Education in Washington, D.C.

District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) operates the city's public school system, which consists of 129 schools and learning centers. The number of students in DCPS steadily decreased for 39 years until 2010.  In the 2009–10 school year, 45,772 students were enrolled in the public school system. DCPS has one of the highest-cost yet lowest-performing school systems in the country, both in terms of infrastructure and student achievement. Mayor Adrian Fenty's administration made sweeping changes to the system by closing schools, replacing teachers, firing principals, and using private education firms to aid curriculum development.
Due to the problems with the D.C. public school system, enrollment in public charter schools has increased 13% each year since 2001. The District of Columbia Public Charter School Board monitors the 52 public charter schools in the city. As of fall 2010, D.C. charter schools had a total enrollment of about 28,000. The District is home to some of the nation's top private schools. In 2006, approximately 18,000 students were enrolled in the city's 83 private schools. The District of Columbia Public Library operates 25 neighborhood locations including the landmark Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.
Private universities include American University (AU), the Catholic University of America (CUA), Gallaudet University, George Washington University (GW), Georgetown University (GU), Howard University, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). The Corcoran College of Art and Design provides specialized arts instruction and other higher-education institutions offer continuing, distance and adult education. The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public university providing undergraduate and graduate education. The District is known for its medical research institutions such as Washington Hospital Center and the Children's National Medical Center, as well as the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, the city is home to three medical schools and associated teaching hospitals at George Washington, Georgetown, and Howard universities.


List of colleges and universities in Washington, D.C.. This list also includes other educational institutions providing higher education, meaning tertiary, quaternary, and, in some cases, post-secondary education.


Federal institutions


National Defense University
National War College
National Defense Intelligence College
[edit]Four-year institutions
University of the District of Columbia


Graduate institutions
David A. Clarke School of Law (UDC)
Graduate School


Private institutions


Four-year institutions
American University
The Catholic University of America
Corcoran College of Art and Design
Gallaudet University (federally chartered university, receives federal funding)
The George Washington University
Georgetown University
Howard University (federally chartered university, receives federal funding)
Strayer University
Trinity Washington University (undergraduate liberal arts college)
Wesley Theological Seminary


Graduate institutions
Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law
The George Washington University Law School (formerly the National Law Center at George Washington University)
Georgetown University Law Center
Howard University School of Law
Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies
American University Washington College of Law
Dominican House of Studies Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception
Institute of World Politics
International Circle of Faith Colleges and Seminaries
Washington Theological Union


Defunct institutions


Mount Vernon College for Women (acquired by George Washington University)
Southeastern University (acquired by Graduate School)