Georgetown doubles number of students allowed on campus for spring semester

Georgetown University will allow more students on its Washington, D.C. campus during the spring 2021 semester, easing its current COVID-19 restrictions. 

The number of students living on Georgetown’s campus during the fall 2020 semester was 500. Georgetown President John De Goia announced on Nov. 16 that the school will double that number to 1,000 students during the upcoming spring semester. This will consist mainly of students who graduate in 2021 and are non-Washington, D.C. area residents.

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“I know that this is not the message that many in our community hoped to hear when looking ahead to next semester,” DeGoia said. “We understand the disappointment in not being able to fully return to campus and how eager our community is to be together in person. We recognize how important a residential experience can be in the lives of our students and appreciate the strong desire to return to residential life.”

Along with the move to begin easing the current COVID-19 restrictions, seniors and graduate students will be given a chance to opt-in to hybrid courses for the upcoming semester. According to a message posted by Provost Robert Groves, Georgetown law students will be able to access the library, student events, and a sparse amount of hybrid classes. 

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With this move, the president postponed allowing freshmen and transfer students to live on-campus and participate in hybrid courses. 

In return, the university will offer an optional summer semester for the Class of 2024 that will allow students to reside on campus while simultaneously taking classes before they begin their sophomore or second year.

Georgetown University classes will begin on January 25, 2021.