MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies
Migration doesn’t just move people—it transforms societies, challenges borders and reshapes what belonging means in the modern world. GW’s 30-credit MA in Migration & Diaspora Studies prepares students to understand, analyze and influence these transformations from one of the world's most strategically located campuses.
Unlike programs focused primarily on European or Global South contexts, GW’s MA is uniquely positioned at the intersection of U.S. immigration politics and global diaspora studies — combining deep expertise in American immigration policy and community with rigorous comparative and transnational frameworks about mobilities. Washington, D.C., is not just our address; it is our laboratory.
Admissions Details
Program: Part-time or full-time
Duration: Two years (full-time)
Application Deadlines: February 1 (for priority fellowship consideration); April 1 (regular deadline)
Curriculum and Focus
Interdisciplinary
Drawing on award-winning faculty across geography, sociology and anthropology, the MA curriculum combines rigorous core coursework with methodological, technical and elective courses that students tailor to their specific interests and career trajectories.
Expansive
Courses address race, ethnicity and place; inequality and urbanization; cultural histories; immigrant histories and well-being; mobility and detention; and nationalism and policymaking — giving students both theoretical and empirical tools to contribute new perspectives to the field.
Global
While rooted in the U.S. immigration context, the MA takes a transnational approach to migration and diaspora dynamics across the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Students gain both the depth to specialize and the breadth to work across regional contexts.
Unique Opportunities
- Access to a deep bench of award-winning scholars specializing in immigrant communities and transnational mobility
- Partnership with GW’s Center for Immigration and Migration Studies, which hosts the Metropolitan Washington Workshop on Immigration and Race, convenes leading national and international scholars, and connects students directly to the region’s immigration research and advocacy community
- Pipeline to future PhD programs and careers in academia, research, government, nonprofits and community networks
- Capstone opportunities to engage directly with Washington, D.C.’s ecosystem of immigration organizations, policy institutes and community advocacy groups through capstone projects
- Location on GW's Foggy Bottom campus — steps from the State Department, Capitol Hill, international development organizations and the NGOs shaping U.S. and global migration policy in real time — places students minutes from the federal agencies, international organizations, refugee advocacy groups and congressional offices driving immigration policy.
What to Expect
The MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies is a seminar-based program in which students engage directly with faculty and peers across small, discussion-driven classes. Coursework combines rigorous reading, original research and applied projects that connect theory to practice. Students also participate in the activities of GW’s Center for Immigration and Migration Studies — including monthly workshops, visiting scholar lectures and public events that bridge academic work with policy and practice.
The program culminates in a capstone seminar, giving students the opportunity to pursue original research on a topic of their choosing under close faculty supervision.
Who Should Apply
Are you drawn to the urgent questions surrounding immigration, refugee displacement, transnational communities or global human mobility? This program is designed for you. GW’s MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies welcomes students from across the arts, social sciences and humanities — whether your path leads to doctoral research, government service, advocacy or frontline work in refugee settlement and integration.
As a student in the founding cohort, you will help shape the character of the program. You'll contribute to its research culture, Center events and growing network of practitioners and scholars in the nation’s capital. This is a rare opportunity to be a part of building something from the ground up, at a university with deep roots in the field and proximity to where migration policy is made.
Where Will This Degree Take You?
Graduates of GW’s MA in Migration and Diaspora Studies will be prepared to lead across a broad range of sectors. Career paths include:
- Policy analyst or advisor in federal agencies, international organizations and NGOs
- Researcher or program director in think tanks, advocacy groups and community organizations
- Doctoral student in sociology, geography, anthropology, international affairs or related fields
- Practitioner in refugee resettlement, immigrant integration and diaspora services
As our first cohort completes the program, we look forward to sharing their stories. In the meantime, GW’s broader network of migration scholars and practitioners — spanning federal agencies, international organizations, think tanks and community groups across the D.C. region — provides students with direct pathways into the field from day one.
Faculty in This Program
Kavita Daiya
Director, MA Program in Migration and Diaspora Studies; Professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Hiromi Ishizawa
Co-Director, Center for Immigration and Migration Studies; Associate Professor of Sociology
Elizabeth Vaquera
Director of the Cisneros Hispanic Leadership Institute; Associate Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration and Sociology
Elizabeth Chacko
Co-Director, Center for Immigration and Migration Studies; Professor of Geography & International Affairs
Marie Price
Professor of Geography & International Affairs
Tom Guglielmo
Professor of American Studies
Ilana Feldman
Professor of Anthropology, History, and International Affairs
Steve Lubkemann
Associate Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs
Course Requirements
The following requirements must be fulfilled:
The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Graduate Programs.
30 credits, including 9 credits in core courses, 6 credits in research methods courses, a 3-credit capstone course, and 12 credits in elective courses.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core courses | ||
| Three courses (9 credits) with one course selected in each of Group A, Group B, and Group C. | ||
| Group A: Sociology of migration | ||
| SOC 6253 | Current Issues in US Immigration Policy | |
| SOC 6251 | Immigration and Integration in the City | |
| Group B: Geography of migration | ||
| GEOG 6232 | Migration and Development | |
| GEOG 6242 | Migrants and the City | |
| Group C: Anthropology of migration * | ||
| ANTH 6301 | The Anthropology of Development | |
| ANTH 6305 | Anthropology of Intervention: Development, Human Rights, Humanitarianism | |
| Research methods | ||
| Two research methods courses (6 credits), one in quantitative methods and one in qualitative methods, selected from the lists below. An alternative research methods course can be taken with permission of the director of graduate studies. | ||
| One quantitative methods course (3 credits) selected from the following: | ||
| GEOG 6304 | Geographic Information Systems I | |
| SOC 6231 | Quantitative Methods | |
| One qualitative methods course (3 credits) selected from the following: | ||
| AMST 6100 | Scope and Methods in American Studies | |
| ANTH 6531 | Methods in Sociocultural Anthropology | |
| GEOG 6292 | Qualitative Methods in Geography | |
| HIST 6005 | Introduction to Historiography | |
| HIST 6007 | Historical Research and Writing | |
| SOC 6232 | Qualitative Methods | |
| Capstone | ||
| MDS 6099 | Capstone in Migration and Diaspora Studies | |
| Electives | ||
| Four courses (12 credits) selected from the list below, or from the core course options listed above that were not taken to fulfill the core requirement. Other courses can be taken as electives if approved by the director of graduate studies. Up to two undergraduate courses taken for graduate credit can be used as elective courses with the approval of the director of graduate studies. Such courses must be taken at the 3000 or 4000 level with additional, graduate-level work required. | ||
| AMST 6250 | US Immigration Histories | |
| or HIST 6250 | US Immigration Histories | |
| ANTH 6824 | The Black Atlantic | |
| ENGL 6560 | Postcolonialism, Migration, and Diasporas | |
| or WGSS 6560 | Postcolonialism, Migration, and Diasporas | |
| HIST 6503 | The African Diaspora: Blackness and the Making of the Modern World | |
| PSC 8338 | Nationalism and Nation-Building | |
*Certain special topics courses in Anthropology can be taken to fulfill the requirement for one course from Group C if the topic is focused on migration. Approval of the director of graduate studies is required.