In 2015, the university broadened its remit to include executive and professional education and custom training programs, in addition to the primary Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service degree. It rebranded to Georgetown University in Qatar (previously Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar or SFS-Q) to reflect the broadening of its remit.
The university is notable for its international undergraduate education, based on the core curriculum system of Georgetown University. There are about 400 students on campus all year round. The university has produced 2 Rhodes Scholars since the opening in 2005.
In 2002, Georgetown University studied the feasibility of opening a campus of the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in Qatar in October 2002 and joined four other U.S. universities in opening a campus in Education City in 2005. Former U.S. Ambassador to Qatar, Patrick N. Theros called it "the most important development in American higher education in the twenty-first century."[6]
Since 2005, the campus became the home to the Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), GU-Q's premier research institute, which focuses on issues facing the Middle East and broader Asian region.[7]
In 2014, Nancy Pelosi, Former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, visited GU-Q and gave a commencement speech on the Graduation Ceremony. She said: “I was immediately struck by the enthusiasm of the students: they are enthusiastic to learn and they are enthusiastic about Georgetown. It is a campus full of intellectually curious young people who are tremendously proud of their association with Georgetown University.”
“The students on the Doha campus are pioneers. Being part of something new takes courage, and I commend the Doha students for their entrepreneurial spirit,” she added.[8]
In August 2014, Former Indonesian President, Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, visted GU-Q and talked Technology and Economic Stability in the Islamic World.
In October 2014, the President of Slovenia, Danilo Türk, visited GU-Q and gave a speech.
In September 2023, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Iraq War, former Iraqi President Dr. Barham Salih attended and delivered a speech at an academic conference organized by GU-Q. [10]
GU-Q has trained two Rhodes Scholars, namely Khansa Maria (Class of 2021), who won the award in 2020, and Asma Shakeel (Class of 2024), who won the award in 2023.[11]
Georgetown offers a four-year Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service (BSFS), with four majors within the program, the curriculum and course materials of which are identical to those offered at Georgetown's main campus in Washington D.C:[12]
Culture and Politics (CULP)
International Economics (IECO)
International History (IHIST)
International Politics (IPOL)
Georgetown University in Qatar also offers three certificate options:
Georgetown University in Qatar offers three executive master's programs:[13]
Executive Master's in Diplomacy and International Affairs (EMDIA)
International Executive Master's in Emergency and Disaster Management (IEDM)
Executive Master's in Leadership-Qatar (EML-Q)
GU-Q also offers custom designed certificates, including programs on Public-Private Partnerships and Strategic Leadership Development.
Current students and graduates of GU-Q will be offered special accelerated program considerations to enroll at Georgetown University's graduate professional schools and programs.
The Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS) sponsors studies of regional and international significance, including research initiatives in the areas of international relations, political economy, and domestic politics of the Persian Gulf.[7]
Past and current research projects[17] have included the study of Islamic bioethics, skills training for migrant workers, food security in Qatar, Arabic language pedagogy for heritage learners, and the history of women in Persian Gulf countries, among many other topics. Funding sources are available both within GU-Q and from external funding bodies.
GU-Q students formed the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESSA)[18] in 2012 as a forum for organizing an annual global conference to showcase undergraduate research in the social sciences and humanities. The conference is also fully organized by GU-Q students who consult extensively with a faculty board to help select papers for presentation and to peer review papers for possible publication in the annual Journal of the Georgetown University in Qatar Middle Eastern Studies Student Association. This journal is the first peer-reviewed scholarly journal run by students in Qatar.[citation needed]
GU-Q students have access to research grants funded by the Qatar National Research Fund Undergraduate Research Experience Program (QNRF-UREP)[19] for research projects with topics that are relevant to Qatar's national development.
The entrance to Georgetown's campus in Education City
The Georgetown University in Qatar building[22] in Education City was inaugurated in February 2011. The purpose-built 360,000-square-foot (33,000 m2) building features a three-story high atrium, an auditorium with a seating capacity for 300 people and 14 classrooms and lecture halls. It includes offices, classrooms, a library and other facilities for more than 200 undergraduate and graduate students. The facility was designed by Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta.
GU-Q's office in Washington, D.C. is located at the Leavey Center at Georgetown University.[23]
GU-Q's main campus in Washington, D.C, United States
The James Reardon-Anderson Library was the largest library in Qatar before the Qatar National Library was built. The library is one of nine Georgetown University libraries. The library offers online access to more than 2 million scholarly resources and an intercampus loans service with Georgetown's library services in Washington DC. There is also an interlibrary loans services agreement with other universities on the Education City campus and with Qatar University. The Library houses over 90,000 books,[24] and over 6,000 multimedia items. [25]
James Reardon-Anderson Library
The Library space is open to the public. As of 2016, over 650,000 members of the GU-Q community and the general public have visited the library since 2005.
In honor of its founding dean James Reardon-Anderson, the GU-Q Library was officially renamed the James Reardon-Anderson Memorial Library in 2023.[26]
GU-Q offers students a variety of experiential courses, including opportunities to explore and visit various museums, historical sites, and natural landscapes in Doha, such as Souq Waqif, Musuem of Islamic Arts, and National Musuem of Qatar, etc. These courses not only allow students to immerse themselves in the rich cultural heritage and natural beauty beyond the confines of the classroom but also aid in a deeper understanding of Qatar's history, culture, and environment.
There are 213 study abroad programs in 57 countries available to GU-Q students, GU-Q students usually choose to study abroad for one or two semesters at Georgetown's main campus in DC, Villa Le Balze, or University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Peking University, and London School of Economics and Political Science, etc.[29]
Zones of Conflict, Zones of Peace (ZCZP) is one of GU-Q’s academic program, aiming to lead students to explore areas of the world that have been involved in political and military conflicts every semester. Previous destinations include Nepal, China, Spain, Finland, Japan, the United States, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Germany, Rwanda, Cambodia, Palestine, Jordan and other countries and regions.[31]
Sheikha Moza bint Nasser (honorary doctorate, 2005), mother of the Emir of the State of Qatar, co-founder and chair of the Qatar FoundationSheikha Moza, one of the founders of GU-Q
GU-Q has partnerships and ongoing collaborations with a number of educational institutions, government bodies, and civil society organizations across Qatar.
