Culture and Politics (Qatar), BSFS

Explore the connections between culture and power in international affairs.

In a world marked by power hierarchies and cultural conflicts, the Culture and Politics (CULP) major equips you with an understanding of the complex relationship between culture, knowledge, and power. Learn the theoretical frameworks and analytical skills to make a difference by advancing cross-cultural tolerance, social justice, and ethical leadership

​Ten courses required for the CULP major:

• CULP 2100 Theorizing Culture and Politics, which must be taken by the end of the junior year.
• Four (4) classes tagged as CULP (must be in at least two different disciplines i.e. course prefixes)
• Five (5) classes oriented around a self-constructed theme (topical electives)

Writing in the Major

CULP students will satisfy the University’s Integrated Writing requirement through the required gateway class (CULP 2100).  Because CULP is an interdisciplinary major, however, there is no one methodology or writing genre that students must master.  Students assemble their own course sequences around individually chosen concentrations in consultation with their mentor and curricular dean.  The self-designed concentration may require a combination of discipline-specific methodologies or writing strategies housed in the SFS and the College, and students are encouraged to find additional opportunities to hone their writing skills throughout their coursework. 

Core Curriculum Requirements

All GU-Q students complete the same core curriculum requirements as students in Washington, D.C. There are, however, some slight differences in the sequencing of certain core courses at the Doha campus.

GU-Q students fulfill the core Writing and core Humanities: Art, Literature, and Cultures (HALM) requirements in one of the following ways:

1. Take WRIT 1155 (Fall Year 1) followed by WRIT 1165 (Spring Year 1) or
2. Take WRIT 1155 (Fall Year 1) followed by any HALM course (before Fall Year 3)

HALM courses cannot double count between the core and any other academic program.

GU-Q students must fulfill the core government requirement as follows:

1. GOVT 1400 Comparative Political Systems (Spring Year 1)
2. GOVT 1600 International Relations (Fall Year 2)

Failure to complete the core government sequence as described above will adversely affect a student’s ability to declare the IPOL major and/or register for upper-level courses in government and politics.

GU-Q students are required to take two Engaging Diversity courses, one domestic and one global. At GU-Q, domestic diversity is defined as pertaining to the Arab World and global diversity is defined as pertaining to the rest of the world.

Students are expected to complete most of the core curriculum courses during their freshman and sophomore years.

Honors in Culture and Politics

To apply for CULP honors, a student must:

• Earn a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.5 or higher, and 3.67 or higher in the CULP major, or show strong evidence of the capacity to achieve these by graduation.
• Submit a complete research proposal using either the proposal form or following the proposal guidelines.  The proposal is reviewed by, and the admission to the program is determined by, a CULP faculty Honors committee.
• Identify a Georgetown faculty mentor who has agreed to work on this project.
• Adhere to the revision and final submission dates, if invited to revise a proposal.

To graduate with CULP Honors, a student must:

• Successfully complete two semesters of work dedicated to thesis preparation.  This includes CULP 4998 (3 credits) in the fall semester of the senior year and CULP 4999 (3 credits) in the spring semester of the senior year. 
• Earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 and a grade point average of 3.67 in the CULP major at graduation.
• Submit a senior thesis by early April (deadline to be announced each year) of the senior year, which is judged to be of honors quality by a faculty committee appointed for this purpose.
• Make a formal public thesis presentation in late March (specific date announced each year) of the senior year.
• A thesis paper can be judged to be of honors quality, but if other requirements are not met, the student can’t earn honors. If this is the case, the honors classes, if completed successfully, will still count toward the student’s CULP topical electives and degree program.

For more details, please see the Honors in the Major Policy  for Georgetown University in Qatar SFS students.