Curriculum
The Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees (MIMR) program is a 36-credit degree that includes core courses, concentration courses and electives.
You’ll participate in hands-on learning through the required summer practicum and final semester capstone. To graduate, you must also achieve competency in a foreign language and have a 3.0 GPA.
Course sequence
You will complete the MIMR program in three semesters (fall, spring, fall) and one summer.
Sample schedule
Year 1
| Semester | Course | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Global Overview on Trends in International Migration | 3 |
| Research Methods | 3 | |
| Concentration Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Language Course | 0 | |
| Spring | Environmental Displacement | 3 |
| Migration Policy | 3 | |
| Concentration Course | 3 | |
| Elective | 3 | |
| Language Course | 0 | |
| Summer | Practicum | 3 |
Year 2
| Semester | Course | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Capstone | 1.5 |
| Concentration Course | 3 | |
| Electives | 4.5 | |
| Language Course | 0 |
Required courses
Core courses (12 Credits)
- Global Overview of Trends in International Migration (3 credits)
- Methods in Refugee and Migration Studies (3 credits)
- Refugee and Migration Policy: Local, National and Global (3 credits)
- Environmental Migration and Displacement (3 credits)
Concentration courses (9 credits)
You may choose to concentrate in Migration Analytics or Humanitarian Practice. You will take three required courses in your concentration.
Migration Analytics concentration courses
- GBUS 401: Big Data in Business, Economics and Society (3 credits)
- ISIM 6648: Migration and Development (3 credits)
- ISIM 601: Economics of Migration (3 credits)
Humanitarian Practice concentration courses
- ISIM 6698: Introduction to Humanitarian Crises (3 credits)
- ISIM 6594: Seminar on Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies (3 credits)
- ISIM 6511: Strangers No More – Solutions for Refugees (3 credits)
Practicum
To gain international migration and/or refugee work experience, you will complete an in-person practicum during the summer between your first and second year. The practicum can be with any international or U.S. organization that works on refugee and/or migrant issues. The program provides you with financial assistance to support your practicum experience.
Capstone
In their final semester, students enroll in the 3-credit Capstone Seminar. In the seminar, students engage with academic research in the classroom and apply their knowledge and skills to a project at a selected organization. In the past, students have contributed to projects at the World Bank, Hope Border Institute, Refugee Congress, The Campaign for Global Education, UNICEF, and the Inter-American Development Bank, to name just a few. This course is co-taught by two faculty members, who both teach the academic component and facilitate project management.
Through strategic partnerships with major migration and humanitarian-focused organizations, our students have contributed to a wide array of projects for both INGOs and U.S.-based non-profits. Students are matched with projects by careful matching between the interests and skills students bring and the needs of the projects. Working in teams of 2-4, students typically dedicate approximately 8 hours per week. In past years, students have supported the development of evaluation and assessment tools, contributed to social media strategy, mapped stakeholder engagement, created digital storytelling projects, and supported advocacy and fundraising, to name just a few projects. In December, we invite members of the Georgetown community, area scholars and practitioners, and other supporters to join us for a project showcase where students share their work.
Language proficiency
To complete the program you must pass an oral proficiency exam in a language other than English before graduation. You will be provided with language scholarships for one class per semester until you pass your exam. Please note that language courses are not included in the 36 credits required to graduate from the MIMR program.
Georgetown University offers a number of languages for students to take, however, your language of proficiency is not limited to these. For more detailed information about the languages offered at Georgetown and the oral proficiency exam, visit the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics.
Electives
You will also take 9 credits of elective courses and can choose from many different courses across Georgetown University. A number of 1.5-credit courses may be taken to pursue particular migration issues or to acquire specific skills.
Sample electives
- ARST 5523: Displacement in the Arab World
- HIST 4484: Inventing the Illegal Alien
- ISIM 5502: Gender and Migration in Europe
- ISIM 5575: Politics of African Migration
- ISIM 5572: Migration in the Americas
- ISIM 4467: Migration and Human Rights
- ISIM 6520: Advocacy on Refugees and Migrants (1.5 credit skill course, seven weeks)
- ISIM 6520: Project Management (1.5 credit skill course, seven weeks)
- LAW 440: Refugee Law and Policy
- LAW 037: Immigration Law and Policy
- MSFS 5548: Human Rights, Humanitarian Crises and Refugees: Ethical and Religious Responses
Grade point average
You must achieve a 3.0 GPA to graduate.
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