MA Security Studies at Georgetown: Fees 2026 Dates & Requirements

Georgetown University Master of Arts in Security Studies is a 36-credit, on-campus degree completed in 1.5 to two years full-time in Washington, D.C. Applicants need a bachelor’s equivalent with a B average, approximately 60% to 69% or CGPA 6.0 to 7.0 on 10 in India. Fall 2027 tuition is unpublished; 2026-27 tuition was US$2,758 per credit (INR 2.62 Lakhs), as a prior-cycle reference.

The programme connects security theory with policy analysis through six concentrations and a final comprehensive examination. It suits recent graduates and experienced professionals who can demonstrate security-related preparation, analytical writing and a defined policy or research direction.

• Students can choose among roughly 80 courses each semester while meeting concentration, regional, economics and technology distribution requirements.
• Most classes and programme events occur in the evening, while part-time study takes two to three years and permits semester-level load changes.
• An alumni mentoring programme matches participants by interests, background and career goals to support informed networking within the security field.

Also Check: Georgetown University graduate admission

Georgetown Security Studies Fees and Living Costs 2027

Fall 2027 tuition is not yet published, although Georgetown has confirmed that Security Studies remains a 36-credit programme charged per credit. The university says annual rates are normally published in February, so the 2026-27 figures below are planning references rather than Fall 2027 prices.

Verify the target fee on the official fee page. The programme uses the standard graduate rate, while health insurance and activity fees sit outside base tuition and can change by academic year.

Prior-cycle fee context: Except for the Fall 2027 application fee, the following amounts are official 2026-27 charges or calculations using that rate.

All INR conversions in the article use a conversion rate of USD 1 = INR 94.9481 as of 26 October 2026. Rates fluctuate daily, verify before applying.

Source: Georgetown 2026-27 graduate tuition schedule and Security Studies admissions page; target fee status checked 26 October 2026.

Full-time students normally take three courses each semester and complete the degree within two years. Part-time students take two courses and may need three years, so identical per-credit tuition can still produce a higher living-cost total.

Cost of Living in Washington, D.C. for Security Studies Students

Georgetown’s 2026-27 Walsh School of Foreign Service budget lists US$30,110 (INR 28.59 Lakhs) for housing, food, personal costs, books and transportation. Monthly figures below divide each annual allowance by 12 for planning and are not a university billing schedule.

Official 2026-27 living-cost context: This estimate is separate from tuition, health insurance and the F-1 visa funding requirement.

A prior-cycle planning illustration for two full-time years is US$168,516 (INR 1.60 Crore). The arithmetic uses US$99,288 tuition, US$60,220 living costs, US$8,900 health insurance and US$108 in activity fees.

That illustration assumes the 2026-27 tuition rate remains unchanged across all 36 credits, which Georgetown has not confirmed for Fall 2027. It also excludes the application fee, visa charges, travel and any approved health-insurance waiver.

Read More: cost of living in the United States

ROI reality: The prior-cycle all-in illustration reaches INR 1.60 Crore before travel, so an Indian applicant should secure funding without assuming merit aid or future U.S. earnings.

Georgetown Security Studies Admission 2027

Georgetown requires a bachelor’s equivalent and a B average, but Security Studies sets no prerequisite course, professional-experience or foreign-language requirement. Selection is holistic, so academic preparation must connect convincingly with the applicant’s proposed security focus.

The current profile, whose cohort is not stated, reports a 3.72 GPA on 4.0, approximately 85% to 92% or CGPA 8.5 to 9.2. This benchmark is not a minimum, and Georgetown makes the final credential-equivalency decision for Indian degrees.

Fall 2027 eligibility and selection context: Indian conversions are approximate because Georgetown does not publish a single India-wide grading conversion for this programme.

The current profile, with no stated cohort, reports average GRE scores of 163 verbal, 158 quantitative and 5 writing. Georgetown publishes no minimum, so submit the test only when it strengthens the academic evidence beyond required writing.

English Language Proficiency Requirements

Applicants need TOEFL 100 on the original scale or 5 on the new scale, or IELTS Academic 7.5, unless an eligible English-medium degree provides exemption. The target-cycle policy expressly recognises the revised TOEFL scale beginning 21 January 2026.

Fall 2027 English routes: The programme publishes overall minimums but does not state component-score thresholds on its current admissions page.

• Indian applicants using an English-medium degree should obtain the registrar letter before transcript upload because the exemption depends on institution-wide instructional language.
• Applicants testing after 21 January 2026 should report the exact TOEFL scale shown by the testing agency and avoid personal score conversions.
• Because the final deadline is 15 January 2027, official language scores should reach Georgetown before the portal cutoff rather than merely being ordered that day.

Tip for Indian students: The B-average threshold establishes eligibility, while the 3.72 profile shows why applicants below that average need unusually clear analytical evidence and programme fit.

Georgetown Security Studies Application 2027

The Fall 2027 final deadline is 15 January 2027, and the same submission is used for scholarship consideration. A complete application by 1 December 2026 receives the programme’s automatic application-fee waiver.

Georgetown states that graduate deadlines close at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST). For Indian applicants, each portal cutoff falls on the following calendar day in India, so local submission planning must use the IST column.

Confirmed Fall 2027 schedule: The university controls the EST cutoff, while the Indian Standard Time conversion below prevents a date-boundary mistake.

The current programme page publishes no Fall 2027 decision date, deposit deadline or mandatory interview stage. Applicants should therefore monitor the portal after submission and avoid building a visa schedule around an assumed response month.

A complete file needs transcripts, a resume or curriculum vitae, a 500-word statement of purpose and three recommendations. The official Security Studies application checklist also requires either official GRE scores or the separate analytical writing response.

• Use the statement of purpose to connect one security problem with a named concentration, relevant coursework and a credible post-degree role.
• Choose recommenders who can evaluate graduate preparation directly because personal references and generic endorsements from prominent contacts are not accepted.
• Submit the GRE when its evidence strengthens the record; otherwise use the 500-word analytical response to demonstrate structured reasoning and concise policy writing.
• Upload readable institutional transcripts and translations, while reserving final official transcripts for verification after an admission offer.

The curriculum’s two foundational courses and final comprehensive exam make writing readiness central to fit, not merely an admissions exercise. An applicant from engineering, business or natural sciences should show how that background supports a specific security question.

Check Out: requirements to study in the United States

Application tip: Treat 2 December 2026 at 10:29 AM IST as the practical target because a complete submission then preserves the fee waiver and leaves time for document corrections.

Georgetown Security Studies Scholarships 2027

International applicants are eligible for SSP merit aid, with most awards covering 12.5% to 40% of tuition. Georgetown reports that about 30% of the incoming class has received this aid, but the figure does not predict an individual award.

Applicants request consideration by checking the financial-aid box in the graduate application, without a separate scholarship essay. Because the Fall 2027 application deadline is also the scholarship deadline, a late funding request cannot be separated from a late programme application.

Current published funding routes: Only the admission scholarship has a published Fall 2027 deadline, while current-student opportunities open after enrolment.

The merit award excludes living costs, books, travel, health insurance and any stipend. Since Fall 2027 tuition is unpublished, the 12.5% to 40% range cannot be converted responsibly into a target-cycle dollar or INR amount.

• Build the financing plan at zero scholarship because the published 30% recipient share does not support assuming an individual award.
• Use the 500-word statement and recommendations to evidence exceptional academic and professional preparation because the scholarship committee reviews the admission file itself.
• Treat assistantships as supplementary earnings rather than guaranteed funding because positions are limited and become available only after enrolment.

International students may compete for institutional funds but are generally ineligible for United States federal graduate loans. An Indian applicant needing major debt should therefore secure a lender-approved amount before relying on a percentage award.

Read More: scholarships in the United States for Indian students

Scholarship reality: SSP merit aid can reduce tuition but not Washington living costs, so the safe budget assumes no award until Georgetown issues a written funding decision.

Georgetown Security Studies Salary 2027

Georgetown does not publish a Security Studies salary figure, so no average pay or payback period can be supported. Its strongest course-level evidence is a 96% combined outcome for the classes of 2021 to 2025.

That measure combines graduates employed, continuing education or not seeking employment within six months. It is not an offer rate, salary measure or international placement probability, so applicants must not use 96% as evidence of debt repayment.

Official SSP outcome scope: The following figures come from Georgetown’s current career page and retain the cohort labels published there.

Source: Georgetown Security Studies career outcomes page, checked 26 October 2026.

Reported employers include foreign militaries, research organisations, consultancies and technology companies alongside United States government agencies. Their presence proves alumni employment only, while it does not establish annual recruiting volume, sponsorship or access for an Indian citizen.

ROI for Indian Security Studies Students

The prior-cycle planning illustration is US$168,516 (INR 1.60 Crore) before travel, while target-cycle tuition remains unpublished. Without a course salary statistic, return on investment depends more on role access, funding and geography than on a defensible payback calculation.

• The 96% combined outcome supports broad career activity, but applicants should request employment-only and international breakdowns before treating it as financial evidence.
• The 40.8% public-sector share requires caution because non-citizens cannot take United States federal jobs or positions requiring a federal security clearance.
• The standard 12-month OPT window makes early employer targeting important, so applicants should identify private, nonprofit, multilateral or India-return roles before borrowing.
• SSP merit aid covers 12.5% to 40% of tuition for selected students, yet applicants should model zero aid until a written award arrives.

Washington access and the alumni mentor programme can support targeted career preparation, but they do not remove citizenship restrictions. Indian applicants should map each concentration to employers that can legally hire them before choosing intelligence or federal-policy pathways.

Take-home income depends on tax residency, location and deductions. Use the official United States tax withholding estimator only after confirming resident status because it excludes nonresident taxpayers. India-return applicants should compare the same debt balance against realistic domestic policy, consulting or risk roles.

ROI reality: The programme can fit applicants targeting internationally accessible security work, but federal clearance barriers and unpublished salaries make a debt-heavy United States-only plan unusually exposed.

United States Visa for Georgetown Security Studies Students 2027

Full-time international students normally use the F-1 Student Visa and may seek 12 months of Optional Practical Training after graduation. Security Studies is not confirmed as STEM-designated on the checked programme pages, so applicants should budget and recruit around the standard window.

• The official F-1 visa process lists US$185 (INR 17,565), while the SEVIS fee is US$350 (INR 33,232), making US$535 (INR 50,797) combined.
• Optional Practical Training permits up to 12 months of work related to Security Studies, while any STEM extension depends on the eligible CIP code shown on Form I-20.
• H-1B sponsorship has no single course salary threshold because the employer must pay the higher applicable actual or prevailing wage for the role and location.
• Employment-based permanent residence has no fixed post-study timeline, while an F-2 spouse or dependant may accompany the student but cannot work in F-2 status.

Read More: post-study work options in the United States

Visa reality: A 12-month base work window combined with citizenship-restricted security roles makes private, nonprofit, multilateral and India-return planning essential before enrolment.

Georgetown Security Studies Ranking 2027

No major ranking body publishes a standalone Security Studies MA rank, but Georgetown appears in two relevant 2026 subject tables. These institutional subject positions indicate disciplinary research breadth, not programme selectivity, teaching quality or graduate placement.

The closest specific measure is Political Sciences, while Social Sciences is broader and includes politics and international studies. Applicants should therefore use rankings as supporting context after comparing curriculum, cost and career access.

Latest relevant subject editions: Neither position is a direct ranking of the 36-credit Security Studies curriculum.

The Political Sciences position aligns more closely with the programme’s policy and analytical foundations than the broader Social Sciences result. However, neither table measures access to clearance-restricted careers, scholarship probability or the financial return for an Indian graduate.

Check Out: Georgetown University subject rankings

Honest take: The 2026 Political Sciences rank of 21 supports academic relevance, but curriculum fit and legal access to target employers matter more for this professional decision.