International Applicants

International students, faculty, and researchers are an integral part of the McCourt and Georgetown University communities. The McCourt School welcomes and encourages applicants from all over the world to apply to and enroll in our programs. International students contribute invaluable perspective to our classroom learning environment and are active participants in our student activities. In just the past 3 years, students have joined us from these different countries:

Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zimbabwe

International students can reach out to our McCourt student and alumni ambassadors, some of whom are international students themselves, to learn first-hand about the student experience.

Georgetown’s Office of Global Services (OGS) has an International Student & Scholars division that is dedicated to helping international students both before and after enrollment at Georgetown. Once admitted to the McCourt School, the OGS staff will guide you through the process of obtaining your certificate of eligibility to apply for your student visa. Once on campus, OGS advisors will meet with you to make sure that you stay in compliance with your visa status and can advise you on important immigration issues regarding travel, employment regulations, OPT and more. OGS also provides cultural and educational programming.

Other sites with information that may be of interest to international students:

• EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of over 425 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries. These centers are designed to assist international students as they prepare to apply to and attend colleges and universities in the United States.
• Study In the States is an information hub for the international student community that brings together the various federal agencies that play a role in implementing student visa and exchange visitor programs, including the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
• International Student and Study Abroad Resource Center contains news, information and resources for students around the world who want to study abroad.

Our Master in Public Policy (MPP), Master of International Development Policy (MIDP) and MS in Data Science for Public Policy (MS-DSPP) programs are all now STEM-certified. This will means students with F-1 visas may apply to work in the United States for two additional years beyond the standard 12 months of Optional Practical Training (OPT), following graduation — for a total of 36 months.

Admissions requirements are the same for international students with the following exceptions: English language proficiency and international transcript requirements.

English Language Proficiency

All applicants to McCourt School are required to demonstrate a level of proficiency in the English language sufficient to meet the admission requirements of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. Proficiency can be demonstrated by one of the following:

• the receipt of a bachelor’s or advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher education in the United States or from a university where English is the primary language of instruction for the entire institution.
• submission of an official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score report with a minimum score of approximately 600 (paper-based test) or approximately 100 (internet test). (Minimum of 22 on each individual section.)
  • TOEFL Special Home Edition accepted for Fall 2024 admissions
• submission of an official International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – Academic Module score report with a minimum overall band score of 7.0 (this is a strict requirement).

Official TOEFL and IELTS score reports must be received directly from the appropriate testing organization. Photocopied/faxed documents will not fulfill this requirement. For TOEFL, send your official score through ETS to institution code 5244. For IELTS, send your score electronically to Georgetown University, Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

International Transcript Requirements

• Applicants who have attended institutions outside of the United States are strongly encouraged to upload their transcripts in the form of World Education Services (WES) ICAP evaluations or may utilize other credential evaluation services that are members of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES). Applicants should upload this evaluation directly to the application. If the evaluation does not include a copy of the transcripts that were evaluated, applicants must upload both the transcripts from the institution and the credential evaluation as one document to the application.
• For transcripts not in English, these documents must be accompanied by an English language version provided by the academic institution. If your institution does not provide English language copies, applicants are responsible for providing a certified or notarized translation along with a copy of the original transcripts. Applicants may upload an evaluation from a credential evaluation service. This must include course and grade information. If not included in the evaluation, the transcript from the institution must be included as well. Both the evaluation and original transcript should be submitted in the application as one document.

During the application process, you do NOT need to submit any paperwork for immigration purposes, nor do you need to demonstrate funding ability. This process will be initiated if you are admitted to the university.

International students are eligible to be considered for all of our merit-based scholarship programs, including the prestigious McCourt Scholars. Five McCourt scholars are selected each year to receive full-tuition, health insurance, fees and a $20,000 annual stipend. Other merit-aid recipients typically receive partial tuition scholarship awards.

Cost is a concern for all students. Please visit the Office of Student Financial Services website for more information about the cost of attendance, payment plans, and private loans. International students are encouraged to look for scholarship opportunities through their home country governments. The Ministry of Education in your home country or your embassy in Washington, DC, should be able to provide you with information on available scholarship programs.

• GU Resources for International Students describes loans, employment and other financing options.
• The International Student Loan Program Center describes loan programs designed especially for international students.
• The International Scholarship Search is a free searchable database of scholarships and other awards for international students.

We have compiled a list of external scholarships that international students can pursue:

International Student Funding

Georgetown now offers one building of graduate student housing that is located nearby McCourt’s new home. The new, state-of-the-art dorm facility at 55 H Street NW, Georgetown’s first residence hall open to graduate students. Opened in the fall of 2022, this apartment-style residential community houses undergraduate and graduate students. More information about 55 H Street NW can be found here.

In addition, we do provide additional resources for living in DC and finding housing. Below are some useful websites:

• Graduate On-Campus Housing
• GU Off-Campus Housing Listings
• Graduate Student Life
• Resources for International Students

Investing in your future career is a big reason why international students choose to study at the McCourt School. To that end, our Office of Career Development is available to assist our international students with individualized counseling, as well as workshops, career events, and networking opportunities. Take a look at some of the career and employment programming we had in Fall 2019 specifically for our international students.

In addition, below are some other career resources available to our graduate international students:

• Passport Careers, a site with country specific employment information, an H1b database, and helpful webinars throughout the semester;
• Uniworld, a site for finding multinational companies in your country of interest and contact information for each office;
• Georgetown’s Cawley Career Education Center;
• Georgetown’s Office of Global Services Employment Information
• Georgetown’s Alumni Career Network;
• Georgetown’s Graduate Career Center

Prominent international alumni of the McCourt School include Ivan Duque Marquez, former President of Colombia; Laura Chincilla, former President of Costa Rica; and Nicolae Stefanuta, a current member of the EU Parliament. Learn more about the McCourt alumni.

Beyond McCourt, you will become a part of the worldwide network of Georgetown alumni and have the opportunity to remain an active participant of the university’s global community.