24 January 2011

Beginning this year, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar is providing a new major, allowing students to focus their studies on International Economics (IECO). The University recently received approval for the major from the Qatar Foundation.

“I am very excited about the new IECO major at SFS-Qatar,” said Professor Daniel Westbrook, head of the Economics Department at Georgetown’s Qatar campus. “Economics is a fascinating area of study, essential for understanding human behavior and the relationships among economic agents, including relationships among nations.”

With Qatar and other Gulf countries becoming more important and increasingly involved in the global economy, Georgetown’s Qatar campus was primed for the new addition. There are currently five economists on the faculty. Moreover the demand for skilled economists in the public and private sectors, particularly in the Gulf, has risen in recent years.

“These skills are always in demand, but particularly so in the Gulf, where economic growth remains robust. Former students have often let me know their jobs involve exactly the skills we taught them as economics majors,” said Westbrook.

Students at Georgetown’s Qatar campus have met the new development with enthusiasm. “IECO is a great opportunity, not only because it's a major that is not currently taught at any institution here in Qatar, but also because it is a field that is very much needed in this part of the world, especially with the increased economic expansion that is taking place before our eyes in Doha,” said Aya Elwadia (SFS ’13).

Eilin Francis (SFS ’13), a student interested in one day working as an international economist, explained why she’s excited about majoring in IECO. “Pursuing the IECO major at Georgetown will impart knowledge about economics from the distinct perspective of international relations and policy making. With its unique offering of courses, Georgetown places me at an advantage in understanding late developing economies and their political causes and consequences.”

The field of International Economics provides students with strong analytical and quantitative skills that distinguish them on the job market and among applicants to graduate and professional schools. “The economics major is very practical: it provides rigorous training in analytical and quantitative methods,” noted Westbrook.

IECO majors will receive rigorous training in economic analysis and quantitative methods. Through the core economics courses and courses on international trade, international finance, economic development, and globalization students acquire the skills required to understand markets, to understand economic relationships among countries, and to evaluate the effects of policy on the economic welfare of individuals, firms, and countries.