Georgetown University PhD Programs: A Comprehensive Overview

Georgetown University offers a wide array of doctoral programs across various disciplines, designed to equip students with the analytical skills, substantive knowledge, and research capabilities needed for successful careers in academia, industry, and government. These programs emphasize rigorous research, critical thinking, and effective communication, preparing graduates to contribute meaningfully to their respective fields.

Doctoral Programs in the Humanities and Social Sciences

History

Georgetown’s Department of History is a leader in international, global, and comparative history. The department emphasizes transnational history in the classroom and faculty scholarship, with recognized strengths in the Atlantic World, the Pacific World, international diplomacy and cultural interactions, the global environment, and comparative gender relations.

Georgetown’s doctoral student community in History numbers roughly 100, with new cohorts of 10-12 fully-funded students each year. Alumni have gone on to distinguished careers as historians in and out of the academy. In addition to the attention of a distinguished and award-winning History faculty, students benefit from Georgetown’s many regional studies programs and intellectual centers, where interdisciplinary activity is prized. Additionally, there are opportunities for language training.

The department also offers an M.A. in Global, International & Comparative History.

Government

The mission of the Government Department Ph.D. program is to provide students with the analytical skills and substantive knowledge needed to both generate and evaluate research in political science, preparing them for careers at the highest levels of scholarship and teaching. A Georgetown Ph.D. in Government signifies theoretical, methodological and substantive expertise in various topics of political significance, as well as the research and communication skills necessary for productive scholarship.

The degree indicates that the recipient has acquired extensive knowledge in one of the four major fields of political science, but which may also include related fields such as history, security studies or public policy. Doctoral-level seminars taken during coursework are designed to familiarize students with the scholarly literature in their major field of study and in other disciplinary fields. Students gain a broad understanding of the development and major topics of research as well as expertise in several more specialized areas. Students learn to evaluate and engage with the major scholarly debates in their field of study, both in classroom discussion and in written work. All students learn the methodological skills needed to carry out original research in their respective field.

A Georgetown Ph.D. in Government is granted only to students who have demonstrated the ability to synthesize large quantities of information and rigorously evaluate the merits of competing theoretical and empirical arguments. Degree holders have obtained the analytical and methodological skills to design and conduct original research of the highest quality, and have the written and oral communication skills necessary to engage with debates at the leading edge of the field. Individuals holding a Georgetown Ph.D. in Government are also equipped with the knowledge and skills to teach political science at the university level in both survey courses and specialized seminars.

Doctoral-level seminars taken during coursework are designed to familiarize students with the scholarly literature in at least two fields of study. Students gain a broad understanding of the development and major topics of research within these fields, as well as expertise in several more specialized areas. Students learn to evaluate and engage with the major scholarly debates in their fields of study, both in classroom discussion and in written work. Ph.D. students are required to take comprehensive examinations in one major. The purpose of comprehensive examinations is to demonstrate a student’s broad familiarity with the literature in his or her fields of study. This prepares students both as professional members of a scholarly community and as future teachers at the university level.

Our doctoral students write dissertations that consist of rigorous original research that contribute to our understanding of a topic of empirical importance and theoretical significance to the field of political science. In addition to the formal requirements of the doctoral program, students are encouraged and expected to participate in opportunities for professional socialization and development. All four subfields of the department organize speaker series to host scholars from other universities and promote intellectual exchange.

Students acquire teaching skills in a number of settings. Many serve as teaching assistants for the larger undergraduate courses offered by the department, while others may have the opportunity to teach their own undergraduate-level seminars. For students admitted with a Fellowship, we provide tuition and a stipend of $38,000. Typically students in their first year are assigned a service-free fellowship and will work on coursework and related research. In their second year, students normally are assigned service assistantships and and will typically serve as TA’s in GOVT courses or on other assignments. Students in their fourth year are assigned service assistantships and typically serve as an RA for a professor or some other assignment.

Arabic and Islamic Studies

The Ph.D. in Arabic and Islamic Studies aims to combine a thorough understanding of the Arabic language with scholarly research in the literary, linguistic and intellectual traditions of the Arab and Islamic world. The department offers courses Doctoral students who are admitted with advanced standing will complete one major and one minor concentration toward the degree. The department offers courses in Arabic linguistics, Islamic studies, and literature of the classical and modern eras. This department focuses on teaching Arabic in its wider, more authentic contexts and in the principles of discourse and meaning.

Doctoral Programs in the Sciences and Mathematics

Psychology

The Ph.D. in Psychology at Georgetown University offers a fully funded five-year, full-time program of study. Students in the program concentrate in either Human Development and Public Policy (HDPP) or Lifespan Cognitive Neuroscience (LCN). The program is fundamentally a research program. Students are expected to meet rigorous research milestones and receive training in conducting independent scholarly research.

Students in the HDPP track also take core courses at the McCourt School of Public Policy, while students in the LCN track take core courses in the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

Economics

The Ph.D. in Economics is a full-time course of study designed for students who seek research careers on the forefront of economic science. The Ph.D. program provides an excellent training environment for future scholars. Located in the nation’s capital, it is ideally situated for both students specializing in pure science and those who wish to study policy informed by the science. Ph.D. students may choose from among nine fields of specialization

The core courses in typical Ph.D. programs in economics, including Georgetown’s, are highly mathematical. The typical matriculant to the Georgetown Ph.D. program has a strong mathematics background and achieves above the 80th percentile on the quantitative section of the GRE. Ideally, applicants should have completed three semesters of calculus and one semester each of linear algebra and differential equations. Courses in Real Analysis and/or Measure Theory are highly desirable. Analytical skills and a strong preparation in mathematics are essential for a successful application.

Read also: Georgetown Admission SAT

Applied Mathematics

The Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics prepares students for research and teaching careers in academia, industry, or government.

Biology

The Ph.D. in Biology provides graduate students with an introduction to graduate-level biology across diverse fields of biological science. Students will receive expert guidance in research, training in becoming effective communicators in science and a foundation in teaching pedagogy.

Chemistry

The Ph.D. in Chemistry prepares graduates for a variety of research and leadership careers in industry, government, and academia.

Interdisciplinary Programs

Climate, Environment, and Health

Georgetown’s 12-month Master of Science in Climate, Environment, and Health (MS-CEH) is an interdisciplinary program based in Washington, D.C.

Communication, Culture & Technology

The M.A. in Communication, Culture & Technology (CCT) is Georgetown’s flagship interdisciplinary program. Since 1996, we have been studying the impact of technology on society, using tools from multiple disciplines to develop fresh insights and solutions.

Other Graduate Programs

Georgetown University offers a variety of other graduate programs, including master's degrees and certificate programs, designed to meet the diverse needs of students and professionals. These programs provide specialized knowledge and skills in areas such as:

Addiction Policy and Practice
Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AG-ACNP)
Advanced Biomedical Sciences (ABS)
American Conversational English
American Government
American Studies
Applied Economics
Art and Museum Studies
Asian Studies
Financial Economics
Educational Transformation

General Admission Requirements

For general graduate admissions requirements, visit the Office of Graduate Admission’s Application Information page. Applicants are required to upload to the application system copies of official transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions attended. For non-native English speakers, a TOEFL score of 80 minimum (original TOEFL iBT score scale) or 4 (new TOEFL iBT score scale beginning Jan. is typically required.

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