Business and Global Affairs FAQs

Yes. Any international student can apply for the Izmirlian program. With respect to work authorization, the BGA program is not STEM designated, so the optional practical training (OPT) period that international students would be able to apply for would be for 1 year post-graduation.

While you have to be a student in the MSB or the SFS to join the Izmirlian program, all Georgetown first-year students are eligible to join the gateway course, BGAF 1001. After the BGAF 1001 course, students who choose to apply to join the Izmirlian program also need to apply to either the MSB or the SFS. We suggest consulting with your Dean as well as the Izmirlian team to better understand how you can join the program from outside of the MSB or SFS.

The Izmirlian Program selection committee conducts a holistic review of applicants. We  are trying to assess whether students are prepared for the program and determine if they are interested in international affairs/business or other topics related to the BGA program. We look at the courses students took in their first year and also seek feedback and guidance from students’ deans, professors, and teaching assistants, to understand their performance in the BGAF 1001 class. We do not just select the students with the highest grades in BGAF 1001. 

Enrollment in the program’s gateway course (BGAF 1001) is a prerequisite for applying to and being eligible to join the Izmirlian program. Georgetown students are not able to enroll in BGAF 1001 after their first year, so any transfer student who joins Georgetown after their first year of college would not be eligible to apply.

For Izmirlian students considering studying abroad for a semester, you would be able to pursue this option during the fall semester of your junior year. That is the only semester in which BGA students do not have a BGA signature course that they need to enroll in and physically take at Georgetown. Students are also welcome to study abroad over the summer through various programs that Georgetown offers or are non-school affiliated.

Yes, you must attend all three on-location experiences. The experiences are credit-bearing as they are embedded within the BGA signature courses, and you must complete the travel in order to satisfy the course requirements.

You may pursue multiple minors or any certificate offered at Georgetown; however, you cannot declare a second major, as the BGA major is already a joint degree. Additionally, BGA students are eligible to pursue programs or certificates in either school (MSB or SFS).

There is no single career path for BGA students, as they pursue a wide range of opportunities in international business, finance, consulting, government, and the nonprofit sector. Many also continue their education in master’s programs or law school. To get a better sense of potential career outcomes, see: https://bga.georgetown.edu/career-outcomes/.