Georgia College & State University

Institution Overview

Founded in 1889, Georgia College & State University is located in the center of Milledgeville, Georgia's antebellum capital. Designated by the University System as Georgia's public liberal arts university, this residential institution offers students a challenging array of 58 undergraduate degree programs and 32 graduate-level programs in the colleges of arts and sciences, business administration, education and health sciences.

At the heart of the university's core curriculum are required interdisciplinary studies courses which integrate aspects of the liberal arts core into the study of an array of topics and problems too broad to be fully addressed in any one discipline.

The campus occupies 43 acres within the city limits, and an additional 600 acres in the county are used for athletics, recreation and outdoor education. The Old Governor's Mansion, located on campus and a national historic landmark, is a multi-purpose building that serves as an educational center and museum. With its blend of majestic red brick buildings and white Corinthian columns, the campus appeals to those seeking a classic academic environment in which to pursue a comprehensive academic program.

The university enrolls more than 5,000 students, ninety percent of which come from Georgia. A number of students attend from surrounding southeastern states, and 43 foreign nations. Students live on campus and are mostly of traditional age. Learning Community Living Options give students who live in residence halls an opportunity to bond academically through clustered classes, field trips, and service-learning projects. They may attend classes at the main campus in Milledgeville and at Macon State College and the Robins Center on the Warner Robins Air Force Base.

A myriad of extra-curricular pursuits engage students outside of class, including concerts, plays, fine arts exhibitions, honor societies, debates, student media, social fraternities and sororities and other clubs and organizations. The university competes in NCAA Division II Peach Belt Conference basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, golf and cross-country.

The university is nationally known to many for its most famous alumna, Flannery O'Connor and is the repository for her collection. The university also holds the Peace Corps and other papers of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell.

The college was founded by the Georgia House of Representatives in 1889 as a women's college. In 1967, it became a regional, co-educational college, and by the 1970s it had extended its reach by opening commuter classes in the middle Georgia region. In 1996, the college assumed its current name and was designated Georgia's public liberal arts university.