Institute for the Study of International Migration

What Institute for the Study of International Migration does

The Institute for the Study of International Migration (ISIM) is a multidisciplinary academic research center established in 1998 and housed within Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service. With approximately 13 staff and faculty, ISIM studies the social, economic, environmental, and political dimensions of international migration, forced displacement, and humanitarian response. Its portfolio combines graduate education with policy-oriented research: the Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees (MIMR), a 36-credit degree priced at $2,758 per credit; a graduate certificate in Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Emergencies; and an online non-credit SCS Certificate in Global Displacement and Migration Studies.

ISIM's research output centers on proprietary longitudinal datasets, including a four-wave study of 4,000 internally displaced households in Iraq, the Bangladesh Environment and Migration Survey (BEMS), and the Expandable Open Source (EOS) Database aggregating over 600 million open-source media articles for forced-displacement early warning. The institute co-authored the 2015 Guidance on Planned Relocations with UNHCR, which has been adopted by governments including Ecuador, US (Louisiana), and Fiji, and in 2026 released "Revisiting the Guidance on Planned Relocations: A Decade of Progress and Future Horizons." It also leads the PROGRESS initiative with IOM, analyzing displacement data from 15+ countries.

ISIM operates as a nonprofit academic unit embedded in Georgetown University, with no independent revenue disclosure. Funding flows through MIMR tuition, Georgetown institutional support, and a diversified grant portfolio from the US State Department PRM, National Science Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Carnegie Foundation, Al-Thani Foundation, and Swedish Ministry of Justice (Delmi). Its customer base spans graduate students, UN agencies (UNHCR, IOM, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP), US and international government policymakers, NGOs (Refugees International, Mercy Corps, Jesuit Refugee Services, Women's Refugee Commission), and academic collaborators across Fairfield, Toronto, York, and Sussex universities via the Forecasting the Break consortium.

Name

Institute for the Study of International Migration

Legal name

Institute for the Study of International Migration

Website

https://isim.georgetown.edu

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ISIM is a 13-person academic research center at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service that studies international migration, forced displacement, and humanitarian response through graduate education (MIMR degree), longitudinal field research, and policy advisory work for UN agencies and governments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Migration Studies

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Immigrant & Refugee Community Education (Integration/Navigation) (EDAAAFAH), Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI), Asylum & Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Support (BPADAHAB)

Keywords

• International migration research
• Refugee studies
• Forced displacement policy
• Humanitarian emergencies education
• Graduate migration studies

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISIM is an academic research institute at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service that delivers graduate-level education in international migration and refugee studies — primarily a 36-credit Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees (MIMR) and two graduate certificate programs — and conducts multidisciplinary scholarly research on migration, internally displaced persons, refugees, climate displacement, and planned relocations. Its research outputs include ISIM Working Papers, longitudinal IDP studies, the PROGRESS initiative with IOM, and the internationally adopted Guidance on Planned Relocations.

Product overview

ISIM is an academic research institute offering a single integrated portfolio centered on research and education in international migration and refugee studies. The core educational offering is the Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees (MIMR) degree, supplemented by two graduate certificate programs (the on-campus Graduate Certificate in Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Emergencies and the online SCS Certificate in Global Displacement and Migration Studies). ISIM Courses provide additional course offerings. The research component consists of ISIM Working Papers and multiple ISIM Research Projects covering topics such as internal displacement, transit migration, environmental migration, planned relocations, and protracted displacement. Together, these products form an academic and research ecosystem that trains students and produces scholarly knowledge on migration and humanitarian issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees (MIMR): Graduate degree program focusing on migration and refugee studies
• Graduate Certificate in Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Emergencies
• ISIM Working Papers

Products and services

• Master of Arts in International Migration and Refugees (MIMR) A 36-credit graduate degree program that prepares students to address pressing challenges from population movements and navigate the intersections of migration, displacement, and policy-making. The program includes core courses, concentration courses (Migration Analytics or Humanitarian Practice), electives, a summer practicum, and a capstone project. Tuition is $2,758 per credit, and merit aid scholarships are available for domestic and international students.
• Graduate Certificate in Refugees, Migration and Humanitarian Emergencies A graduate certificate program that prepares Georgetown graduate students for careers in the humanitarian sector or in fields related to refugees and migration. Students gain a foundation in refugee and migration issues, humanitarian principles, U.S. and international law and policy, disaster risk reduction and response.
• SCS Certificate in Global Displacement and Migration Studies A noncredit professional certificate program offered online through Georgetown's School of Continuing Studies. Provides knowledge about different groups of people on the move, causes and consequences of population movements, and policy responses.
• ISIM Working Papers Academic research publications produced by ISIM faculty and collaborators covering topics such as transit migration, climate displacement, refugee integration, and political impacts of refugees, distributed via the ISIM website and academic repositories.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2015 Guidance on Planned Relocations adopted by multiple governments worldwide
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• International Organization for Migration (IOM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025ISIM collaborates with IOM on the PROGRESS initiative to measure progress toward solutions for internally displaced persons. The partnership involves analysis of DTM datasets from 15+ countries, focus group discussions with IDPs, and joint publication of reports with spotlight on regions like East, Horn and Southern Africa.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration with UNHCR on planned relocations guidance, IDP research, and policy development. ISIM faculty serve as expert advisors and have co-authored publications including the 2015 Guidance on Planned Relocations.
• Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on transit migration in the Americas with both ISIM and CLAS within Georgetown's School of Foreign Service. Co-produced reports on 'Transiting the Americas' and 'Transit Migration' examining migration flows through Central America and Mexico.
• Refugees InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized the Third International Conference on Internally Displaced People in April 2026, bringing together IDP leaders, experts, and UN Special Rapporteur.
• Overseas Development Institute (ODI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in organizing the Third International Conference on Internally Displaced People, contributing expertise on displacement and humanitarian response.
• UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of IDPscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organized the Third International Conference on Internally Displaced People; ongoing collaboration on IDP policy and protection issues.
• Ukrainian Congress of IDP CouncilsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of Third International Conference on Internally Displaced People, bringing perspective of Ukrainian IDPs to the conference.
• Mercy CorpsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint initiative on Migration, Climate Change and Remittances in Central America with funding from Carnegie Foundation. Includes literature reviews, roundtables with policymakers, and pilot projects on remittance-based climate resilience tools.
• IGAM Academy (Turkey)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration examining impacts of the 2023 Turkey earthquake on Syrian refugees and host communities, funded by Al-Thani Foundation. Includes survey research and key informant interviews.
• Fairfield UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the Forecasting the Break project for early warning of forced displacement, bringing together social scientists and computer scientists.
• University of TorontominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Forecasting the Break project, contributing to the multidisciplinary team working on data-intensive early warning systems.
• York UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Forecasting the Break project for early warning of forced population displacement.
• Sussex UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Forecasting the Break project, collaborating on big data approaches to displacement detection.
• Brookings-LSE Project on Internal DisplacementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration on internal displacement research, with ISIM faculty providing research support to the Representative of the Secretary General on IDPs.
• Jesuit Refugee ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Forecasting the Break project, contributing practitioner perspective on forced migration issues.
• Women's Refugee CommissionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Forecasting the Break project, providing expertise on women's issues in forced migration contexts.
• Georgetown University Law School Climate CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with ISIM in 2019 to support US state and local governments in understanding 'managed retreat' as a climate adaptation strategy.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM) - Iraq MissionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the longitudinal study of IDP access to durable solutions in Iraq, with data collection from 4,000 households.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Women's Refugee Commission: Advocacy and research organization focused on refugee women, children, and displaced populations. Partnered with ISIM on the Forecasting the Break project, with overlapping research and policy advocacy focus.
• Migration Policy Institute (MPI): Independent think tank in Washington, D.C. that analyzes international migration trends and policy. Highly comparable to ISIM in mission, geographic focus, and policy-advisory role to governments and international organizations.
• Refugees International: Advocacy and research organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., focused on forced displacement. ISIM co-organizes the Third International Conference on Internally Displaced People with Refugees International, evidencing strong operational overlap.
• Center for Migration Studies (CMS): New York-based research institute studying migration, refugees, and asylum policy with sociological and policy-analysis orientation. Comparable to ISIM as an academic-adjacent center producing working papers and policy briefs on refugee and immigrant integration.
• Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford: Oxford-hosted interdisciplinary research center studying migration and integration. Comparable to ISIM as a university-based academic center producing rigorous migration research with global geographic scope.
• Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement: Joint Brookings and LSE initiative studying internal displacement globally. ISIM has long-standing collaboration with this project, supporting the UN Secretary-General's Representative on IDPs — making it a direct research peer and partner.

Broad incumbents

• International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD): Vienna-based intergovernmental organization working on migration policy dialogue, capacity building, and research. Overlaps with ISIM's mission on policy research, training, and advising governments on migration management.
• Overseas Development Institute (ODI): Major U.K.-based global development think tank with significant humanitarian and displacement programming. ODI co-organized the IDP conference with ISIM and shares the policy-research + advisory model at a larger scale.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM): UN-related IGO leading global migration data, policy advisory, and programming. ISIM's PROGRESS initiative with IOM Iraq Mission and DTM dataset partnerships makes it a peer at the research-and-policy interface, though at vastly different scale.
• The Brookings Institution: Large U.S. policy research institution with significant migration and IDP programming. Through the Brookings-LSE Project on Internal Displacement, Brookings is a direct collaborator and broader peer in the policy-research ecosystem where ISIM operates.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GUMigration
• Facebookfacebook.com/ISIM.Georgetown
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-the-study-of-international-migration
• Instagraminstagram.com/georgetownisim

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute for the Study of International Migration