100 Years of History

Discover how the Master of Science in Foreign Service program has developed through the decades.

1920s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

1919
- November 25th, 1919
  
  MSFS Beginnings
1922
- 1922
  
  MSFS graduates its first class
- August 1922
  
  Sultan Mahmoud Amerie (SFS’24, MSFS’25) of Persia becomes the first foreign recipient of scholarship funds to attend the SFS
1932
- 1930s
  
  MSFS moves to Healy Hall
1941
- 1940s
  
  MSFS during War Time
1951
- 1950s
  
  MSFS hosts exchange students
1954
- 1954
  
  MSFS adds air transportation courses
- 1954
  
  Edward B Lawson (SFS’24, MSFS’25) becomes Ambassador to Israel
1958
- November 1958
  
  President Eisenhower dedicates the Walsh Building, the new home of the MSFS
1962
- 1960s
  
  MSFS Enrolls Women
1972
- 1972
  
  First full-time MSFS director appointed
1976
- February 28th, 1976
  
  MSFS praised as a success in career preparation
1977
- 1977
  
  Henry Kissinger appointed professor
1981
- October 1981
  
  MSFS Participated in National TV Program
1989
- 1989
  
  Intercultural Center Becomes New Home for MSFS
1993
- 1993
  
  MSFS praised as the “New MBA”
1997
- 1997
  
  Nancy Soderberg (MSFS ‘84) becomes US Alternate Representative to the United Nations
2001
- October 2001
  
  Princess Ghida Talal (SFS’86, MSFS’86) appointed chair of King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Center
2011
- 2011
  
  Bailey Hand (MSFS‘03) becomes the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense
2012
- 2012
  
  Sarah Margon (MSFS‘05) becomes director of the Washington office of Human Rights Watch
2013
- January 2013
  
  Denis McDonough (MSFS’96) named White House Chief of Staff
- February 2013
  
  Deborah McCarthy (MSFS‘79) becomes US Ambassador to Lithuania
2014
- June 19th, 2014
  
  Felipe VI (MSFS’95) becomes King of Spain
2015
- January 2015
  
  Dan Sullivan (MSFS’93) becomes United States Senator
- 2015
  
  Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson (SFS’90, MSFS’90) becomes founding CEO of POLITICO Europe
2016
- November 2016
  
  Stephanie Murphy (MSFS’04) becomes the first Vietnamese-American woman elected to US Congress
2017
- March 29th, 2017
  
  Izumi Nakamitsu (MSFS’89) named UN Under-Secretary General
2019
- January 2019
  
  Kelly Coffey (MSFS’89) becomes first female CEO of City National Bank
2021
- May 2021
  
  Nicole Bibbins Sedaca (MSFS’97) appointed Executive Vice President of Freedom House
2022
- June 2022
  
  Marcia Bernicat (MSFS’80) becomes Director General of the Foreign Service