A Liberal Education in Georgetown

June 7, 2010 - PRLog -- One may wonder what could be common between the former US president Bill Clinton, King Abdullah II of Jordon and Felipe de Borbon, the crown prince of Spain? All three of them happen to be the alumni of Georgetown University, US.

Georgetown, with a strong liberal arts tradition, was founded in 1789, the same year the US Constitution took effect. The nation’s oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, today, Georgetown is a major studentcentred international research university with faculty, staff and students from all 50 states and more than 130 foreign countries.

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Anup Arekkath, who completed his graduate programme in MBA this year, points out, “The university has a high percentage of international students, which works as a comfort factor.” Besides, he adds, unlike other universities, Georgetown has an international consulting programme, which is residential. Arekkath feels that the programme gave him a larger perspective to his academic pursuit. An openminded approach is also one of Georgetown’s strengths, adds Arekkath. He says that a monthly townhall, which allows students to voice their opinion, was a special experience for him. “The faculty, management and dean were not only receptive to students’ feedback, they also implemented changes on the basis of that.”

According to Subhash Agrawal, who went to Georgetown in the ’90s for an MBA, one of the most appealing features of the university is its emphasis on ethics. “Ethics is part of the curriculum whether you study business, international relations or economics.” Besides, he adds, “its location in Washington DC, helps you to soak in the lively political atmosphere around you.”

The university comprises four undergraduate schools, three graduate and professional schools, professional development programmes and certificates, medical residencies and other programmes predicated on the liberal arts tradition at the heart of the institution.

In fact, according to Adarsh Kumar, who went to Georgetown to pursue an undergraduate programme in economics, “What makes the university special is its strong foundation in liberal arts. Every student has to study a range of liberal arts subjects in the first two years.” Looking back, he feels that this helped him gain a holistic academic experience in Georgetown.

The Georgetown college curriculum covers the full range of humanistic, scientific, and social-scientific disciplines and is enriched by its faculty of languages and linguistics and interdisciplinary initiatives. To build a strong liberal arts foundation, students of Georgetown study philosophy, theology, science, social science mathematics, literature and history among several other curricular options. The college emphasises on the liberal arts to cultivate intellectual skills of perception, analysis, interpretation and expression.

Also, the university’s School of Foreign Service, founded in 1919, is the nation’s oldest and largest institution devoted to educating students for careers in international affairs through a curriculum based in the liberal arts. The school opened a new campus in Doha, Qatar, in 2005.

The provost of the university, James J O’Donnell, at an alumni gathering in the Capital, reiterated that the university — apart from promoting research — attempts to introduce its students to a range of human endeavours.

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