Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences

Not to be confused with Georgetown College.

The Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) is a college of Georgetown University, a private Jesuit research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C.. It is the oldest and 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, it granted its first graduate degrees, though the graduate portion has since been separated as the Georgetown University Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. From 1990 to 2022, it was named Georgetown College.^[2]

Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences

Seal of Georgetown University
Former name	Georgetown College (1789– ,1990–2022)
Type	Private college
Established	1789; 236 years ago (1789)
Parent institution	Georgetown University
Affiliation	Roman Catholic (Jesuit)
Students	3,566 (2021[update])[1]
Location	Washington, D.C. , United States 38°54′32.1″N 77°4′20.2″W
Campus	Urban
Website	college.georgetown.edu

The college enrolls over 3,500 students in 30 academic majors within 23 departments.^[3]

History

Main article: History of Georgetown University

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.^[4]

The White-Gravenor Hall houses most of the college's staff and faculty offices, including the Office of the Dean^[5]

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.^[6]

Degrees

The college offers Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree programs.

List of deans and prefects of studies

From 1811 to 1931, Georgetown College was led by a prefect of studies. Since 1931, it has been led by a dean. Andrew Sobanet has been the interim dean of the school since July 1, 2024.^[7] The following people have led the college:

Deans and prefects of studies

No.	Name	Years	Ref.
Prefects of Studies
1	Giovanni Antonio Grassi SJ	1811–1817	[8]
2	Roger Baxter SJ	1819–1824	[8]
3	William Feiner SJ	1825–1826	[8]
4	James Neill SJ	1826–1827	[8]
5	Peter Walsh SJ	1827–1828	[8]
6	Thomas F. Mulledy SJ	1829–1831	[8]
7	William Grace SJ	1831–1833	[8]
8	Thomas F. Mulledy SJ	1833–1837	[8]
9	William McSherry SJ	1837–1839	[8]
10	George Fenwick SJ	1840–1841	[8]
11	James A. Ryder SJ	1841–1843	[8]
12	George Fenwick SJ	1843–1845	[8]
13	Thomas F. Mulledy SJ	1845–1848	[8]
14	James A. Ryder SJ	1848–1851	[8]
15	Charles H. Stonestreet SJ	1851–1852	[8]
16	Bernard A. Maguire SJ	1852–1853	[8]
17	Francis Knackstedt SJ	1853–1854	[8]
18	Bernard A. Maguire SJ	1854–1858	[8]
19	John Early SJ	1858–1865	[8]
20	Bernard A. Maguire SJ	1866–1867	[8]
21	Joseph O'Callaghan SJ	1867–1868	[8]
22	Patrick F. Healy SJ	1868–1880	[8]
23	William Whiteford SJ	1880–1881	[8]
24	James A. Doonan SJ	1881–1882	[8]
25	James B. Becker SJ	1882–1883	[8]
26	Edward I. Devitt SJ	1883–1886	[8]
27	James A. Doonan SJ	1886–1888	[8]
28	J. Havens Richards SJ	1888–1898	[8][9]
29	James P. Fagan SJ	1898–1901	[9]
30	John A. Conway SJ	1901–1903	[9]
31	W. G. Read Mullan SJ	1903–1905	[9]
32	Charles Macksey SJ	1905–1909	[9]
33	John B. Creeden SJ	1909–1918	[9]
34	Edmund A. Walsh SJ	1918	[9]
35	W. Coleman Nevils SJ	1918–1922	[9]
36	William T. Tallon SJ	1922–1924	[9]
37	Louis J. Gallagher SJ	1924–1926	[9]
38	Robert A. Parsons SJ	1926–1928	[9]
39	R. Rush Rankin SJ	1928–1931	[9]
Deans
1	John J. McLaughlin SJ	1931–1932	[9]
2	Vincent J. Hart SJ	1932–1933	[9]
3	George F. Strohaver SJ	1933–1934	[9]
4	John E. Grattan SJ	1934–1942	[9]
5	Stephen F. McNamee SJ	1942–1946	[9]
6	Charles L. Coolahan SJ	1946–1949	[9]
7	Edward G. Jacklin SJ	1949–1951	[9]
8	Brian A. McGrath SJ	1951–1957	[9]
9	Joseph A. Sellinger SJ	1957–1964	[10]
10	Thomas R. Fitzgerald SJ	1964–1966	[10]
11	Royden B. Davis SJ	1966–1989	[10]
12	Robert B. Lawton SJ	1989–1999	[10]
13	Jane Dammen McAuliffe	1999–2008	[10]
14	Chester Gillis	2008–2017	[11]
15	Christopher Celenza	2017–2020	[12]
16	Rosario Ceballo	2022–2024	[13][14]
17	David M. Edelstein	Beginning July 1, 2025	[15]