private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Washington, D.C., U.S. Though it is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church, Georgetown has always been open to people of all faiths. The university includes the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, the Walsh School of Foreign Service, and the schools of Law, Medicine, Nursing, Business, and Languages and Linguistics. Georgetown offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs. Important facilities include a seismological observatory, the Woodstock Theological Center, and the Charles Augustus Strong Center near Florence, Italy. Total enrollment is approximately 12,000.

Georgetown, founded in 1789, was the first Roman Catholic college in the United States. The university received its first charter from the federal government in 1814. The medical school was founded in 1849, the law school in 1870. Notable alumni include U.S. President William J. Clinton, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and Alfonso López Michelsen, president of Colombia.