the school's community members.
[17]
[18]
Academics
Undergraduate program
The Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS ) degree is offered by the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. The degree is rooted in the liberal arts. Following completion of the core requirements, students declare one of the following interdisciplinary majors:
Culture and Politics (CULP)
[19]
Global Business (GBUS)
[20]
International Economics (IECO)
[21]
International History (IHIS)
[22]
International Political Economy (IPEC)
[23]
International Politics (IPOL)
[24]
Regional and Comparative Studies (RCST)
[25]
Science, Technology, & International Affairs (STIA)
[26]
There is also a joint degree — Bachelor of Science in Business and Global Affairs — offered in partnership with the
McDonough School of Business (MSB).
[27]
Graduate program
Graduate students can pursue eight interdisciplinary graduate degrees in the school:
[28]
Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) with concentrations in:
Global Business, Finance & Society (GBFS)
Global Politics & Security (GPS)
International Development (IDEV)
Science, Technology, and International Affairs (STIA)
Master of Arts in Security Studies (SSP)
Master of Global Human Development (GHD)
Master of Arts in Arab Studies (MAAS)
Master of Arts in
Asian Studies (MASIA)
Master of Arts in German and
European Studies (MAGES)
Master of Arts in Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies (MAERES)
Master of Arts in
Latin American Studies (CLAS)
There are also two joint degrees offered in partnership with Georgetown's
McDonough School of Business . The first is the Global Executive MBA, which is offered in collaboration with the
ESADE Business School in Spain. and the
INCAE Business School in Costa Rica. The second is the MA in International Business and Policy (MA-IBP).
SFS is a member of
the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA), a group of public policy, public administration, and international affairs schools.
Additionally, exceptional undergraduate SFS students can apply for the accelerated bachelor’s/master’s dual-degree program, which allows enrollment in one of the graduate programs (e.g. BSFS/MSFS, BSFS/MASIA, etc.) during the final undergraduate year and completion of both degrees in approximately five years.
[29]
[30]
Certificates
Georgetown offers a number of undergraduate certificate programs: African studies, Arab studies, Asian studies, Australian & New Zealand studies, German and European studies, international business diplomacy, international development, Muslim-Christian understanding, Jewish civilization, justice & peace studies, Latin American studies, medieval studies, Russian & East European studies, social & political thought, and women's and gender studies.
Reputation and rankings
Georgetown's programs in international relations have consistently ranked among the best in the world in
surveys of the field's academics that have been published biennially since 2005 by
Foreign Policy .
[31] In 2014 and in 2018 Foreign Policy ranked Georgetown's master's programs first in the world and its bachelor's programs fourth.
[32] In a separate survey of makers of American foreign-policy from 2011, Georgetown ranked second overall in the quality of preparation for a career in the U.S. government, regardless of degree earned.
[33] In 2023,
U.S. News & World Report ranked Georgetown fifth for graduate studies in global policy and administration.
[34] In 2024,
Niche ranked Georgetown first in the United States for international relations.
[35]
Student life
There are a vast array of clubs and student organizations at
Georgetown University that students from the School of Foreign Service join. The elected representative organization of the SFS is the SFS Academic Council, also known as the SFSAC. The SFSAC advocates for the SFS student body and works with the Dean's Office to address student concerns, spearhead new initiatives, and coordinate events. In addition to elected representatives, the SFSAC has several committees, including Community Service and Outreach, Special Events, Professional Development, General Membership, Diversity Equity and Inclusion, and Communications.
Campuses
The School of Foreign Service main campus, which is part of the main campus of
Georgetown University , is located in the
Georgetown neighborhood in
Northwest
Washington, D.C. In 2005, it opened another campus, the
School of Foreign Service in Qatar (also known as SFS-Q or GU-Q), in
Qatar Foundation's
Education City in
Doha ,
Qatar . Many SFS undergraduates spend a minimum of one semester or a summer abroad, choosing from direct matriculation programs around the globe as well as programs of other universities and those run by Georgetown, including SFS-Q and
Villa Le Balze .
In November 2023, Indonesian President
Joko Widodo announced the School of Foreign Service planned to partner with the
Indonesian government to open a satellite campus in
Jakarta ,
Indonesia in 2024.
[36]
[37]
List of deans
Notable people
Notable faculty
Jan Karski , Polish Catholic nobleman, diplomat and military officer
Henry Kissinger , Professor of Diplomacy, 1977
[43]
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright , the Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy
[44]
George John Tenet , Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy
Victor Cha , Professor of Government, D.S. Song-KF Chair
Lev Dobriansky , Professor of Economics
Anwar Ibrahim , Distinguished Visiting Professor
[45]
Notable alumni
Bill Clinton , class of 1968, ran for student council president his senior year.
Abdullah II of Jordan (1987), King of
Jordan
Sheikha Moza bint Nasser , mother of the Emir (King of Qatar), co-founder and chair of the
Qatar Foundation
Adel al-Jubeir (1984) Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of
Saudi Arabia
John R. Allen , former commander of International Coalition in
Afghanistan , President of
Brookings Institution
Steve Bannon (1983), White House chief strategist and
Counselor to the President under
President Trump
José Durão Barroso (1987),
President of the European Commission and former
prime minister of Portugal
Philip Bilden (1986),
U.S. secretary of the Navy nominee in the
Trump administration
Bill Bryant ,
Seattle port commissioner from 2008 to 2015
George Casey (1970),
U.S. Army chief of staff
Laura Chinchilla Miranda (1959), 46th
president of Costa Rica
Joseph Cirincione (1983), former president of the
Ploughshares Fund
Paul Clement (1988),
U.S. solicitor general and acting
U.S. attorney general
Bill Clinton (1968), 42nd
president of the United States
Anne Dias-Griffin (1993), hedge fund manager
Stéphane Dujarric (1988), Spokesman for
UN Secretaries-General
Kofi Annan ,
Ban Ki-moon and
António Guterres
Richard Durbin (1966), U.S. senator from
Illinois ,
Majority Whip of the United States Senate
Felipe VI (1991),
King of Spain
Luis Fortuño (1982),
Governor of Puerto Rico
Dexter Goei (1993), CEO of
Altice
[46]
Christopher Grady , Vice Chairman of U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
Dalia Grybauskaitė , President of
Lithuania
Alexander Haig (1961),
U.S. secretary of state under
Ronald Reagan ,
Supreme Allied Commander Europe of
NATO (1974–79)
Daniel Henninger ,
columnist ,
Deputy Editorial Page Editor
The Wall Street Journal
Mushahid Hussain , Opposition Leader in Pakistan, candidate for
President of Pakistan in 2008
James Matthew Jones (1983), global health expert and philanthropist
James L. Jones (1966),
U.S. national security advisor under
President Obama
Eugen Jurzyca , Minister of Education of
Slovakia
John F. Kelly (1984), Retired
Marine general, the 5th
U.S. secretary of homeland security and
White House chief of staff in the
Trump Administration
Kathleen Kingsbury (2001) Opinion Editor, New York Times
Željko Komšić ,
President of Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2006 to 2014
Taro Kono (1986),
Foreign Minister of Japan
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (1968),
president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010
David Malpass (1982), President of the
World Bank
Denis McDonough (1996),
President Obama 's
chief of staff and former deputy
national security advisor , Secretary of Veteran's Affairs in Biden administration
Kayleigh McEnany (2010),
CNN Commentator;
press secretary to President Trump
Maeve Kennedy McKean (2009), attorney and U.S. health official
Mick Mulvaney (1989), Director of U.S.
Office of Management and Budget and
White House Chief of Staff under
President Trump
Kirstjen Nielsen (1994),
U.S. secretary of homeland security under
President Trump
Darcy Olsen , CEO of the
Goldwater Institute
Jon Ossoff , (2009), U.S. senator from
Georgia
Sandra Oudkirk , first female director of the
American Institute in Taiwan (AIT)
Armand Peschard-Sverdrup ,
Mexican political scientist
Pat Quinn (1969),
Governor of Illinois
Carl Reiner (1943), actor,
film producer ,
film director ,
Emmy Award winner
Tony Ressler (1981), billionaire and owner of the
Atlanta Hawks
Matthew A. Reynolds (1986), former
assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs (2008–2009)
Chris Sacca (1997), Founder of
Lowercase Capital
[5]
Therese Shaheen (1980), Chairman of the American Institute of Taiwan, 2002–2004; businesswoman
Arjun Singh Sethi (2003), civil rights writer and lawyer
Debora Spar (1984), Former president,
Barnard College at
Columbia University , member of the board of directors of
Goldman Sachs , first female president of
Lincoln Center
Courtney Stadd
[47] (1981),
NASA chief of staff from 2001 to 2003
Daniel Sullivan (1993), U.S. senator from
Alaska
George Tenet (1976),
Director of the CIA from 1997 to 2004
Matthew VanDyke , freedom fighter and
Prisoner of War (POW) in the
2011 Libyan Civil War
Marcus Wallenberg , a banker and industrialist
Margaret Weichert (1989), deputy director for management in the
Office of Management and Budget , Director of the
U.S. Office of Personnel Management
Nawaf Obaid (1996), political scientist and former Saudi foreign policy advisor
Igor Danchenko (2009), geopolitical analyst known for sourcing the
Steele dossier
Anthony Clark Arend (1980), professor of government and foreign service at Georgetown University
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Courtney Stadd
Sources
External links
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