The Georgetown Summer Institute in National Security is a 10-week, 12-credit, in-person undergraduate program. The Institute will take place from Monday, June 2 to Friday, August 8, 2024.
Course Schedule
SEST 3000: Inside The National Security Enterprise (3 credits)
Dr. Jennifer Jefferis
In this intensive, four-day, thirty-six-hour course (3 credits), students learn about the instruments of national power (diplomatic, informational, military, and economic) and how they are used to achieve strategic objectives in support of U.S. national security policy. Students will learn about the institutions and processes that shape U.S. national security policy. The course culminates in a simulation in which students will role-play key national security actors and develop viable policy proposals regarding an evolving security crisis. Students will be graded on the written proposal they create as well as their ability to get their proposal adopted through the competing interests, institutions, and objectives of other players.
Course meets June 2-6, Mon.–Fri., 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
SEST 3007: Understanding Contemporary Security Threats (3 credits)
Dr. Michelle Trusso
This course explores contemporary issues and challenges in the field of national security. Topics covered include nuclear weapons, terrorism, artificial intelligence, alliances, multinational corporations, international organizations, intelligence, and great power competition with China and Russia. Students will write policy memoranda and op-eds and present brief presentations on contemporary security challenges throughout the course.
Course meets June 9–August 1, Tue., 1:00–5:00 p.m.
SEST 3011: Intel & National Security (3 credits)
Prof. Paula Doyle
This course will explore the organization and functions of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), its interaction with national security policymakers, and the challenges it faces in defining its current and future roles. Students will evaluate issues of intelligence collection, analysis, counterintelligence, and covert action, and appreciate how and why decision-makers use intelligence. The course will highlight some of the major debates about the role, practices, achievements, and problems of U.S. national intelligence.
The course seeks to cultivate the ability to engage in critical thinking, analysis, and independent learning around issues in intelligence. To that end, reading, discussing, and writing about the assigned material will be the central activities of the course. The goal is for students to leave the class possessing not only a better understanding of specific concepts and events in the discipline of intelligence, but also an increased ability to express that knowledge in prose and speech. This course should be useful for students considering an intelligence career, for those who may have government jobs and deal with intelligence professionals, and for students interested in how the IC operates within the context of the U.S. government as a whole.
Course meets June 11–July 30, Wed., 1:00–5:30 p.m.
SEST 3003: Congress And National Security (3 credits)
Prof. Alex Gallo
This course explores the critical role Congress plays in the formulation, implementation, and oversight of U.S. national security policy. Students will learn how the national security-related committees in Congress function, about the defense budget, Congress’s interactions with the executive branch, including the Department of Defense and military services, and contemporary policy debates today.
Course meets August 4–8, Mon.–Fri., 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Program Participation
You must participate in all scheduled programming. You may not partially participate in the Institute. Any outside commitments you may have—including but not limited to summer internships—cannot conflict with either class meetings or experiential components. Students who wish to take one of the courses à la carte may do so through the Georgetown School of Continuing Studies, space permitting.
Please reach out to the Summer Institute in National Security program staff at natsecsummer@georgetown.edu with your specific questions regarding courses and participation.