In 1849, four Catholic doctors frustrated with what they felt were discriminatory practices at neighboring
Columbian College, limiting Catholic doctors' access to the clinical facilities of the
Washington Infirmary, petitioned Georgetown President
James A. Ryder to found a medical program. Classes commenced in May 1851 and were only held at night until 1895. In 1852, the school awarded its first
medical doctorates. In 1898 the
Georgetown University Hospital was established. A dental department was created in 1901, which became independent of the School of Medicine in 1951 as the
School of Dentistry. In 1930, classes moved to the main campus. In July 2000, Georgetown University and MedStar Health, a not-for-profit organization of seven Baltimore and Washington hospitals, entered into a clinical partnership to provide management of clinical care and clinical education at Georgetown University Hospital. In 2004, the School of Medicine opened the Integrated Learning Center (ILC), which supports the School of Medicine's emphasis on a patient-centered, competence-based curriculum and provides the latest methods of clinical teaching and evaluation. ==Curriculum==