Commitment to Academic Excellence
Georgetown has long held a deep and enduring commitment to engaging the frontiers of knowledge in the pursuit of truth. This commitment has brought about the establishment of innovative new academic centers and initiatives as well as national and global recognition of Georgetown faculty and students.
Advancing the University’s Mission
Access and Affordability
Among Georgetown’s highest priorities is ensuring that affordability is never a barrier to access for the most talented students. President DeGioia launched or advanced a number of initiatives that deepen the financial and community resources for student success, including the 1789 Scholarship Imperative, the Georgetown Scholars Program, and the Community Scholars Program.
College Access and SuccessMcCourt School of Public Policy
In 2013, through a transformative $100 million gift from Frank H. McCourt, Jr. (C’75, P’05), Georgetown established what was then its first school in 60 years—the McCourt School of Public Policy. The McCourt School has since modeled the ways in which data-driven and evidence-based scholarship can address the most pressing challenges facing our world, strengthen civic engagement and our civic institutions, and advance the common good in our communities.
Blume Public Leadership Institute
In 1988, Georgetown University Law Center launched the Public Interest Law Scholars program to support students who wish to pursue careers as public officials, policymakers, researchers, and advocates for the public interest. A generous naming gift from Bruce (L’80, P’08, P’20) and Ann Blume (P’08, P’20) in 2018 enabled the program to deepen its financial and programmatic offerings as part of the Blume Public Leadership Institute.
Blume Public Leadership InstituteDesigning the Future(s) of the University
Georgetown’s Catholic and Jesuit tradition calls us to engage the greatest challenges in our world in a way that is authentic to our educational mission. President DeGioia’s “Designing the Future(s) of the University” initiative, established in 2013, responds to this call by placing our academic community in conversation with emerging technologies, new modes of learning, and a shifting higher education landscape.
Honoring Academic and Research Excellence
Distinguished Scholar-Teachers
The President’s Awards for Distinguished Scholar-Teachers, launched in 2013, celebrates faculty excellence in both research and student engagement as well as the integration of the two across an individual’s body of work. This award is presented at Georgetown’s annual spring faculty convocation.
President’s Awards for Distinguished Scholar-TeachersGreat scholarship informs great teaching. Great teaching informs great scholarship.
John J. DeGioia
Global Student Scholarship
Georgetown’s tradition of academic excellence and global engagement are reflected in the more than 500 students and alumni who have been awarded Fulbright scholarships since the University’s founding. In 2023 and 2024, Georgetown was named a top producer of Fulbright students across all United States colleges and universities.
Georgetown Named the No. 1 Producer of Fulbright Student Awardees
A Home for Exceptional Research
Georgetown maintained the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s designation as an “R1” institution for every year of President DeGioia’s term. This prestigious classification recognizes the University’s exceptional research and training.
Georgetown Secures Highest Research Classification for the 30th Year