International Migration and Refugees, MA

Modality

On Campus

Program URL

https://isim.georgetown.edu/academics/master-of-arts-in-international-migration-and-refugees/

This cutting-edge program addresses the pressing challenges arising from population movements and prepares a new generation of professionals to navigate the intricate intersections of migration, displacement, and policy-making. With migration shaping diverse industries and societies worldwide, this immersive 36-credit program, offered by the Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM), equips students with the expertise needed to understand, respond to, and positively impact the lives of those on the move

Academic Policies

Students in the International Migration and Refugees are expected to comply with Graduate Academic Regulations.

Program Requirements

To earn the Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees, students must complete the following requirements:

• 5 required courses (13.5 credits)
• 3 concentration courses (9 credits)
• Elective courses (13.5 credits)
• A summer practicum
• Demonstrate competency in a foreign language
• Capstone project on a timely refugee or migration issue.
• Students must concentrate their studies in either Migration Analytics or Humanitarian Practice

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.

Plan of Study Grid

Year One
Fall		Credits
Global Overview on Trends in International Migration		3
Research Methods		3
Concentration Course		3
Elective		3
Language Course		0
	Credits	12
	Total Credits	12

Plan of Study Grid

Year One
Spring		Credits
Environmental Displacement		3
Migration Policy		3
Concentration Course		3
Elective		3
Language Course		0
	Credits	12
	Total Credits	12

Plan of Study Grid

Year One
Summer		Credits
Practicum		3
	Credits	3
	Total Credits	3

Plan of Study Grid

Year Two
Fall		Credits
Capstone		3
Concentration Course		3
Electives		4.5
Language Course		0
	Credits	10.5
	Total Credits	10.5

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