Georgetown University is a private institution located in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789 by John Carroll, America's first Catholic bishop, it is the oldest Jesuit and Catholic university in the United States. Overlooking the Potomac River near downtown Washington, Georgetown's main campus occupies 104 acres in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood. The school has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,550 and a graduate enrollment of over 8,000. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar.

Georgetown is comprised of four undergraduate schools and four graduate and professional schools. Its graduate program includes the highly ranked Robert Emmett McDonough School of Business, Law Center, School of Nursing and Health Studies, School of Medicine, Public Policy Institute and the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Notable alumni include former U.S. President Bill Clinton, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, actor Bradley Cooper, dozens of U.S. governors and members of Congress, journalist Maria Shriver and Hall of Fame basketball player Patrick Ewing.

Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus in numerous traditional residence halls. Other students choose to live in the townhouses and apartments surrounding campus. Student organizations on campus include the country's largest student-run business and largest student-run banking option, as wel as religious groups, media outlets and student government associations. Georgetown's athletic teams, called the Hoyas, compete in the NCAA's Division I. Its men's basketball team that has won a record-tying seven Big East championships, appeared in five Final Fours, and won a national championship in 1984.