Master of Science in Foreign Service

Career Counseling

Personal contact is a hallmark of the MSFS Program. While they are in school and after they graduate, MSFS students and alumni receive career advice and assistance from the faculty, staff, classmates, alumni and friends of the MSFS program.

• MSFS Counselor, Maria Pinto Carland, is a leading figure in career development in international affairs, who provides valuable career guidance and support to MSFS students as they make the transition from school to the workplace.

• MSFS Internship Coordinator, Laura Cressey (MSFS '92), meets with each MSFS student to help him or her identify appropriate internship opportunities both during the academic year and the summer between the first and second years. Ms. Cressey contacts potentional employers, maintains a database of internship organizations, oversees funding for summer internship travel, and organizes career events in Washington, D.C.and New York. She brings to that role her background as a former student herself, and her experience in both the international public and private sectors.

• MSFS faculty, including both full-time scholar-teachers and part-time adjuncts who are currently employed in government, business and the non-profit sector, provide advice, assistance and contacts for students seeking temporary internships or permanent employment in Washington, DC and beyond.

• Associates of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, who spend one or two years on leave from the U.S. and other governments serve as mentors and advisors to MSFS students who are seeking careers in public service. Many SFS students work as research assistants to ISD associates and through this association develop important professional contacts.

• MSFS briefings and training programs, led by former ambassadors and diplomats, prepare students for the U.S. Foreign Service Examination. Georgetown University contributes more members of the U.S. Foreign Service than the next three universities combined.

• The MSFS Advisory Board, composed of men and women currently employed in a wide range of organizations in Washington, DC, provide guidance and advice to MSFS students as they establish professional contacts that lead to employment in the international field.

• MSFS Alumni around the world return to share their experience with students in the classroom, on panels, through skills workshops, during career receptions and as members of recruitment teams.