Doha: Following a week of orientation to ease new students’ transition into university life, Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) officially welcomed Class of 2019 at its convocation on Thursday in Education City.
The orientation programme also familiarise new students with the academic routine.
The convocation is the formal initiation of incoming first-year students into Georgetown’s academic community, introducing them and their families to key elements of Georgetown’s history, traditions and commitment to its founding values, and a commitment to uphold the Honour Pledge.
After students are inducted as members of the student body, they don their academic robes they will wear once again at graduation four years later.
Dr Gerd Nonneman, Dean, said, “At this new student convocation, we recognise the ideals of Georgetown University, and repeat the rituals for bringing our newest members – the Class of 2019 – into our community of learners.”
Twenty-three countries, including Bahrain, France and Egypt, were represented among the new students, with 34 students from Qatar. The curriculum has a history of attracting top-talent students locally and from around the world.
Nonneman said: “Over the next four years, we will challenge our new students with the same interdisciplinary international affairs curriculum as the one offered on our campus in Washington, DC. It is our goal to equip every one of them with skill-set and knowledge needed to make a positive contribution to the complex world we live in.
“It is an honour to welcome some of the best and brightest students from Qatar and across the globe, into our community.”
GU-Q prepares students for careers by providing a four-year liberal arts education focused on the multidisciplinary study of international affairs.
Students have the opportunity to major in culture and politics, international history, international economics, and international politics, and can choose a focus of study to earn a Certificate in American Studies, Arab and Regional Studies, and the Media and Politics Certificate, a joint degree with Northwestern University in Qatar.
Georgetown graduates contribute to a broad sector of Qatar and the region’s economy in the banking, oil and gas, communications and government sectors.
The Class of 2019 will be among a population of 260 students at GU-Q campus this year.
The Peninsula
