Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

Studying International Affairs: The SFS-Q Approach

The School of Foreign Service in Qatar prepares students for a variety of careers in international service by providing a four year liberal arts education focused upon the multidisciplinary study of international affairs.

The School strongly believes that complex global issues cannot be understood without understanding the complex interactions of various forces. For instance, the challenges confronting the Middle East today cannot be explained simply by exploring politics. Policy makers also have to consider economic forces and developmental challenges, religious and ethnic divisions across the region, geopolitics and the distribution of natural resources, cultural attitudes towards women, and nationalism. Students cannot hope to understand such a complex situation without mastering the foundational principles in all of the disciplines relevant to international affairs.

 To provide students with the tools that they require in order to explore complex global issues, the School of Foreign Service in Qatar requires all students to complete a multidisciplinary core curriculum during the first two years of study that features the following subjects:

• International Government
• International History
• International Economics
• Political Geography
• Foreign Language
• Theology
• Philosophy
• Literature

Major Programs

Completion of the core curriculum prepares students for entry into either of two majors offered:

1. International Politics major program, a multidisciplinary program that allows students to explore the structure of the international system and how state and non-state actors compete and cooperate with one another; or
2. Culture and Politics major program, a multidisciplinary program that enables students to understand the connections between culture, society and politics in international affairs.

In both majors, students customize their program of study by selecting courses in fields related to their areas of interest.  Students not only complete major courses on campus, but have the opportunity to take courses alongside students in the United States in a state of the art distance education facility or to study overseas at one of more than 100 universities.

Certificate Programs

Students may also complement their major field of study by pursuing specialized coursework that deepens their understanding of a particular region.  Two such program are offered at SFS-Qatar:

1. The Certificate in American Studies is a multidisciplinary program that focuses on the American experience and how it informs political decision making. The program provides students with a solid understanding of the historical development of the American people, providing the necessary context for the exploration of cultural and social themes across a variety of disciplines, as well as the advanced study of American political processes and institutions;
   
2. The Certificate in Arab and Regional Studies provides students with an interdisciplinary understanding of the Arab and Islamic worlds.  The program capitalizes on the unique geographical, cultural and academic situation of SFS-Qatar to highlight the connection of regional history with current issues, as well as to stress the impact of culture on the self-understanding of the Arab and Islamic world and its relationship with the West.

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