Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) is a campus of
Georgetown University (
Washington, D.C.) in
Education City, outside of
Doha, Qatar. It is one of Georgetown University's eleven undergraduate and graduate schools, and is supported by a partnership between
Qatar Foundation
Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development ( ar, مؤسسة قطر) is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Founda ...
and
Georgetown University.
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.
Background
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.
The campus is also home to the
Center for International and Regional Studies
The Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), located in Doha, Qatar, is a center for international and regional affairs. The center is a part of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar). The center works clo ...
(CIRS), GU-Q's premier research institute, which focuses on issues facing the Middle East and broader Asian region.
Academics
Undergraduate programs
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:
* Culture and Politics (CULP)
* International Economics (IECO)
* International History (IHIST)
* International Politics (IPOL)
Georgetown University in Qatar also offers three certificate options:
* The Certificate in American Studies
* The Certificate in Arab and Regional Studies
* The Certificate in Media and Politics
Additionally, GU-Q offers three minors:
* Africana Studies Minor
* Arabic Language Program and Minor
* Indian Ocean Studies Minor
Executive and Professional programs
Georgetown University in Qatar offers three executive master's programs:
* 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.
Faculty
In 2022, GU-Q faculty numbered 66, which includes both teaching and research staff.
The
Center for International and Regional Studies
The Center for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), located in Doha, Qatar, is a center for international and regional affairs. The center is a part of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFS-Qatar). The center works clo ...
(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.
Admission
Georgetown University in Qatar has an acceptance rate of 27% for the Class of 2021.
Research
Past and current research projects 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
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
, 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) 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.
GU-Q students have access to research grants funded by the Qatar National Research Fund Undergraduate Research Experience Program (QNRF-UREP) for research projects with topics that are relevant to Qatar's national development.
Campus
The Georgetown University in Qatar building 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
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
architect
Ricardo Legorreta.
Library
GU-Q 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, and over 6,000 multimedia items.
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.
Student life
About 25
student organizations
A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university or a college institution, whose membership typically consists ...
exist on the school's campus. Student organizations include
The Georgetown Gazette', Brainfood, the Women's Society and Development Club, Amal, Hoya Empowerment and Learning Program (HELP),
Model United Nations, Photography Club, Senior Class Committee,
Performing Arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
Club,
The Free Society, Georgetown Business Society (GBS),
Students for Justice in Palestine (GUQ-SJP),
Southeast and
East Asian
Student Association (SEA), and the Georgetown
Investment Association (GIA). Funding for student organizations comes from the Student Activities Commission (SAC) while the student body as a whole is represented by the Student Government Association (SGA).
Criticism and controversy
Georgetown has been the subject of ongoing criticism of whether it is appropriate to maintain a campus in Qatar, given the
Qatar's alleged links to state-sponsored terrorism, comparatively less
academic freedom than its home country, and the country's de facto
absolute monarchy. In an article without byline published by ''Gulf News Journal'',
Herbert London
Herbert Ira London (March 6, 1939 – November 10, 2018) was an American conservative activist, commentator, author, and academic. London was the president of the Hudson Institute from 1997 to 2011. He was a frequent columnist for ''The Washingt ...
, a conservative pro-Israel activist who is founder and president of the eponymous
London Center for Policy Research
Herbert Ira London (March 6, 1939 – November 10, 2018) was an American conservative activist, commentator, author, and academic. London was the president of the Hudson Institute from 1997 to 2011. He was a frequent columnist for ''The Washing ...
and a senior fellow at the think tank
Manhattan Institute, said "universities I think have compromised themselves" by having campuses in "an environment like Qatar" where "
free and open exchange of ideas" is impermissible.
Along with other universities with campuses in Qatar, Georgetown has received criticism for accepting money from Qatar due to their alleged support of
terrorism worldwide and their poor human rights record, especially in the lead up to the
2022 World Cup
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022; it is the first Wo ...
. Some question if universities who profit from campuses in Qatar are thereby complicit in Qatar's alleged sponsorship of terrorism and human rights abuses.
List of deans
See also
*
List of universities and colleges in Qatar
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgetown University in Qatar
American international schools
Educational institutions established in 2005
Universities in Qatar
Qatar
2005 establishments in Qatar
Education City