Georgia College and State University (Georgia College or GCSU) is a public liberal arts university in Milledgeville, Georgia, United States. The university enrolls approximately 7,000 students and is a member of the University System of Georgia and the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. Georgia College was designated Georgia's "Public Liberal Arts University" in 1996 by the Georgia Board of Regents.
History
Georgia College was established after lobbying from women's education advocates such as Rebecca Latimer Felton, Julia Flisch, and Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson. Julia Flisch spoke at the cornerstone ceremony on November 27, 1890.
Presidents
Campus
alt=Terrell Hall|thumb|left|Part of Central Campus (Terrell Hall)thumb|Pergola featured in GCSU brandingthumb|Many local residences have been converted to offices (Underwood House)The campus is divided into four parts: Central Campus, South Campus, West Campus, and East Campus.
Central Campus was built on the remains of Penitentiary Square across from the Governor's Mansion. Other historic buildings on the campus include Sanford Hall (1938), Russell Auditorium (1926), Ina Dillard Russell Art Museum (the original section of the library) (1932), Chappell Hall (1963) (on the site of an earlier Chappell Hall built in 1907), Parks Hall (1911), Terrell Hall (1908), Maxwell Student Union (1972), Beeson Hall (1937), Porter Hall (1939), Lanier Hall (1926), Ennis Hall (1920), and Herty Hall (1954 and expanded in 1972).thumb|Ina Dillard Russell Library|198x198px|leftIna Dillard Russell Library houses the manuscript collection of author Flannery O'Connor, an alumna of the university, and of U.S. Senator Paul Coverdell, whose career included serving as director of the Peace Corps when the Berlin Wall fell.thumb|Part of South Campus (Sanford and Napier Halls)Most of the university's residence halls are located on South Campus by the main sports complex, called the Centennial Center. The Old Governor's Mansion is also within walking distance of the residence halls and front campus.
West Campus, a extension from Central Campus, contains The Village student apartments and athletic fields.
East Campus is a large recreational area on Lake Laurel (approximately 5 minutes from Central Campus) which is used by students in the university's Environmental Science and Outdoor Education programs.
The Center for Innovation at Georgia College and State University opened in 2022.
Academics
thumb|Bobcat Mascot Statue|left|197x197pxStudents pursue majors and graduate degree programs throughout the university's four colleges: College of Arts & Sciences, J. Whitney Bunting College of Business and Technology, John H. Lounsbury College of Education, and College of Health Sciences.
Rankings
In 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked the university tied for No.15 out of 135 Regional Universities South, tied for No.6 in Top Public Schools, No.5 in Best Undergraduate Teaching, and tied for No.4 in Most Innovative Schools.
Admissions
For students accepted and enrolled in the Fall 2024, the average GPA was 3.70, the average SAT score was 1193, and the average ACT score was 26.
Athletics
thumb|2020 Homecoming Game in Centennial Center|225x225px
The university's teams are known as the Georgia College Bobcats. The university is currently a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II and the Peach Belt Conference. Georgia College sponsors varsity teams in baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cheerleading, men's and women's cross country, golf, dance team, women's soccer, softball, men's and women's tennis, women's volleyball, men's and women's eSports and collegiate bass fishing.
Student life
{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;"
|+ style="font-size:90%" |Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023
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! Race and ethnicity
! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total
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| White
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| Hispanic
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| Black
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| Two or more races
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| Asian
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| Unknown
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| International student
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! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |Economic diversity
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| Low-income
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| Affluent
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Student housing
Georgia College provides housing on campus for students. Students have the option to reside either in a suite-style residence hall on Central Campus or in an apartment at The Village on West Campus.
Greek life
Georgia College has a Greek system with over 21 sororities and fraternities under various councils.
Student Government Association
Georgia College's Student Government Association (SGA) serves the campus community by addressing student concerns, promoting understanding within the college community, and administering all matters which are delegated to the student government by the university president. The responsibility for the governing of the student body is vested in the students themselves. All students are members of the SGA upon their enrollment, and officers and senators are elected on a yearly basis.
Notable alumni
Arts and letters
- Flannery O'Connor, writer and essayist
- Jackson Pearce, author (attended)
- Victoria Kennefick, poet (attended)
- Margaret Anne Barnes, author and journalist
- Rachael Kirkconnell, television personality
- Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar, actress
- Andy Offutt Irwin, storyteller and singer
- Brantly Gilbert, singer
Education
- Gertrude Ehrlich, mathematician
- Helen Matthews Lewis, sociologist, historian, and activist
- Susan Dowdell Myrick, journalist, educator, author, and conservationist
- Colette Pierce Burnette, first female president of Huston-Tillotson University
Politics and Business
- Ruth Carter Stapleton, Christian evangelist and sister of former U.S. president Jimmy Carter
- Sandra Deal, literacy advocate and First Lady of Georgia
- Allison Hooker, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
- Brenda Stanley, Oklahoma senator
- Tangie Herring, Georgia state representative
- Robbin Shipp, attorney and former Georgia state representative
- Wilfred Dukes, Georgia state representative
- Mack Jackson, Georgia state representative
- Robert Dickey, Georgia state representative
- Dicksie Bradley Bandy, entrepreneur and historian
- Tony Nicely, former CEO of GEICO
Sports
- Julius Joseph, basketball player
- Michael Antonini, baseball pitcher (attended)
Notable faculty
- Julia Flisch, writer, women's rights advocate