- Master of Science in Foreign Service
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Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Established 1922 Type Private Academic affiliation Georgetown University Director Anthony Clark Arend Postgraduates 185 Location Washington, D.C., USA Website MSFS Website This article is about Master of Science in Foreign Service. For other uses, see MSFS (disambiguation).MSFS is recognized as one of the most selective professional international affairs masters programs in the world. It is distinguished by its well-respected faculty, the Washington, DC location, a selection of the world top international affairs students and a multidisciplinary curriculum that integrates theory and practice which integrates core requirements with skills, training, internships and field experience.
The MSFS curriculum is both practical and theoretical. Practical, because most students seek a two-year master's degree as a stepping stone to professional careers. Theoretical, because the opportunity to think conceptually about particular problems is the "value added" that the university brings to professional training.
Attention to the individual student is a hallmark of the MSFS Program, with small classes, faculty-student interaction, and lifelong friendships cited regularly in post-graduation surveys.
Contents
History
Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service conferred the first graduate degree in international affairs in 1922, pre-dating the US State Department's adoption of the term "foreign service." Since that initial class, over 3,000 students have completed the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) Program. Graduates have attained notable success in careers with national governments, international organizations, private businesses and civil society groups.
Today MSFS is recognized as one of the most selective professional masters programs in the world.
Curriculum and Faculty
The MSFS Program provides a multidisciplinary course of study that integrates theory and practice through:
- A full-time, two-year, 48-credit program
- Small classes with interactive teaching and learning
- Required core courses that provide cross-disciplinary insights into the dynamic international system
- Advanced courses in economics, history, politics and business as well as quantitative methods, analytical skills and foreign languages
- A choice of three professional concentration areas: international relations and security, international development, international commerce and business
- Specializations that integrate classes, skills training, internship opportunities and unique, practitioner-taught workshops
Practitioners serve as Concentration Coordinators for each field of study. Their applied professional insights complement the full-time faculty's role in advising on course selection, internships, career preparation, and employment opportunities. Practitioners also offer optional one or two-day skills clinics; recent examples include global strategy concepts and approaches, international development project design and evaluation, and business risk assessment and management technique
The MSFS faculty encompasses scholar-teachers and practitioners. Faculty teaching MSFS students include Charles Kupchan, Victor Cha, Kathleen McNamara, John McNeill, Carol Lancaster and Theodore Moran. Among the more notable practitioners are Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Georgetown alumnus Andrew Natsios (Director, US Agency for International Development). Adjunct faculty include executives from the World Bank, Citigroup, Exxon, ITT, McKinsey, Sidley Austin, FINCA and Knight Ridder Newspap ers.
Reputation and Ranking
Attention to the individual student is a hallmark of the MSFS Program, with small classes, faculty-student interaction, and lifelong friendships cited regularly in post-graduation surveys. Other attractions include the Program's distinguished faculty, the Washington, DC location, and a curriculum that integrates multidisciplinary core requirements with skills training, internships and field experience.
In February of 2009, a survey published in Foreign Policy magazine ranked the professional masters degrees in the School of Foreign Service, including MSFS, #1 in the world.
Prominent Alumni
- King Abdullah II of Jordan
- Ambassador Michael A. Sheehan
- Ambassador Nancy Soderberg
- Felipe, Prince of Asturias
- Pavlos, Crown Prince of Greece
- Prince Talal bin Muhammad - Prince of Jordan
- Joseph Cirincione - President of the Ploughshares Fund and member of the Council on Foreign Relations
- Denis McDonough - National Security Council Chief of Staff
- Kate Snow - NBC News, Dateline NBC Correspondent
- Maria Eitel - President of the Nike Foundation[1]
- Janet E. Garvey - U.S. Ambassador to Cameroon [2]
- Tatiana C. Gfoeller - U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan [3]
- Marcia Bernicat - U.S. Ambassador to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau [4]
- Gabor Csaba - Ambassador of Hungary to Australia
- William F. Powers - author and columnist on international development and conservation issues [5]
- Juan Manuel Galán Pachón - Senator of Colombia
Prominent Faculty
- Madeleine Albright - former Secretary of State
- Victor Cha - former National Security Council official
- Chester Crocker - former Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs
- Robert Cumby - former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
- Charles Kupchan CFR profile, Charlie Rose appearances - international relations theorist and Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow
- Anthony Lake - former National Security Advisor
- Carol Lancaster - former Deputy Director of the US Agency for International Development
- Catherine Lotrionte - former Counsel to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
- Princeton N. Lyman - former Ambassador
- Donald McHenry - former US Ambassador to the United Nations
- John R. McNeill[6] - noted historian
- Nancy Bernkopf Tucker - Asian historian and former intelligence official
- Anthony Clark Arend - noted international law scholar
References
External links & Social Media
Categories:- Master's degrees
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