The Berkley Center offers a number of ways for students to get involved with the work of the center, including participating in fellowship programs, taking courses, conducting research, exploring dialogue through the Doyle Engaging Difference Program, and working as student assistants. Our approach to student programs at the Berkley Center is grounded in the Jesuit value of caring for the whole person (cura personalis), a central tenet of the Georgetown University education. Programs are animated by the center’s mission of bringing together scholars, practitioners, policymakers, and students to build understanding and promote dialogue and cooperation around issues of religion, peace, and world affairs.
Demonstrate global awareness, particularly interreligious and intercultural competencies, by engaging in dialogue and practice on matters of political, religious, social, economic, and racial differences.
Demonstrate analytical abilities and the ability to clearly articulate well-researched issues through academic and professional mentorship of research and digital scholarship.
Illustrate interdisciplinary knowledge integration and intellectual curiosity in traditional and experiential learning spaces.
The Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs program offers a minor for Georgetown Main Campus undergraduate students administered through the Berkley Center.
Over summer 2023, fellows conducted research on Jesuit educational initiatives in the Philippines and Belize.
The Doyle Global Dialogue provides a platform for Georgetown students to reflect on interreligious and intercultural engagement while studying abroad.
Graduate Fellows are integral to the work of the center, where they contribute to faculty research projects and support communications and outreach efforts.
Berkley Center faculty bring decades of scholarly and professional experience to the classroom, teaching in seven departments across the university while conducting research projects at the center. Through the Doyle Engaging Difference Program the center also supports the Learning, Equity, Access, and Pedagogy (LEAP) initiative, which focuses on department-wide efforts to create inclusive, accountable academic environments.
First-Year Seminars Slider
Senior Fellow, Berkley Center
Director, American Pilgrimage Project
The Search (IDST 010-21) sought to understand the personal search through rich accounts in literature—books in which author and reader venture forth together in order to make sense of their lives and the world around them—and the different ways a search can be framed through the art of narrative.
Executive Director, Berkley Center
Professor of the Practice, Department of Government | Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Law
Creating and Making: The Moral Craft of Life (IDST 010-15) explored philosophical and theological visions of craft, labor, and creativity, and their connections to moral and political life, as a way to think about how our laboring, crafting, and creating is a fundamental part of what constitutes the good life.
Senior Fellow, Berkley Center
Professor of the Practice, Walsh School of Foreign Service
Pandemic Responses: Practice and Ethics (INAF 100) examined human rights and ethical issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as focused on how local and global institutions respond to humanitarian challenges.
The Berkley Center administers the Religion, Ethics, and World Affairs (REWA) minor, which offers students the opportunity to reflect on faith and ethics in international affairs, religion and politics, and religion in history and culture. Learning at the Berkley Center extends far outside classroom walls through the global experiences of the Doyle Global Dialogue and our collaboration with the Pulitzer Center.
This year, the REWA capstone was taught by Judd Birdsall in fall 2023 and Rev. David Hollenbach, S.J., in spring 2024. The course examined the gains made under the modern nation state global model and inquired as to the possible pathways for religion and ethics to contribute in today’s swirling international environment. REWA capstone students presented their research during the 2024 Hoya Paxa Student Symposium and poster session.
Our Spring Symposium was held on April 13. REWA students presented their capstone seminar (GOVT 3824) projects on diverse topics including the Catholic Church’s controversial role in the HIV/AIDS pandemic, secularism and religious governance in determining women’s rights, religious engagement in West Africa, and more. We invited Georgetown and the wider Berkley Center community to participate by attending in-person presentations.
Read more about how the symposium showcases students’ interreligious and international research.
REWA Student Capstone Projects Slider
Thesis: “American Purity Culture and Generation Z”
Thesis: “Bridging Faith and Development: Exploring Buddhism, Religious Diplomacy, and the Belt and Road Initiative”
Thesis: “Examining UNGA Debate through the Lens of the Nyayasutras”
Thesis: “Faith, Friction, and the Fight against the Spread: Evaluating Perceptions and Realities of the Catholic Church’s Controversial Role in the HIV/AIDS Pandemic in the United States and Sub-Saharan Africa”
Thesis: “Investigating the Factors Influencing Middle Eastern and North African Countries’ Perceptions of and Policies Towards Persecuted Muslim Minority Groups Abroad”
Thesis: “Public Religion in Cambodia Following the Fall of the Khmer Rouge”
Thesis: “The Connection between Agriculture and Religion: Religious Engagement in West Africa”
Thesis: “The Dangers of Extreme Secularity and Extreme Spirituality in Determining Women’s Rights: France’s Laicité vs. Iran’s Compulsory Hijab”
Thesis: “The Influence of U.S. Evangelical Groups on Anti-LGBTQ Sentiment in Uganda”
Thesis: “The Russian Orthodox Church’s Global Influence through Media and Religious Diplomacy: Case Studies of Serbia, Belarus, and Beyond”
Thesis: “The Sisterhood of the Female Tactical Platoon: Hazara Women Special Operators and the Ethics of Supporting Our Afghan Allies”
Thesis: “Two from One? An Analysis of the Rise and Impacts of Religious Nationalism in the Indian Subcontinent”
Thesis: “What the World Gets Wrong about Myanmar”
DGD Student Reflections Slider
Home Country: Zambia
School: Georgetown University in Qatar
“DGD made me learn so much about myself because I was intentional about reflecting on my journey in a new country as an international student. I feel that more often than not, what we fear to be so different could turn out to be not so different. I feel that the welcoming culture in Qatar has been embracing different cultures and religions. It teaches us mutual respect. It does take some time to adjust because we have the tendency to first point out all the things that make us different, but when we do settle in, it does not actually feel so different, because we see all the core values that we have in common.”
Home Country: Vietnam
School: Georgetown University (Main Campus)
“One of the most poignant moments for me personally was singing the song "Hello Vietnam" at Georgetown’s International Student Night. Joined by both Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American students, it was a powerful expression of our shared heritage and love for the place we call home. As our voices rose in unison, it felt like a healing balm that soothes the lingering ache of displacement and division. In that moment, surrounded by voices that echoed my own journey, I felt a profound sense of belonging, bound by an unbreakable bond that connected us to Vietnam, no matter where we were in the world. In that moment, I returned home.”
Home Country: United States
School: Georgetown University (Main Campus)
“The role religion plays and how it intersects a country’s culture and politics is profound and must be applied when trying to understand a new country. I have learned that exposing myself to new experiences and new people has enabled me to learn so much more about the world around me and has shown me how important it is to keep asking questions and exchanging stories and experiences with others to understand our differences and, most importantly, our similarities.”
Home Country: Georgia
School: Georgetown University in Qatar
“While I have never been stronger in my faith and identity as an Orthodox Christian, nevertheless the more I grow in my faith and the more time I spend abroad, there is one thing that continues to grow. My understanding of how, despite our differences, we all share similar beliefs, hopes, and fears, irrespective of what religion, political ideology, or ethnicity we subscribe to. This has ever increased the compassion I carry for everyone. Doha and DC have become homes to me in very different senses of words and I am forever grateful for that. After all, it is the places one least expects that turn out to be the most cherished ones.”
Home Country: United States
School: Georgetown University (Main Campus)
“A saying I learned this semester is chi non risica non rosica. Who doesn’t risk doesn’t gain. My ancestors sacrificed to give me a profound, indescribable gift and privilege. They gave me a life and opportunity they never had and knew their descendants would never have if they had stayed in Italy. I’ll carry the magical, exciting memories of Bologna with me forever. I’ll carry the learning. Yet what I will cherish most intensely is the recognition that I will never take my family’s sacrifices for granted. I will honor their stories and lives. And I will celebrate the cultural wonders, pure humanity, and love they have all gifted me.”
Claudia Amendoeira (SFS’25) was selected as the Berkley Center-Pulitzer Center international reporting fellow for summer 2024. She explored the connection between religion and violence in Brazil, as well as efforts to preserve Afro-Brazilian faiths.
In the wake of the successful Human Fraternity Dialogues, the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs, in collaboration with the Higher Committee of Human Fraternity and the Muslim Council of Elders, launched the 2023-2024 Human Fraternity Fellows Program. The Human Fraternity Fellows Program enabled a select group of talented students who participated in our Human Fraternity Dialogues to engage deeper online and to convene for a study tour and in-person dialogue in Abu Dhabi from February 2 through 8, 2024.
The IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program is an initiative of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University and the International Association of Jesuit Universities that empowers students from Jesuit universities around the world to become leaders in global citizenship. In June 2024, the 2023-2024 cohort of fellows gathered in Rome for a transformative week-long study tour. There, they engaged in dynamic workshops, thought-provoking lectures, and enriching cultural excursions, all designed to deepen their understanding of global citizenship and inspire actionable solutions to pressing global issues.
Read more about fellows’ study trip in Rome.
Learn more about the IAJU Global Citizenship Curriculum Project.
Learn more about the IAJU Global Citizenship Fellows Program.
The Berkley Center collaborates with Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice Research, Teaching and Service and Office of Mission & Ministry to support Education and Social Justice Fellows, in a model of mentored research echoed throughout the center. Graduate fellows at the Berkley Center play a critical role in supporting the work of scholarship at the center.
2023 Global Social Justice Research Symposium Video Player
Meet our 2023 ESJ Fellows Slider
Class, Year: SFS’24
Project Location: The Philippines
Pragyan conducted research at Xavier University in Ateneo de Cagayan, the Philippines. During his three weeks, he observed, interviewed, and participated in the life of the Night School Program, a government-subsidized social development project sponsored by the university’s School of Education. His research sought to understand how the volunteers at the Night School sustain their work through the Arrupe Volunteer Framework.
Class, Year: C’24
Project Location: Belize
Molly conducted research at St. Martin de Porres Primary School in Belize City, Belize. During her three weeks, she observed and interviewed students, teachers, parents, and administrators at the school to understand the core values of the community. Her focus groups and interviews examined channels of communication, social cohesion, and religious identity.
Class, Year: SFS’24
Project Location: Belize
Renee conducted research at St. Martin de Porres Primary School in Belize City, Belize. During her three weeks, she observed and interviewed students, teachers, parents, and counselors working with Project HEAL, a non-profit organization providing counseling services and life skills training to students. Her research explored the role of counseling and social-emotional learning in education as a reflection of the community’s commitment to Jesuit values.
This map highlights the 43 countries in which our Education and Social Justice fellows have conducted their research projects. Learn more about the 2023 fellows and their projects by clicking on the countries highlighted in red.
Jonathan Briggs (G’25)
Zayna Dembinski (G’24)
Nadia Greene (G’24)
Ellie Knapman (G’24)
Nigel Li (G’25)
Sarah Stevens (G’24)
Isabelle Santiago-Vega (G’25)
Zhenghao (Steve) Wang (G’24)
Jamie Zhang (G’24)
