Now more than ever, science and technology are at the heart of international affairs. The Science, Technology, and International Affairs (STIA) major equips students with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to engage with these challenges and opportunities. STIA students follow the regular SFS core curriculum, complete a science fundamentals sequence, and develop an in depth understanding of a technical area as a concentration. The STIA major can also facilitate pre-medicine and pre-engineering programs.
Goals of the Major
Some of our graduates become scientists and doctors. However, the goal of the major is to create technically informed leaders who engage in some of the most pressing political, social, and ethical issues at the interface of science, technology, and international affairs for the benefit of their organizations, countries, and the world.
STIA majors will:
- complete a challenging introductory course to build a foundation
- understand the theory and practice of science through laboratory based science sequence
- develop expertise in an area of concentration
- integrate science into the SFS’s core foundation in the liberal arts, ethics, language, and international understanding.
STIA Concentration Areas
STIA Concentration Areas include:
- Data and Emerging Technologies
- Energy and Environment
- Global Health
- Global Security
- Space
In special cases where a student has a particular interest not reflected in the current STIA concentrations, students may apply to the STIA Director to create their own concentration that aligns with their academic goals and interests. This application must include the following:
- how the proposed concentration will cultivate a deep understanding of a STIA relevant topic;
- the reason for the student’s interest;
- proposed courses that would constitute the concentration; and
- a faculty member who will act as the advisor and mentor. Before applying, students must speak to the potential STIA advisor for guidance.
Study Abroad
STIA students are strongly encouraged to spend meaningful time abroad. STIA requirements mean that coursework should be carefully planned so students are encouraged to speak early and often with their STIA Curricular Dean to plan coursework and discuss the most relevant opportunities to spend time abroad.
Honors in the Major
Selection of honors candidates is based on evaluation of proposals submitted during the spring semester of junior year.
In order to graduate with honors in STIA, a student must:
- Earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 and a grade point average in the major of 3.67 by the date of graduation.
- Successfully complete the two semester Honors seminar series in Science Technology and International Affairs (STIA 4998 & STIA 4999)
- Present the senior thesis before a committee of faculty members and peers during the spring semester.
Writing in the Major
A core part of the STIA major is learning how to translate science to non-science decision-making. Students must learn to think critically and communicate what they learn effectively. This requires being able to formulate meaningful questions, find information that will inform questions, evaluate information sources, effectively synthesize and analyze information, and present findings to varied audiences.
STIA students are expected to gain experience in discussion and debate, oral presentation, and, of course, advanced level writing. The STIA major seeks to help students build these communication competencies throughout the curriculum. There are three primary components of the major that focus specifically on writing:
- All STIA majors are required to take STIA 3005 Intro to Science and Technology in the Global Arena. By taking this gateway course, students move beyond the fundamentals of academic writing gained in SFS core courses and make progress in evaluating primary and secondary sources and communicating science to non-scientists.
- All STIA classes are expected to have at least one written assignment. Most classes have multiple writing assignments ranging from literature reviews to research proposals and full research papers to policy briefs, professional blogs and opinion pieces.
- All STIA majors are required to complete either a STIA Senior Seminar or the STIA Honors Thesis Seminar. By completing this course, students are expected to generate original research questions, devise plans to test and prove their findings and present a convincing hypothesis to a diverse audience through a significant writing assignment.
Complementary Programs
Some students combine the STIA major with programs in business, CyberCorp, Pre-Medicine, or Columbia’s 3-2 Engineering program. Students who wish to combine a STIA major with any complementary program with structured course requirements should discuss their plans with the STIA Curricular Dean for assistance in course planning. These programs complement the STIA experience but require careful planning.
Additional information on STIA and required coursework can be found on the STIA website.
Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service in Science, Technology, and International Affairs
Courses in the SFS Core requirement serve as foundational requisites of this major.
Course List
| Code |
Title |
Credits |
| STIA 3005 | Science Tech in Global Arena 1 | 4 |
| |
| 2 | 3 |
| 2,3 | 3 |
| 4 | |
BIOL 1203
& BIOL 1213 | Foundations in Biology I
and Foundations in Biology I - Lab | 5.000 |
BIOL 1204
& BIOL 1214 | Foundations in Biology II
and Foundations in Biology II- Lab | 5.000 |
| 10 |
| |
| General Chemistry I
and General Chemistry Lab | |
| General Chemistry II
and Intermediate Chemistry Lab | |
| |
| Majors General Chemistry I
and Majors General Chemistry Lab | |
| Majors General Chemistry II
and Majors Intermediate Chem Lab | |
| 5 | 10 |
| Principles of Physics
and Principles of Physics II | |
| Mechanics
and Electromagnetic Phenomena | |
COSC 1020
& COSC 1030 | Computer Science I
and Computer Science II | 6 |
| COSC 1110 | Math Methods for Comp Sci | 3 |
ERTH 1050
& ERTH 1051 | Envt & Sust Science I
and Envt & Sust Science I Lab | 4 |
ERTH 1060
& ERTH 1061 | Envt & Sust Science II
and Envt & Sust Science II Lab | 4 |
| 3 |
| Clean Energy Innovation | |
| Data Sci. for a Changing Clmt | |
| Sea Lvl Change&Cstl Adaptation | |
| Deep Decarbonization | |
| Environmental Chemistry | |
| Environmental Remote Sensing | |
| GIS for Environmental Analysis | |
| Sust. in a Complex World | |
| Marine Conservation Sci & Pol | |
| Agriculture and Sustainability | |
| Envt Remote Sensing | |
| Int'l Community Based Conserv | |
| Remote Sensing & Digital Img | |
| Planes, Trains, & Automobiles | |
| Total Credits | 60 |
STIA majors are required to develop a grounding in at least one field of science. The STIA major science fundamentals requirement can be met before or after declaring STIA as a major, although it is strongly recommended that these courses are taken in the first or second year of study. Students are required to take their science courses in the same discipline - that is to say, they cannot mix and match. This requirement can be met by taking one of the following foundational sequences of laboratory based, natural or computer science notated above.
Note that AP credit, Science for All courses, Core Pathways science courses and SFS science classes (STIA 1800s) do not meet the STIA science prerequisite and may not count for the STIA major. Students who have already taken these courses or AP equivalents before coming to Georgetown can request approval to take an upper-level sequence in one of the science departments instead. While natural science classes (bio, chem, environmental science, and physics) that meet the STIA major science requirement meet the SFS and main campus core science requirements, computer science classes do not.
STIA students are strongly encouraged to develop a deeper background in science and technology through additional coursework related to your foundational sequence of science courses. One option is the completion of the courses equivalent to a science minor or other structured sets of coursework such as Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medicine, or CyberCorps (more information below).
STIA majors are also required to take one course in research or analytic methods related to STIA disciplines. Examples of courses that meet the methods requirement include BSFS 3200 Quantitative Methods for International Affairs and ECON 2110.
Georgetown Core Curriculum
The Georgetown Core Curriculum (Georgetown Core) is a distinctive expression of Georgetown University’s identity as a student-centered research university rooted in the Jesuit and Catholic tradition. The Georgetown Core is a two-tiered program. The first tier – the “shared core” – has been created and approved by the Main Campus Core Curriculum Committee and is shared by all undergraduates as a common core experience. The second tier of the requirement – the “school-specific core” – is designed and determined by each of the undergraduate schools, embodying the shared learning goals of the university Core while furthering the specific mission and tradition of each school. Both the shared and school-specific cores change over time, balancing the traditional ethos of a liberal arts education with the changing needs of our students in a changing world. Ultimately, it is the hope that the entirety of a Georgetown education – the cores, majors and minors, and electives – will lead students to embody as life-long habits the goals described in the Georgetown Core Curriculum Learning Goals.
More information about the Georgetown Core Curriculum can be found on the Provost’s Core Curriculum website.
Georgetown Shared Core Requirements
The core requirements that form the first tier, the common experience across the University, are outlined below. Georgetown courses fulfilling each of these requirements are designated “Core: [specific requirement]” in the Attributes in the Schedule of Classes.
Philosophy – 2 Courses
Through the Core, the Philosophy Department is committed to providing courses that promote students’ personal growth as human beings in search of meaningful lives, foster their development as responsible citizens, and offer effective introductions to the discipline of philosophy. The learning goals shared by courses in the Philosophy Core are:
- Understand what philosophy is, how it differs from other academic disciplines, and what its primary areas of inquiry are.
- Understand and construct arguments.
- Describe and analyze complex problems.
- Read, write and speak effectively.
- Engage critically and constructively with moral problems and decisions.
- Apply philosophical analysis, argumentation, and critical reflection to the study of other disciplines.
Please refer to each school/college curriculum for specific courses that will fulfill this requirement.
Theology and Religious Studies – 2 Courses
Through the Core, the Theology and Religious Studies Department is committed to fostering in students a critically appreciative awareness of the religious dimension of human existence, and to assisting students in reflecting upon their own experience and understanding in that enlarged context. The first course provides this foundation while the second course allows students to develop their critical awareness by applying it to a particular area of interest in religion or theology.
The learning goals shared by courses in the Theology and Religious Studies Core are:
- To consider reflectively your relationship to the world, your fellow humans, and God.
- To foster a critically appreciative awareness of the religious dimension of human existence.
- To assist you in reflecting upon your own experience and understanding in that enlarged context.
- To develop your critical awareness by applying it to a particular area of interest in religion or theology.
Problem of God1 (THEO 1000) and one Theology and Religious Studies elective fulfill the Theology and Religious Studies requirement. Introduction to Biblical Literature (THEO 1100) may be substituted for Problem of God or may be used as an intermediate level elective.
Writing – 2 Courses
The writing requirement provides students with opportunities to connect their writing with critical reading and thinking, inquiry, and analysis. The Writing and Culture Seminar, WRIT 1150, approaches writing through three interrelated frameworks: writing as a tool for inquiry, writing as a process, and practice writing in different rhetorical situations. Each section focuses on a cultural theme, with readings and assignments that engage students with compelling questions and problems. Seminar readings provide texts for analysis as well as models and motives for student writing. Students are encouraged to complete this course during their first year at Georgetown. The learning goals shared by different sections in the Writing and Culture Seminar are:
- Experiment with diverse strategies for planning, drafting, and revising writing.
- Adapt writing to respond to, engage, and persuade audiences.
- Employ rhetorical strategies for analyzing, designing, and communicating in writing and other forms of media.
- Engage in writing as a form of thinking, inquiry, and learning.
The second half of the Writing Core is an intensive writing experience located within the student’s chosen major, embedded within the requirements as determined by that program. Each major’s Integrated Writing requirement is established by the department or program in order to express the unique conventions and practices of the discipline. The learning goals shared by courses in the Integrated Writing Core are:
- To prepare students to use the relevant forms, styles, and conventions of writing within their chosen major(s).
- To employ writing as a method to enhance students’ learning of concepts, materials, and methods in their major.
Courses fulfilling this requirement are identified within each major.
Humanities: Art, Literature, Music, and Media (HALM) – 1 Course
(Formerly Humanities: Art, Literature and Culture (HALC))
The Humanities: Art, Literature, Music, and Media (HALM) requirement serves to deepen students’ understanding and experience of a range of creative media representing cultural expressions from various historical periods and world regions, from the local to the global.
Through reading, listening, viewing, analyzing, writing, and/or creative practice, students acquire the intellectual and practical tools to interpret human experiences portrayed in the arts, literature, music, and media.
HALM Learning Goals:
-
Understand how art, literature, music and/or media have historically shaped and been shaped by cultures.
-
Develop generative habits of mind and exercise critical thinking skills for a world in flux: openness, resilience, curiosity, creativity, imagination.
-
Activate knowledge through creative, analytical, and/or critical approaches in individual, collaborative, and/or public-facing projects.
HALM courses must be Georgetown University courses and cannot be fulfilled by transfer credits; they must be 3-credit courses. Courses that can fulfill other Core requirements (such as HIST, PHIL, THEO) are ineligible.
In 2026-27, the older “HALC” designation (Humanities: Arts, Literature, and Culture) will be replaced with HALM (Humanities: Arts, Literature, Music and Media). For this academic year, courses with the designation will be tagged with both HALC and HALM. In Fall 2027, the tag HALC will be retired in favor of HALM.
Science For All – 1 Course
The natural sciences, and the technologies that they enable, are woven deeply into the fabric of our lives and are central to many of the important political and social challenges that we face. They are also pinnacles of intellectual accomplishment in humanity’s ancient and ongoing quest to understand the world in which we live. Thus we believe that to function as liberally educated, ethically responsible citizens, as stewards of the planet, and as effective leaders, all Georgetown students should understand scientific modes of thought and concepts, both in the abstract and as they are exemplified in at least one major area of scientific inquiry. The Science For All (SFA) Core requirement is grounded in these beliefs. The learning goals shared by courses in the Science for All Core are:
- To understand the basic principles and some current research challenges of one or more areas of science.
- To understand science as a set of methods of inquiry that involve forming and testing hypotheses through the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data.
- To consume and interpret scientific information with critical understanding of the balance of certainty and uncertainty that research findings inevitably reflect.
Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy – 1 Course
This requirement applies only to students in the class of 2028 and later.
The Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy (QRDL) requirement will help students learn to understand how real-world interpretation of data progresses from a set of numbers, frequently incomplete and with measurement errors, to a visual distillation that clearly conveys meaning. While mathematics and statistics provide a necessary foundation for quantitative reasoning and data literacy, the power of pure mathematics lies in its abstraction. In contrast, QRDL emphasizes a distinctive variety of concrete contexts and applications. The learning goals shared by courses in the Quantitative Reasoning and Data Literacy Core are:
- To build a quantitative toolbox that allows students to become comfortable performing and/or evaluating quantitative analyses.
- To translate and make meaning of data and quantitative analyses as they apply to complex problems.
- To effectively communicate statistical methods and results both visually and textually to a diversity of audiences with considerations to contextual, social, or ethical issues.
Engaging Diversity/Pathways to Social Justice
For students in the class of 2025, 2026, or 2027
Engaging Diversity (2 courses)
All Georgetown students are required to take two Engaging Diversity courses as overlays, meaning that the courses may count toward another degree requirement (Core, major, or minor). One of these courses must be labeled with a “Core: Diversity Domestic” attribute and one must be labeled with a “Core: Diversity Global” attribute.
In courses designated as fulfilling a diversity requirement, students will engage with different cultures, beliefs, and ideas. These courses will explore conditions that contribute to unequal access and influence. Finally, these courses should enable students to reflect on their own identities as they also deepen their understanding of the experience of others. The learning goals shared by courses in the Engaging Diversity Core are:
- To prepare students to be responsible, reflective, self-aware and respectful global citizens through recognizing the plurality of human experience and engaging with different cultures, beliefs, and ideas.
- To be better able to appreciate and reflect upon how human diversity and human identities shape our experience and understanding of the world.
For students in the class of 2028 and later
Pathways to Social Justice (3 courses)
Georgetown’s Pathways to Social Justice (PSJ) curriculum prepares students to critically analyze historical and contemporary power differentials. By fulfilling the Pathways to Social Justice requirement, students will gain a better understanding of how social, political, geographic, economic, and other cultural factors shape experiences of the world, as well as how these factors contribute to marginalization and inequality. PSJ courses will also explore how communities have resisted marginalization, and will focus on axes of identity that have formed the basis for historical and contemporary marginalization and oppression, including race, gender, class, caste, disability, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
A cornerstone of this requirement is the one-credit University Seminar in Race, Power, and Justice which is designed to ensure that every student at Georgetown develops a baseline vocabulary for discussing racial difference and marginalization. This seminar will provide the foundation for each student’s engagement with other PSJ-attributed “overlay” courses offered across Georgetown’s Main Campus and should be taken in the first year.
In addition to the required one-credit University Seminar in Race, Power, and Justice, the requirement also requires students to take two overlay courses (meaning that these courses may count toward another degree requirement, whether core, major, or minor). Eligible courses have the “Core: PSJ” attribute.
Each course in the Pathways to Social Justice Core works toward at least three of these shared priorities:
- Inclusive Scholarship
- Intersectional Approaches to Identity
- Historical Legacies of Inequality and Their Contemporary Impacts
- National, Regional, and Global Comparisons
- Imagining Justice
