Georgetown College

HISTORY AND GENERAL OBJECTIVES

Georgetown College, the oldest Catholic College in the United States, was founded in 1789 by John Carroll, Archbishop of Baltimore. A progressive citizen of his time, he firmly believed in the principles of the United States Constitution. He made it clear that the new college was to be open to students of every religious persuasion.

On March 1, 1815, President James Madison signed the act of Congress which chartered the College of Georgetown. In 1844 it was incorporated by another Congressional act. During the years of the Civil War, Georgetown students fought for the North and South. Later the colors blue and gray were adopted by the College to signify the reunited nation and the sons of Georgetown who had served on both sides in its civil war.

From its founding to the present day the graduates of Georgetown College have taken their places in the forefront of almost every human endeavor. They serve as educators, public servants, and statesmen; they work in business, law, medicine, and research.

Today, proud of its tradition and heritage, Georgetown, through all its graduates, seeks to serve the communities and the world in which it lives.

The College exists to provide a liberal education for young men and women who will be called to intellectual, moral, and professional leadership, and to foster in them a lifelong commitment to the quest for truth.

As a Jesuit college, it draws upon a dynamic tradition of education, characterized by an optimistic Christian humanism and committed to the assumption of responsibility and action. Accordingly, the College seeks to encourage the development of critical powers, respect for tradition and human reason, and an appreciation of life and all its endeavors. It promotes not only the intellectual disciplines but also the search for personal values and convictions that will enable its graduates, throughout their lives, to continue redefining and maturing their thought, and also to continue pursuing the integration of their activities, values, and relations with others.

In light of these aims, the College has developed a diversified academic program in which fundamental issues and ultimate values play an integral role. A high priority is placed on quality teaching and on developing a community of learning among its faculty, students, and administrators.

In 1995, the School of Languages and Linguistics joined the College as a degree program under the name of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics (FLL). Students entering the FLL apply specifically to the FLL programs. The mission of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics has evolved through the years. In the 1950s, the then-new Institute of Languages and Linguistics reflected the immediate needs of those times, emphasizing foreign language learning for students considering service positions in the diplomatic corps and other government agencies. Later, the Faculty refined the study of spoken and written languages to focus on the cultural context of languages to meet the new expectations and new goals of the world community.

Global changes in recent decades and the accompanying new developments in transmission technology have established “superhighways” of information that enable people to communicate instantaneously and abundantly with one another across continents and hemispheres. The world outside the Academy as now interconnected offers a new and inescapable “worldview.” More than ever, this emerging multicultural “worldview” requires an informed understanding of cultures other than one’s own. As always, this comes about when people listen to and read the spoken and written words of other peoples who, like themselves, have been and are being changed by new ways of communication and interaction.

Through its various degree programs the College offers majors and/or minors in the following areas. Detailed information about the specific requirements for these majors and minors are provided on this website.

African American Studies

American Musical Culture

American Studies

Anthropology

Arabic and Islamic Studies

Art History

Biochemistry

Biology

Biology of Global Health

Catholic Studies

Chemistry

Chinese

Classics

Cognitive Science

Comparative Literature

Computer Science

Economics

English

Environmental Biology

Environmental Studies

French

German

Government

Greek

Hebrew

History

Interdisciplinary Studies

Italian

Japanese

Jewish Civilization

Justice and Peace Studies

Linguistics

Mathematics

Medieval Studies

Neurobiology

Performing Arts

Philosophy

Physics

Political Economy

Portuguese

Psychology

Russian

Russian Literature and Culture (in Translation)

Science, Technology, & International Affairs

Social & Political Thought

Sociology

Spanish

Studio Art

Theater and Performance Studies

Theology

Women’s and Gender Studies

The following Certificate Programs, offered through the School of Foreign Service, are available to Georgetown College students:

I. DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

The following are the graduation requirements for all students in Georgetown College. Each degree candidate must:

• Complete a minimum of 120 semester hours and 38 to 40 semester courses. To meet the minimum of 120 credit hours, a student may need as many as 40 courses; Bachelor of Science candidates will exceed the 120 credit minimum by meeting the 38 course minimum. In counting courses, the student should note the following definitions of a course. An intensive language course for more than three credits counts as one course. A one-credit offering is not computed in the course count. A two-credit science laboratory not related to a lecture, or any other course valued at two credits is computed as a half course. A science lecture and accompanying laboratory is counted as one course, even if the lecture and laboratory are listed separately and even if they are taken in separate semesters. Non-credit leisure and recreation courses do not count toward graduation.
• Complete the following General Education requirements:

 

Humanities and Writing		2 courses
History		2 courses
Philosophy		2 courses
Theology		2 courses
Math/Science		2 courses
Social Science		2 courses
(except biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and B.S. physics majors)
Mastery of a foreign language through the intermediate level

• Declare a major field of concentration and complete all requirements for the major as specified under Departmental Programs below. In addition to their major, students in the College may chose to minor in any one of the College’s approved minors. Students may double major, double major with a minor, or major in one field with two minors. A minor is not required.
• Achieve a final cumulative academic average of 2.0 or better.

II. GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS

The general education requirements are ordinarily fulfilled in the student’s first and second years.

Out of the normal course load of ten courses in the first year, the student may choose no more than two courses in any one discipline; this regulation holds for sophomore year also. In addition, the student may not take two courses in the same discipline in the same semester during the first two years.

To complete this requirement all students are required to take one course from each of the following two categories.

1) To be completed as early as possible in the student’s college career but no later than the end of the sophomore year: an Intensive Writing Seminar centered on the analytic study of complex cultural texts. These courses will be offered only by language and literature departments in Georgetown College and must be taught in English. A list of courses satisfying this requirement will appear each semester in the Registrar’s Schedule of Classes.

2) An introduction to a humanities discipline other than Philosophy, Theology, and History, taught in English, with a writing component. Courses satisfying this requirement are offered by the departments of Art, Music and Theater, Classics, English, the modern languages, and interdisciplinary programs such as African American Studies, Catholic Studies, Comparative Literature, Medieval Studies, and Women’s and Gender Studies. A list of courses satisfying this requirement will appear each semester in the Registrar’s Schedule of Classes.

History is the integrated study of all elements of the human experience as they change over time. It therefore introduces students to the interrelations between political, social, economic, cultural, religious, intellectual, artistic, and other developments, and expands their ability to engage with complex causal analysis. This gives students a sound understanding of the complex links that characterize societies and cultures, in the past as well as in our own time. The History general education requirement thus calls for students to be exposed to both the recent and the more distant past, so that they may explore changes and continuities in all spheres of human endeavor, and understand the human experience as a process of long-term dynamic evolution.

In addition to covering long time spans, the required courses also have a wide geographic scope, and thus offer students access to trans-national and cross-cultural developments, raising their awareness of global themes and issues and leading them to examine the interaction of diverse cultures and groups. The vast geographic scope and long time spans covered in the required courses also give students insight into the deep roots of contemporary globalization.

All required History courses feature small-group discussion, through which students familiarize themselves with history as an analytical tool. In addition to engaged participation in discussions of primary and secondary sources, the courses also include substantive writing assignments. Altogether the courses thus help students hone their critical reading and writing skills, develop their ability to examine evidence, and improve their capacity for verbal and written argument.

Both the knowledge and the skills learned in History general education courses therefore contribute to raising students into informed, thoughtful, and active modern citizens.

All students in the College are required to complete two one-semester courses in history from among the following surveys: World History I & II (HIST-001, 002), History of the Atlantic World (HIST-003), Pacific World (HIST-006), or European Civilization I & II (HIST-033, 034). Students may combine the first (“early”) half of any of these surveys with the second (“late”) half of a different survey, but may not satisfy the requirement by combining the first halves of two surveys or the second halves of two surveys. HIST-003 counts as a first half; HIST-006 as a second half.

Students who wish to study different world regions, and who feel prepared for the more complex demands of higher-level courses, may replace one semester of the courses described above with one semester of the following courses, always maintaining the requirement for an “early” and a “late” course. All students must take at least one semester from the six courses at the 0-level:

Early courses (that may replace HIST-001, 003, or 033):

• HIST-111 Africa I
• HIST-128 South Asia I
• HIST-158 Latin America I
• HIST-160 Middle East I

Late courses (that may replace HIST-002, 006, or 034):

• HIST-112 Africa II
• HIST-129 South Asia II
• HIST-159 Latin America II
• HIST-161 Middle East II

It is strongly recommended that majors in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian satisfy the history requirement by completing the two-semester regional history survey appropriate to their major:

Students who complete either European Civilization, History of the Atlantic World, the Pacific World, World History, or a specific area history survey as part of their initial major and then change majors do not incur an additional history requirement.

Students with a score of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement tests in European or World History, or with a score of 6 or 7 on the higher-level International Baccalaureate history test, will be awarded three credits and will place out of the required general education courses; they still need to take any HIST course of their choice, numbered 100 or above. Students with these scores on both of the European and the World history tests will receive six credits and have completed all history requirements. Students with a score of 3 on the Advanced Placement test in European or World History will receive no credit, but may fulfill the History requirement with any two History courses. No credits or exemptions are granted for the AP test in US history or for the SAT II tests.

Georgetown, with its commitment to the Jesuit tradition, believes that modern men and women should consider reflectively their relationship to the world, their fellow humans, and God. All students take a year of Philosophy and a year of Theology.

All students in Georgetown College are required to take two courses in philosophy, normally one in the first year and one in the second year. One course must be in ethics and one in non-ethics (an area other than ethics). The first class should be PHIL-010 or 020. If the first class is PHIL-010, the second should be PHIL-150–199 or PHIL-020. If the first class is PHIL-020, the second should be PHIL-100–149 or PHIL-010. The department strongly advises students to take their second philosophy at the 100-level, especially if they are considering majoring in philosophy.

Problem of God (THEO-001) and one intermediate level theology elective fulfill the theology requirement. Introduction to Biblical Literature (THEO-011) may be substituted for Problem of God or may be used as an intermediate level elective. (Transfer students are exempt from Problem of God and may select any two intermediate level courses, including Introduction to Biblical Literature, to fulfill this requirement.)

The math/science requirement may be fulfilled by two courses in either of the following two patterns: (1) any major introductory sequence from Biology (103–104), Chemistry (001, 002, 009–010 or 055–056, 057–058), Computer Science (071–072), Math (035–036/040), Physics (041–042 or 105–-108); or (2) any pair of courses provided one is taken from among Biology, Chemistry and Physics and the other is taken from Math or Computer Science.

All students except those majoring in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, or Physics (B.S.), satisfy their Social Science requirement by taking two courses in one of the following fields: Anthropology, Government, Economics, Linguistics, Psychology, or Sociology. In addition to courses in the Linguistics department, the following courses count toward the Social Science requirement as linguistic courses:

Students majoring in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Physics (B.S.) do not have a Social Science requirement.

All students in the College must achieve proficiency in a language (ancient or modern) through the intermediate level. During New Student Orientation, placement exams are offered in most languages. Students who do not place above the intermediate level of a language on these placement exams fulfill the requirement by completing courses in a classical or modern language through the intermediate level. Please note that languages taught on an intensive basis require differing lengths of study to achieve intermediate mastery depending upon the language. For example, Intensive Spanish equips the student with intermediate mastery after one year (SPAN-011 followed by SPAN-032), while Arabic provides intermediate mastery after two years (ARAB-011–012, 111, 112).

The following language courses complete the College’s language requirement:

Students are strongly urged to complete the language requirement no later than the end of their sophomore year.

Please note the College does not grant credit for language study repeated at the same level of instruction. Transfer students (including from within the University) should be certain to clear their choice of course level with the Dean’s Office before enrollment. Intensive language study may or may not make further language study necessary.

III. ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

Georgetown College requires of its students the standards set forth under Academic Regulations in this Bulletin.

Regulations peculiar to the College are as follows:

1. Complete of minimum of 60 credits and a minimum of four full-time semesters in residence at Georgetown.
2. In the spirit of a liberal education, each student is required to take 24 courses outside of his or her primary major department.
3. A single course may satisfy a general education requirement and also be credited to a major or minor requirement. However, the same course may not be applied to two majors, or to a major and a minor, or to two minors or to any other combination of major, minor, or certificate, unless it is identified as a corollary course in the major.
4. Students are required to complete at least half of the coursework for a major or minor at Georgetown. Transfer credits in excess of half of a major or minor will be counted as free electives toward the degree. Additionally, some departments may set stricter limits on how transfer credit may be applied.
5. Ordinarily, any course that fulfills a major, minor, certificate or general education requirement must be taken for a letter grade.
6. Students majoring in two fields which lead to different degrees (e.g., English and Biology) must choose the degree (A.B. or B.S.) they wish to receive.
7. The College does not recognize courses for audit.
8. No more than four courses may be taken in summer school away from Georgetown over the four year period. Prior approval for such courses must be obtained from the College Dean’s Office.
9. Students on leave of absence should not expect to transfer credits for courses taken elsewhere during their leave. In rare circumstances, and with expressed written approval of the Dean’s Office prior to the leave, students may be allowed to transfer a limited number of courses. In no instance will more than four courses be transferred to the Georgetown record, and all transfers will count against the “summer school” limit noted above.
10. Normally the College approves a maximum of four courses for summer school work at Georgetown per academic year.
11. No more than four vocational or pre-professional courses may be counted towards the degree.
12. No full-time student may work more than 20 hours per week without permission from the College Dean’s Office.
13. For transfers from outside and from within the University, the College requires a residency of two years (four semesters of full-time status) regardless of summer study.
14. Undergraduate degree candidates are expected to be full-time. Seniors are expected to be full-time and in residence. Seniors must petition the College Dean’s Office if they wish to be part time in the final semester.
15. Any student with more than one incomplete in a given term who is unable to complete his or her work by the start of the next term may not begin new courses without formal review and consent of the Dean’s Office. The student may be directed to take a leave of absence or may be directed to enroll in a partial-schedule in the subsequent term.

IV. APPLICATION FOR THE DEGREE

Degrees are awarded three times a year: in May, August, and December. Seniors must file an application for the degree in the College Dean’s Office. The last day to file for a May degree is February 1; for an August degree, August 1; for a December degree, November 1. Failure to apply for the degree may necessitate the postponement of graduation.

Diplomas are distributed at Commencement in May. Those students who graduate in August may participate in the previous May Commencement. Those who graduate in December may participate in the following May Commencement. Students may elect to have their diplomas mailed to their homes in the summer following the completion of the degree.

V. ACADEMIC PROCEDURES

The Council on Studies of Georgetown College, composed of the Dean, Associate Deans, Assistant Deans, and Academic Counselors, convenes at the conclusion of the fall and spring semesters to review the grades of each student in the College. In instances where a student has incurred an academic deficiency, the Council may take one of four courses of action: dismissal, suspension, probation, or warning. The Council notifies the student in writing of its decision.

Students who are either dismissed or suspended may appeal the decision of the Council on Studies to the Board of Academic Appeals.

The Board of Academic Appeals shall consist of three members of the Faculty. No member of the Faculty may sit on a Board if:

• He or she has at any time failed the student who is appealing.
• He or she has at any time acted as a counselor to the student.

It should be emphasized that the Academic Board of Appeals is an educational hearing board and not a court of law. Its purpose is twofold:

• It considers the student’s record in the light of the decision of the Council on Studies and accepts any evidence of extenuating circumstances which would warrant the Board to recommend a change in the Council’s decision.
• It assures the student of an opportunity to appear before an impartial board composed of members of the Faculty.

The student should submit to the Dean of the College a written request for an appeal from the Council’s decision within the time limit specified in the notification from the Council on Studies. The student may then present to the Board evidence which would indicate reason for the Board to recommend to the Dean a change in the Council’s decision.

Normally the student must appear for the hearing; however, if because of extraordinary circumstances the student is unable to be present, he or she may present a written summary of the grounds for his or her appeal. When presenting his or her appeal to the Board, the student may appear alone or may bring a member of the University community to assist in his or her presentation.

The student may be present for all stages of the hearing except for the final deliberation by the Board.

The Board may recommend upholding the Council’s decision or it may recommend a mitigation of that decision, e.g., instead of dismissal, a suspension; instead of suspension, a strict probation. It cannot recommend a harsher decision or completely abrogate the original decision.

The board’s recommendation is sent in writing to the Dean. It may give explanations or comments and is signed by the members of the board.

The Dean communicates to the student the final disposition of the matter in writing.

VI. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

See the description of the Georgetown University Undergraduate Honor System in the Academic Regulations section of this Bulletin.

VII. ADVISING

The richness and multiplicity of the College’s programs and course offerings may be a source of perplexity to students. The College’s advising system is designed to inform students of the many curricular options and programs available to them and to help them in making responsible choices which nurture their intellectual interests.

The academic advisement of students in the College is shared by members of the dean’s staff and the College’s faculty.

Advising of all first and second year students is supervised by the dean’s office in ICC 303. During their first year, students are expected to meet with a member of the dean’s staff to discuss their intellectual interests and academic goals, and to construct a preliminary four-year plan. Although the four-year plan is designed to insure the timely completion of all degree requirements it is in no way binding, and it is expected that students will revise their plans as their intellectual interests evolve. The development of the four year plan provides an opportunity for students to explore the full range of curricular options available to them in the College, and to discuss possibilities such as study overseas.

In addition to working with the dean’s staff, students who enter the College with declared majors in mathematics, the sciences, a language, or linguistics are assigned a faculty advisor in the department of their major. These departmental advisors provide their students with specific information about the proper sequencing of courses required for their majors, including course selection and approval at preregistration, and serve as intellectual mentors in the student’s chosen field of endeavor. Transfer students are also assigned faculty advisors in their major department.

First-year students who enter the College as “undeclared” are offered the option in the spring semester of being assigned one of their first year professors as a faculty mentor. For undeclared students the details of course selection and approval continue to be handled directly by a member of the dean’s staff. Faculty mentors build on their shared intellectual experience with their students to foster the habits of reflection and integration, to discuss their students’ reading and writing, and to create an intellectual and imaginative context in which the student evolves his or her major and minor interests.

Although “undeclared” students do not formally declare their majors until the end of their second year, many have clearly developed interests much earlier than that. The dean’s office, working closely with the departments and programs of the College, prepares second year students to declare their majors through a series of information sessions and fora featuring representatives of the departments and programs of the College and related areas such as the Office of Overseas Studies.

When a student declares his or her major at the end of the second year the student is assigned a faculty advisor in the major department. That advisor is responsible for assisting the student in choosing junior and senior year courses which will result in the timely and successful completion of all degree requirements. Although faculty advisors may help students with problems of a general nature, their primary responsibility is to provide academic advice about courses, fulfillment of requirements, and choice of major. Faculty advisors discuss and give formal approval to students’ academic programs at each registration or early registration. An advisor who becomes well acquainted with a student can counsel perceptively and structure course work to prepare for a desired career and/or postgraduate study. Overall decanal supervision of junior and senior students is provided by the dean’s staff in White-Gravenor 108.

A large portion of the graduates of the College each year go on to graduate and professional schools. The College attempts, through its curricula, programs, and advising system, to give its students strong preparation for graduate work.

At the beginning of senior year, students are requested to fill out an “Information Sheet” in the College Dean’s Office. This form asks the student to report information about career plans and extra-curricular activities during college. It is helpful in preparing letters of recommendation.

Georgetown has a long tradition of preparing students to enter the legal profession. While there is no “pre-law” curriculum, students preparing for law school should concentrate on courses which require analytic thinking and clear written expression.

Most students who plan to go to law school major in one of the humanities or social sciences. However, the flexibility of the College curriculum gives students in any major ample opportunity to elect courses in areas which may serve as a background for law. Students who think they may be interested in a legal career should elect such courses as Constitutional Law, Accounting, and Criminology. Courses which emphasize legal research, analysis, and writing, are regularly offered by the Government Department. Moreover, with the increasingly international and technological scope of legal practice today, students with backgrounds in language, cultural studies, and science are uniquely well prepared for law school and legal careers.

Students who have achieved high honors should consider applying to the Georgetown University Law Center through the Early Assurance Program. This program allows exceptionally well qualified students to submit an application to the Law Center during the junior year. The advantages of the program are that students are not required to take the LSAT and have a less stressful senior year. Students not admitted under the Early Assurance Program may apply again through regular admission during the senior year. Interested students should contact the Law Center Admissions Office or the pre-law advisor in the MBNA Career Education Center for applications and details at the beginning of their junior year.

Georgetown offers a number of programs which prepare students to enter medical or dental school. In each of these the student must take the following basic pre-medical/pre-dental courses (a full year of each):

• Mathematics (including at least a semester of Calculus)
• General Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Principles of Physics
• Introductory Biology I and a second biology course with lab (e.g., Introductory Biology II, Genetics, Biological Chemistry)

Students may choose to major in any B.S. or A.B. program as they complete their pre-medical/pre-dental requirements.

The B.S. programs with majors in Biochemistry, Biology, Biology of Global Health, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Neurobiology, and Physics include all or some of the above courses. The remaining courses on the list are taken as electives to round out the pre-medical/pre-dental requirements. The B.S. Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental programs are strong science programs, and are particularly appropriate for students who are interested in taking more than the minimum of science and math courses required for medical school admission.

Students may also choose to major in an A.B. program in one of the humanities, social sciences, languages, or linguistics and at the same time to fulfill the minimum science requirements for medical or dental school. Further science courses may be taken as electives at the option of the student in consultation with his or her advisor. The proximity of the College to the Georgetown University Medical Center allows the student to be exposed to the challenges of the medical professions.

Assistant Dean Tad Howard is the pre-medical/pre-dental advisor for first and second year undergraduates. Associate Dean Ali Whitmer advises upper division pre-medical/pre-dental students.

Dean Whitmer chairs the Georgetown Pre-Medical/Pre-Dental Recommendation Committee composed of seven members, six from the undergraduate faculty and one from the medical faculty. Students preparing to enter medical or dental school request the committee recommendation at the end of the spring semester in their junior or senior year.

The College has an Early Assurance Program agreement with Georgetown Medical School whereby a select number of pre-medical students, at the end of their sophomore year, may be assured of admission to the Medical School upon satisfactory completion of their junior and senior years. The program is designed to encourage exceptional students to undertake ambitious programs with a degree of security about eventual admission to medical school. Georgetown University Medical School will exempt these students from the MCAT requirement.

Undergraduate Bulletin 2009-2010 Table of Contents
Copyright 2009, Georgetown University.