George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs

Providing a ‘One-Stop Shop’ For Holistic Academic and Career Support

Even before their first class begins, incoming students at the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs can receive support through Graduate Student Services (GSS) to start thinking strategically about how to structure their academic experience to align with their career goals.

“Our Graduate Student Services model is what we like to call a one-stop shop,” says Meg Wurm, assistant director of GSS. “We have integrated career coaching, academic advising, and international education into one office.”

Students’ journey with their GSS advisor starts with a Comprehensive Action Plan with three components: a plan of study to ensure students meet program requirements; a career map to identify the skills, courses, and experiences needed to build a path toward reaching their career goals; and professional interest questions to guide students in exploring different aspects of international relations (IR).

“It’s something that helps students see in one place all of the things they should be thinking about for graduate school … and starts helping them take concrete steps toward trying to reach some of those career goals,” Wurm explains. “And then that helps us develop our events and programming to ensure we’re actually putting on things that are interesting to the student population that we’re serving.”

The experiences that GSS organizes range from practical and hands-on to exploratory and immersive. Skill-building workshops bring in experts from the field, like the USAJobs Series that is presented in collaboration with the US Office of Personnel Management. Throughout multiple workshops, students learn things like how to navigate USAJobs and build a federal resume. The series culminates with a discussion panel of alums who are working in the government.

Exploratory experiences, on the other hand, help students discover the breadth of available possibilities in IR and think creatively about what they’re interested in. Site visits take advantage of the Elliott School’s location in Washington, DC, by exposing students to different sectors and organizations. The annual Career Trek, most recently to New York City, introduces students to the IR career landscape outside of DC and a new market of employers, while also connecting with area alums.

GSS remains a resource that graduates can tap into any time for strategic career advice, Wurm notes. “Alumni have career coaching services for life through Graduate Student Services. They’re always welcome to meet with us or email us with questions at any point in their career.”

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Foundations for All Elliott School Degrees

The student experience framework at the Elliott School emphasizes flexibility, with options to study full-time or part-time and start in either fall or spring. All courses begin at 5 p.m. or later to accommodate students’ professional commitments.

All degree programs feature skills courses, such as Negotiation Skills and Inside a US Embassy, which are built around direct feedback from employers. The capstone experience, completed with an outside client, applies students’ learnings to a real-world scenario, preparing them for employment immediately after graduation.

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George Washington University, Elliott School of International Affairs
https://elliott.gwu.edu/graduate-admissions
[email protected]
202-994-7050