Welcome from Dean Michael E. Brown

March 2015 Dear Admitted Student, Congratulations on your admission to The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. In addition to conveying my personal congratulations, I would like to tell you more about the Elliott School and our community of scholars and students.

GW’s Elliott School is a superb place to study international affairs because of our extraordinary comparative advantages. Many universities offer graduate programs in international affairs, but few can rival our combination of academic excellence, substantive depth and breadth, professional skills development, and our location in the heart of Washington, DC. Washington, DC is one of the best places in the world to study international affairs, and the Elliott School’s location in the heart of Washington is truly unique. The IMF and the World Bank are a twominute walk from the Elliott School building. The State Department and the White House take five.

Every school of international affairs bridges the theory and practice of international affairs but at the Elliott School, we don’t need bridges; we have sidewalks. Our location is powerful, and it enhances everything we do.

GW’s faculty is comprised of superb scholars whose research makes important contributions to our understanding of the world. Our political science department is one of the best in the country. Our history department is renowned for its expertise on contemporary international history. Our economics faculty has great strengths in international development, finance, and trade. Other key departments – anthropology, geography, global health – are also outstanding. Many members of our faculty have worked in government or international organizations; others have worked in non-governmental organizations or multinational corporations. These experiences further enrich our programs.

The Elliott School’s large, multi-disciplinary faculty is the foundation for a curriculum that is extraordinarily broad and deep. We live in a big world, and the Elliott School covers the world exceptionally well. Our graduate curriculum includes a unique array of professional skills courses that enhance the competitiveness and effectiveness of our alumni in the professional arena.

The Elliott School also sponsors an unparalleled program of special events – more than 300 lectures, seminars, panel discussions, and conferences every year. These programs provide our students with extraordinary opportunities to hear scholars, policymakers, diplomats, and other experts from around the world. Our Distinguished Women in International Affairs series has featured leaders including Louise Frechette, the former UN Deputy Secretary-General; Michéle Flournoy, former Under Secretary for Policy in the U.S. Department of Defense; and Zainab Salbi, founder and CEO of Women for Women International. Our event programs also include the Ambassadors Forum, the International Finance Forum, the Middle East Policy Forum, the Nuclear Policy Talks series, the Leadership in International Affairs series, the Security Policy Forum, among others.

One of our innovations is the Elliott School Web Video Initiative. We have posted more than 450 videos from some of our most important events on our website. This allows us to share these resources with students and faculty who may not be able to attend the event in person; with alumni, parents, and other members of the broader GW community; and with prospective students like you. To see these videos and learn more about the tremendous array of programs at the Elliott School, visit our website at: http://elliott.gwu.edu.

If you enroll as a graduate student at the Elliott School, I believe you will get three main things out of your experience. First, you will receive intellectual stimulation and academic enrichment. Your horizons will be expanded, your knowledge of the world will increase exponentially, and your mind will be sharpened. Second, you will have unique opportunities for professional advancement – starting or enhancing a career in the public, non-profit, and for-profit sectors of the international affairs field. The Elliott School’s superb Graduate Student Career Development office will help you to take full advantage of these opportunities.

Finally and most importantly, you will get a chance do something important with your life. The issues that we study at the Elliott School – ranging from war and peace to poverty and development to democratization and human rights – are life and death issues for hundreds of millions of people around the world. Hanging over my desk at the Elliott School are four photographs that I took during my travels: one is from the military cemetery at Verdun, another is from the military cemetery at Normandy, and two are from genocide sites in Rwanda. Some people think these photographs are depressing, but they are inspirational to me. They remind me that the issues I study are serious, and that my work can make a difference.

At the Elliott School, the study of international affairs is not an abstract exercise. Our mission is to educate the next generation of international leaders, and to make our world a better place. Now more than ever, there is no better and no more exciting place to study global issues than GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. I hope you will join us.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Brown Dean Elliott School of International Affairs The George Washington University