Georgia Southwestern State University

Georgia Southwestern State University

Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is a public university in Americus, Georgia. It is part of the University System of Georgia and offers bachelor's degree programs along with selected master's and specialist degree programs.

Georgia Southwestern State University, originally the Third District Agricultural and Mechanical School, was founded in 1906. In 1926, the Georgia General Assembly granted the school a charter that authorized it to become a two-year college and to change its name to the Third District Agricultural and Normal College. The new charter also allowed the school to offer teacher training courses. The State Department of Education granted teacher certification to all students who completed the teacher training program.

The college joined the University System of Georgia (USG) in 1932 along with other state-supported institutions of higher learning in Georgia due to a legislative enactment. The newly formed USG was also placed under the jurisdiction of the Board of Regents. Now a member of the USG, the college changed its name to 'Georgia Southwestern College and continued to offer its two-year curriculum.

The Board of Regents approved Georgia Southwestern College to transition to a four-year institution in 1964. The first bachelor's degrees were conferred in June 1968.

The name of the institution was changed to Georgia Southwestern State University in July 1996.