Georgetown University Summer Programs International Relations Academy

Weekdays are long and mostly academic. Georgetown's sample weekday schedule runs from breakfast at 7:00 a.m. to supervised activities that end at 11:00 p.m. The morning block (9:00 a.m. to noon) and afternoon block (1:30 to 5:00 p.m.) are lectures, guest speakers, group discussions or off-site visits around Washington, and after dinner you work on your capstone project from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. That adds up to about 8.5 hours of scheduled academic time a day.

From 9:00 p.m. until curfew you can choose optional events, residential activities or free time, and Georgetown's evening program includes things like movie nights, game nights, cookouts and concerts. The 2026 sessions ran Sunday to Saturday.

Georgetown lists Professor Anthony Clark Arend as faculty for this academy. He's Professor of Government and Foreign Service at Georgetown and chaired its Department of Government from June 2020 to April 2026. His research covers international law, national security law and human rights, he has published seven books, and he's a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Alongside faculty, Georgetown says you'll hear from specialists and practitioners in international relations and dig into issues in small discussion groups. It doesn't publish a class size or staff ratio.

Anyone in 8th to 12th grade during the school year before the summer can apply, as long as they're in good academic standing with at least a 2.0 GPA. Georgetown weighs your grades, the courses you've taken, your school reviewer's form and your personal statement, and it admits on a rolling basis. One application covers all of its academies.

International students don't need TOEFL scores or an I-20, F-1 or J-1 visa, and Georgetown won't give visa help for the academies, so check what you need to enter the US with official sources. Georgetown recommends English strong enough to follow complex texts, talk easily with native speakers and argue a point of view on a current issue.

To commute, you must live with a parent or guardian, or an adult they designate, for the whole program. Georgetown reviews this through a Commuter Form and can turn down a request if that home is more than 45 minutes from campus at any time of day, rush hour included. Its decision is final.

Georgetown prices the week at $3,725 if you live on campus and $3,095 if you commute, so living in costs $630 more. The residential price covers tuition, a double room in a residence hall and 19 meals a week, while the commuter price is tuition only, although commuters can buy an optional meal plan from Georgetown Dining. Georgetown notes that all its tuition and fees are subject to change.

On top of that comes a $50 application fee, which is waived if you apply by 31 January 2027 and is non-refundable otherwise, plus a $45 health insurance fee for international students. Travel to Washington is yours to arrange. You pay the full tuition by credit card when you register, because that's what secures your seat.

Georgetown offers a limited number of need-based scholarships to admitted students. They cover tuition only and aren't guaranteed. The Academy scholarship application is scheduled to open in late December 2026, asks for two essays and is due 2 March 2027, with decisions by the last week of March. Late applications aren't reviewed.

If you drop out, your refund depends on when Georgetown receives the request, counted from the start of your session. Up to three weeks before the start you can drop yourself in the MySCS portal, but after that you have to email highschool@georgetown.edu. Georgetown's refund scale for the Academies works like this:

Applications go through Georgetown's Academies application portal.

1. 1

   Start the Academies application once Georgetown posts its Summer 2027 offerings, which it says will happen on 16 November 2026.

2. 2

   Upload a 300- to 500-word personal statement on why you want to attend Georgetown's summer high school programs.

3. 3

   Name a school official reviewer, ideally your counselor, or else an advisor, teacher or principal who can confirm your GPA, and they'll get an email asking them to fill in the form (homeschoolers can't use a family member or paid tutor).

4. 4

   Submit by 31 January 2027 to skip the $50 fee, or by the final deadline of 15 May 2027, after which applications are reviewed case by case.

5. 5

   Allow up to three weeks after your application is complete, including your reviewer's form, for a decision by email, and check your spam folder as Georgetown recommends.

6. 6

   Once approved, log in to the MySCS portal, add the residential or commuter section of your session to your cart and pay the full tuition, since seats go first-come, first-served to those who've paid.

Resident counselors live in every residence hall and supervise all students, with one on duty in each hall throughout the day, and commuters are assigned a resident counselor too. Residential students have a floor curfew at 10:30 p.m. and bed checks at 11:30 p.m., which Georgetown says can shift with the day's programming.

Georgetown's Protection of Minors Policy covers the program, campus police patrol regularly, and the Student Health Center is staffed by physicians and nurse practitioners. Any involvement with alcohol or drugs means immediate dismissal from the program and the residence halls.

The Summer Hoya Office is open 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. every day from May through August on (202) 687-9786, and after hours parents can reach the staff member on duty through campus police on (202) 687-4343. Campus leave rules are set out in Georgetown's Academies welcome packet, so read them before you register.