Georgetown University is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit institution of higher learning in the United States. John Carroll’s founding of Georgetown College coincides with the birth of our nation.

In 1789, Carroll secured the deed to one acre of land on a hilltop overlooking the village of Georgetown. He was appointed Archbishop of Baltimore in 1808.

Classes began in 1792. Within the first year, attendance grew to more than 40 students – some as far away as the West Indies. In 1817, the school awarded its first two bachelor’s degrees.

The 1980s were a time of tremendous growth on campus with the completion of Yates Field House and the opening of the Bunn Intercultural Center, new residence halls and the $51 million Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for students.

During the university’s bicentennial year (1988-89), U.S. President Ronald Reagan provided the opening address to kick off the yearlong celebration, the culmination of which included a reunion ball with over 3,500 guests at DC’s Union Station. The 1980s also began a “golden age” in two traditional sports at Georgetown – basketball and track. Under coaches John Thompson Jr. and Frank Gagliano, basketball and track enjoyed unprecedented periods of success from the early 1980s well into the 1990s.

Georgetown has grown to be a major international research university with nine schools, an affiliated hospital and many highly ranked academic programs. Today, the university has more than 22,000 undergraduate and graduate students who take classes at five locations: Main Campus, Medical Center, Law Center, School of Continuing Studies, and the university’s Georgetown Qatar campus.