Georgetown College (Georgetown University)


Georgetown College, infrequently Georgetown College of Arts and Sciences, is the oldest school within Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The College is the largest undergraduate school at Georgetown, and until the founding of the School of Medicine in 1850, was the only higher education division of the university. In 1821, the school granted its first graduate degrees, though the graduate portion has since been separated as the Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
History and classics professor Christopher S. Celenza is the Dean of the College, a position he was named to in March 2017 by University President John J. DeGioia and Provost Robert Groves. Alone, the college accounts for over 3,200 students, 30 academic majors with 23 departments. This forms the core of the undergraduate population.

History

From 1789 until the founding of the School of Medicine in 1850, Georgetown College was the only secondary school at what became Georgetown University. Robert Plunkett, the first president of Georgetown, oversaw the division of the school into three parts, "college", "preparatory", and "elementary". Elementary education was eventually dropped by Patrick Francis Healy, and preparatory eventually separated as Georgetown Prep.
Over the years many schools have broken off of the College. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences first broke off in 1855, but rejoined the college organization following the downturn in admissions caused by the American Civil War, until reestablishment in 1891. The School of Languages and Linguistics, itself organized out of the School of Foreign Service in 1949, was collapsed into the College in 1995, as the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, though it maintains its separate programs.

Degrees

Bachelor of Arts

From 1811 to 1931, Georgetown College was led by a Prefect of Studies. Since 1931, it has been led by a Dean. The following people have led the college:

Prefects of Studies