Georgetown University to Open School of Foreign Service Campus in Qatar
Washington, DC — The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and Georgetown University today announced their agreement to open a campus of Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) in Doha, the capital of the state of Qatar, next fall.
Under the agreement signed today by Qatar Foundation Chairperson Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned and Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia, Georgetown University will begin offering courses to its first class of undergraduates in Qatar in August 2005.
“The need for sound policy and diplomacy, forged from openness and wisdom, is evident,” said Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned. “In this regard, Georgetown was our best choice to assist in developing the potential of the diplomats of the future. This is fully consistent with our vision at the Qatar Foundation of realizing human potential and building bridges between people.”
“Georgetown is excited about the opportunity to extend its international presence to an important region of the world,” said Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia. “For more than 200 years we have been educating students to be leaders engaged in the world and a campus in Qatar will be another way of enhancing our mission.”
Georgetown University, based in Washington, DC, is the latest world-class institution to join the Foundation’s Education City, a cluster of learning and research facilities on the outskirts of Doha. This project is the powerhouse behind the country’s commitment to becoming one of the most developed knowledge-based societies worldwide by the end of the decade.
“The opening of Georgetown’s branch campus represents another great stride forward in making the Qatar Foundation’s vision for Education City a reality,” said Qatar Foundation President Dr. Charles E. Young. “Georgetown’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is recognized worldwide as a pioneer in the study of international affairs.
“Its reputation for excellence and rigorous programs make it a perfect partner for Qatar Foundation. Alongside the other institutions here, Georgetown will help further Qatar’s growing renown as a pioneer in the world of higher education.”
The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service is the centerpiece of Georgetown University’s commitment to educate students for careers in the international arena. It was the first school in the United States to develop an interdisciplinary liberal arts undergraduate program focused on international affairs. Students complete a challenging four-year international affairs curriculum, which builds on Georgetown’s Jesuit traditions of service and cross-cultural understanding and its mission of educating citizen leaders. The SFS curriculum prepares students from around the world for positions of leadership in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
“A campus in Qatar is a natural fit for Georgetown and the School of Foreign Service given our international presence, academic strengths and ongoing commitment to the development of future global leaders,” said Robert L. Gallucci, Dean of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Georgetown’s Qatar campus will offer an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree, with a major in International Politics, for approximately 25 students per year. The campus will expand to include at least 100 students over four years as new classes are admitted.
The SFS-Qatar degree requirements are the same as for the existing SFS-Washington program, with undergraduate students completing a core liberal arts program, including required courses in economics, government and history in addition to two semesters of literature, philosophy and theology, and then in-depth studies in international politics.
Georgetown’s Qatar campus joins four other U.S. research-based universities with established branch campuses at Education City. They are: Virginia Commonwealth University-Qatar, teaching art and design; Weill-Cornell Medical College in Qatar, teaching medicine; Texas A& M University at Qatar, teaching engineering; and Carnegie Mellon University Qatar, teaching computer science and business. As with these other programs, all costs associated with the development of the Georgetown campus are being borne by the Qatar Foundation.
For more information about Georgetown’s SFS-Qatar campus visit http://qatar.sfs.georgetown.edu/
About the Qatar Foundation
The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a private, non-profit chartered organization founded in 1995 aiming to develop and utilize human potential through a network of centers and campuses. In 1997 the Foundation set out on a strategic plan to create an Education City that is composed of a number of research centers, branch campuses of world-class educational institutions, and a Science Park that acts as an incubator for research, responds to the immediate needs of industry and anticipates future necessities for development. In October 2002, Education City was officially inaugurated and now is home to various universities and research centers. For more information, visit www.qf.edu.qa/
About Georgetown University Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit University in America, founded in 1789 by Archbishop John Carroll. Georgetown today is a major student-centered, international, research university offering respected undergraduate, graduate and professional programs on its three campuses. For more information about Georgetown University, visit www.georgetown.edu