The Catholic University of America
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
Your Story Begins Here
The Catholic University of America is unique among universities in the United States—even among Catholic universities. And it’s not just because we're located in Washington, D.C.—a city of global significance and a place of extraordinary educational opportunity. We are a national research university in the heart of the nation's capital and we are rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition.
Our university was founded by the Catholic bishops of the United States, with a charter from then Pope Leo XIII, to be the national university of the Catholic Church in America. For more than 130 years, we have lived out our mission to discover and impart the truth through excellence in teaching and research. Catholic University scholars in all fields embrace both reason and faith as they apply the inexhaustible resources of the Catholic intellectual tradition to solve contemporary issues and enrich the culture around us.
The School of Engineering
As technology advances, so does the need for ethical engineers. In Catholic University's School of Engineering, we bring leading-edge research into the classroom and educate students to be principled leaders who use their newly developed skills to serve others—from designing robotics and prosthetics that restore function to the wounded and infirm to developing the next generation of high-capacity, high-performance batteries needed to make electric vehicles and other large-scale systems both more efficient, cost effective, and environmentally friendly. And whether your eye is drawn to civil, biomedical, electrical, environmental, or mechanical engineering or computer science, you’ll have the tools and the technology to take your ideas further than you could ever imagine. Many of our graduates have gone on to become the 'go-to' solution creators and thinkers in their field, from academia to government to private business.
The School of Arts and Sciences
Think of the School of Arts and Sciences as the liberal arts college embedded within Catholic University. We're very diverse in our fields of study, but we're united in acknowledging the origin of our existence, the divine source of the natural law that's encoded in our hearts, and in the pursuit of truth.
All of our disciplines—arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences—constitute a circle of knowledge where we're all connected through our common effort to try to uncover the truth in various ways. Each area of study is rooted in the belief that the ordered universe is the foundation of all research and knowledge. Our 17 departments and seven interdisciplinary programs are perpetually in pursuit of excellence, and devoted to discovering how to better serve our fellow human beings.
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Recognized as a 2023–2024 College of Distinction |
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Recognized as a Catholic College of Distinction |
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Recognized as a College of Distinction in Washington, DC |
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Ranked #8 among The Best 388 Colleges for "Most Engaged in Community Service" | The Princeton Review |
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Ranked #21 among the "Best Green Colleges in the US" | College Consensus |
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Ranked #87 among the "Best Value Schools in the Nation" | U.S. News & World Report, 2024 |
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Named among the "Best Catholic Colleges," "Best Colleges in America," "Best Private Universities in America," and "Best Colleges in Washington, D.C." | Niche |
“I was immediately drawn to Catholic from the moment I stepped on campus. I could tell there was something special and that it was more than just a university, it really was a family.”
“As a politics student, there's no place like Washington, D.C., to live and learn. The opportunities to gain professional experience off campus with internship opportunities have been invaluable to my student experience.”
“I've made excellent friends in all grades and majors. And the professors are gems who care about their students and are great teachers and scholars. This is simply an open and welcoming and cheerful place.”