Georgetown University Summer Programs Washington & the World Academy

Georgetown's sample weekday schedule has you in academic sessions from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Mornings (9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) and afternoons (1:30 to 5:00 p.m.) are for lectures, guest speakers, group discussions or off-site visits, and the 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. slot goes to your capstone project.

The breaks are lunch from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. and dinner from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. After 9:00 p.m. there are optional cocurricular events, free time and residential activities under staff supervision until curfew. Georgetown also runs evening activities for the whole high school community, such as movie and game nights, cookouts and concerts.

Georgetown lists two School of Foreign Service faculty for this academy, and practitioners in the field also speak to the group. Anthony Arend is Professor of Government and Foreign Service. He chaired Georgetown's Department of Government from June 2020 to April 2026, works on international law, national security law and human rights, and has published seven books. Catherine Lotrionte directs Georgetown's Institute for Law, Science and Global Security and teaches national security law, U.S. intelligence law and international law. Earlier she was an Assistant General Counsel at the Central Intelligence Agency, and from 2002 to 2006 she served as counsel to the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board at the White House.

Georgetown doesn't give a class size or student-to-faculty ratio. The faculty listed are for the 2026 session, so check who's teaching once the 2027 schedule appears.

You can apply if you're in 8th to 12th grade during the school year before the summer and have at least a 2.0 GPA. Georgetown's rule that students must be 15 by check-in covers only its medical, nursing, medical immersion, biotechnology and social justice academies, so it doesn't apply to this one.

Georgetown bases its decision on your grades, the courses you've taken, your School Official Reviewer Form and your personal statement. It admits on a rolling basis and encourages students to apply early. If you're homeschooled, your reviewer form has to come from a teacher or someone else who can speak to your academic ability, and it can't come from a family member or paid tutor. International students don't need TOEFL scores, but Georgetown recommends English good enough to follow complex texts, talk easily with native speakers and explain a view on a current issue in clear, detailed writing.

For the 2026 session, living on campus cost $3,725, which covered tuition, a residence hall room and 19 meals a week. The commuter option cost $3,095 for tuition alone, and commuters could buy an optional meal plan separately from Georgetown Dining. Georgetown says all tuition rates and fees are subject to change, so confirm the 2027 price when you register.

On top of tuition there's a $50 non-refundable application fee, which is waived if you apply by the early bird deadline of 31 January 2027, and international students pay a $45 health insurance fee. You can only commute if you live with a parent or a responsible adult they choose, within 45 minutes of campus at any time of day, rush hour included. Georgetown can turn down a commuter request, and its decision is final.

Georgetown offers a limited number of need-based scholarships for admitted students, which cover tuition only and aren't guaranteed. The Academy scholarship application for Summer 2027 is scheduled to open in late December 2026. It asks for two essays and closes on 2 March 2027, and late applications aren't reviewed. You have to be admitted before you can apply, so if you're counting on a scholarship, send your Academy application well before then. Decisions come by the last week of March 2027.

You pay full tuition when you register, and how much comes back if you drop depends on timing.

Applications go through Georgetown's Academy application portal, and one application covers every Academy.

1. 1

   Submit the Academy application with a 300- to 500-word personal statement on why you want to attend. Apply by 31 January 2027 to have the $50 fee waived, and by the final deadline of 15 May 2027, after which Georgetown reviews applications case by case.

2. 2

   Name your school counselor (preferred), an advisor, a teacher or your principal, who gets an automatic email asking them to complete the School Official Reviewer Form and confirm your GPA.

3. 3

   Expect a decision by email up to three weeks after your application is complete. Georgetown counts it as complete only once it has your statement, your reviewer's response and, if you applied after 31 January, the fee.

4. 4

   Once you're approved, register for the residential or commuter section of Washington & the World in the MySCS portal and pay full tuition by credit card. Admission doesn't hold a seat, and places go first-come, first-served.

5. 5

   Complete your Student Life Forms through CampDoc seven weeks before the program starts, and set up your GOCard in the week before you arrive.

Resident counselors live in every residence hall and supervise all students, with one on duty throughout the day, and commuters are assigned a resident counselor too. Georgetown applies its Protection of Minors Policy to programs for under-18s. Evenings end with a curfew, and Georgetown asks parents to read the Campus Leave Policy for the Academies, which is in the Academy Welcome Packet.

The rule on alcohol and drugs is strict. Even being around alcohol, illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia leads to immediate dismissal from the program and the residence halls. The Georgetown University Police Department patrols campus, and in an emergency outside business hours, parents can reach the program's on-duty staff member through the police at (202) 687-4343.