Arts and Culture

Georgetown features a vibrant arts community. We encourage our students to express their creativity and think critically about the arts, both in and out of the classroom. Students design art exhibitions and perform in numerous dance, music and theater groups. Our location in Washington, D.C., allows for partnerships with some of the best theaters and musical groups in the country as well as unparalleled resources and partnerships with internationally recognized museums, galleries, and musical and dance groups.

Art

Georgetown’s Department of Art and Art History offers students the opportunity to major, minor, or take elective courses in traditional and emerging disciplines. Students showcase their work in the university’s art galleries and a variety of exhibition spaces on campus. Students also take advantage of Washington, D.C.’s many artistic resources, which include renowned museums and galleries such as the National Gallery of Art, the Phillips Collection and the Corcoran Gallery of Art.

Dance

Georgetown features a lively dance community, including groups dedicated to a variety of classical and modern styles. Students can dance with Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Georgetown, Black Movements Dance Theatre, Georgetown Dance Company, Ritmo y Sabor Latin Dance and the hip hop dance group Groove Theory. Other groups include the Ballroom Dance Club and the Hoya Break Squad. Students receive course credit for participating in dance ensembles sponsored by the Department of Performing Arts.

Music

Students pursue their musical interests on campus through an exciting range of instrumental and vocal groups, some of which are a cappella. Georgetown’s music scene includes orchestral, chamber music, wind, percussion and jazz ensembles.

The university participates every year in the Georgetown University-Kennedy Center “Martin Luther King: Let Freedom Ring Celebration,” which features nationally known singers as well as the “Let Freedom Ring!” Choir comprising Georgetown students, alumni, faculty and staff. The Georgetown University Pep Band performs at all home football games and men’s and women’s basketball games.

Georgetown also features several dynamic a cappella groups, including the Georgetown Chimes and the GraceNotes, and two annual festivals that attract a cappella groups from around the country. Students also participate in concert and chapel choirs and a chamber singers ensemble.

Georgetown offers a major in American Musical Culture and a music minor. The music program also partners with revered professional musical ensembles such as the American Opera Theater and the Post-Classical Ensemble.

Theater

Georgetown takes pride in its long history of student-produced theater on campus. Established in 1852, the Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society distinguishes itself as the oldest continuously running college theater group in the United States. Students direct, act and design their own productions for Mask & Bauble, Black Theatre Ensemble, Nomadic Theatre, GU Children's Theater, and the Georgetown Improv Association.

Students can major or minor in Theater and Performance Studies, blending creative practice with critical inquiry. Georgetown also has an exciting partnership with Arena Stage, a premier professional theater in Washington, D.C. and a national leader in producing new American works.