Georgetown is committed to the expansion of scholarly discourse and the discovery of knowledge in all of its areas of academic focus. Continued research activity strengthens our teaching and a central priority of our pedagogy is to involve our students in the scholarly activities of faculty.

The work of our faculty in the life and physical sciences will be enhanced dramatically with the opening of our new science center in Regents Hall, scheduled to occur by fall, 2012. This new facility has already enabled the creation of the Institute for the Study of Soft Matter, a structure that will enable us to strengthen faculty and student resources. To bolster our capacity even further, the University has created the position of Senior Vice President for Research and Chief Technology Officer with the goal of building creative research partnerships with other academic institutions and with industry.

Scholarship at Georgetown flourishes in our libraries as well as in our laboratories. Our faculties in the arts, humanities, languages and social sciences continue to make transformative contributions in activities ranging from the study of ancient societies and distant cultures to the analysis of political and economic challenges emerging in the twenty-first century.

The Jesuit tradition of scholarship in service to others informs much of what we do as a research institution, both through programmatic venues such as Public Policy and Global Human Development and through broader interdisciplinary programs such as our Reflective Engagement Initiative.

To support these priorities, the Graduate School provides a variety of institutional support programs for our arts and sciences faculty. Programs provide opportunities for faculty to secure time for their research (through summer grants and specially funded semester leaves), the materials and resources needed to do their work, and seed money for new projects. These programs are described more fully at: Institutional Funding.

The Graduate School also houses three grants officers who provide proposal and budget development support for faculty seeking external grants. The Office of Sponsored programs provides a full service resource for the finalization and transmission of grant applications.

Because PhD education lies at the heart of our graduate enterprise, the Graduate School also conducts special programs designed to assist PhD students as they begin their scholarly careers.