# Georgetown University College of Arts & Sciences

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

## 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

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