In 1952, the College of General Studies opened its doors in downtown Boston as a junior college serving World War II and Korean War veterans thanks to the vision of Dean Judson Rae Butler and his dedicated faculty. While the past five decades have seen many changes in the College’s population and programs, its dedication to team-taught interdisciplinary education remains strong. CGS serves between 1,200 and 1,400 freshmen and sophomores each year by helping to transform each student into an adult and future leader.  

As Linda Wells enters her eighth year as dean, she leads more than seventy faculty members, advisors, specialists, and support staff members into the College’s fifty-fifth year of success. Dean Wells oversees the core of the liberal arts academic program, which includes disciplines in the humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and rhetoric. CGS provides a conducive learning environment in a building that was custom-built for the College in 1966. Today, the newly renovated Marilyn and Jeffery Katzenberg Center is an academic highlight at CGS, where students are often found studying, surfing the Web, collaborating on team projects, and more. The renovation of the Center was totally funded by the generosity of alumni, parents, and friends of the College.

This year’s newly admitted Class of 2011 sustains the College’s upward trajectory of excellence, ranking among the top 22 percent of their high school classes and boasting a high school GPA of 3.2 and an average combined SAT score of 1182 on the math and verbal component and 602 on the new writing component.  

More than seventy percent of accepted students who attend the School’s informational open house programs choose to attend CGS.

A program as unique as the College of General Studies has many more needs than can be detailed in a brief presentation. Gifts to the CGS Fund are used to:

• Renovate the General Studies learning environment.

      Functional, up-to-date, and safe facilities are needed for optimal learning. Donations to the CGS Fund enhance learning areas within the College by providing work spaces for quiet study, group collaboration, classes, and multimedia learning. A good first impression is also crucial. Funds are needed to renovate the main lobby—the first thing CGS visitors see.

• Offer supplemental financial assistance.

Donations to the CGS Fund allow the College to meet student financial needs by granting students opportunities to explore academic interests in the form of need-based and merit-based scholarships, awards, and undergraduate research stipends.

• Support faculty development.

CGS has a dedicated faculty that engages in ongoing research while teaching. Supporting faculty development at the College in turn supports students. Donations to the CGS Fund will allow faculty members to explore new teaching developments and the latest field advancements while simultaneously, giving CGS the opportunity to recruit and retain the best professors available.

• Upgrade technology.

      Although the College has benefited tremendously from the addition of new computers and learning tools, additional funds are crucial for maintenance and upgrades. Donations to the CGS Fund support the College’s commitment to upgrading computers, wireless Internet connections, software, and audio and visual equipment.

• Enhance student life.

Within CGS, there are a multitude of student interest groups that encompass everything from an interest in world affairs to a love for the relationship between film and philosophy. Gifts to the CGS Fund support these interest groups by encouraging faculty-student communication through subsidized forums, study groups, research projects, dinners, and other activities that enhance student life at the College.

Just as the College of General Studies is proud of its faculty, students, and alumni, it is also appreciative of the generosity among its parents and friends. CGS could not have achieved fifty-four years of excellence and leadership in the field of general education without the support and feedback of the General Studies community. The Office of the Dean and the Office of Development and Alumni Relations welcome your comments and observations about the College.

Give Online

Mail a Gift

Annual Fund Leadership Giving Societies

Contact Us