Title:Gift from State of Qatar Will Provide Scholarship for Students in Need

In recognition of its strong, long-term ties with Georgetown, the State of Qatar has given the university a $2 million gift.

The gift, made this past February and made official in a formal agreement signed today after Georgetown’s June Board of Directors meeting, establishes a Qatar Endowed Scholarship Fund to support qualified undergraduates with demonstrated financial need.

H.E. Sheikh Meshal Bin Hamad Al-Thani, ambassador of the State of Qatar to the United States, and Georgetown President John J. DeGioia made the gift final in a signing ceremony today.

Supported by a partnership between the Qatar Foundation and the university, Georgetown has operated a campus of its School of Foreign Service (GU-Q) in Doha’s Education City since 2005.

Global Community

GU-Q, which has graduated a total of 389 students, is dedicated to fulfilling Georgetown’s mission of promoting intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding through serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs.

“Georgetown is grateful to the State of Qatar for its ongoing support of our educational mission,” DeGioia said before the signing ceremony, attended by Georgetown Board of Directors member Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Ph.D. “As a community that values the idea of strength in diversity, we appreciate this generous gift, which will help to ensure that we are able to welcome the most talented students, regardless of their financial need.”

The gift will go toward helping qualified students with financial need on Main Campus.

In place since the late 1970s, Georgetown’s “need-blind” and “meet-full-need” policies meet the need of eligible students—regardless of their ability to pay—through a combination of loans, grants, and work-study.

Continuing Commitment

“The State of Qatar is proud to contribute to the scholarship program of Georgetown University, which allows deserving students in financial need, chosen by Georgetown, to pursue the dream of a Georgetown degree,” the Qatari ambassador said. “This gift reflects both the strong belief of His Highness the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, in the value of an excellent education at one of the world’s finest universities, as well as our continuing commitment to our academic partnership with Georgetown University.”

The Embassy of the State of Qatar was inducted in 2015 into the university’s 1789 Society, which honors donors who have given over $1 million to the university.