Catholic University of America Overview
Catholic University of America is a private not-for-profit institution situated in Washington, District of Columbia. Washington is a great location for students who prefer city over country life.
What Is Catholic University of America Known For?
- Students at CUA may have an easier time interacting with their teachers since the student to faculty ratio at the school is 7 to 1.
- Students at CUA have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 2%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
- The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at CUA.
- In 2017-2018, 52% of the faculty were full-time.
- After graduation, CUA bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $56,800 a year. That's about 39% more than their peers at other schools.
- On average, it takes about 4.1 years for students from CUA to earn a bachelor's degree. This is excellent when compared to the average of 4.4 years.
Featured schools near , edit

Catholic University of America Rankings
Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.
Program Level Awards
These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at CUA.
Awards From Around the Web
The following table lists some notable awards CUA has earned from around the web.
Rank | Ranking Name | Source |
---|---|---|
#15 | Best Colleges for Teacher Education Grade Specific | College Factual |
#19 | Best Teaching Schools | Teaching Degree Search |
#38 | Best Colleges for General Psychology | College Factual |
#41 | Best Colleges for Psychology | College Factual |
#54 | Best Colleges for Nursing | College Factual |
#79 | Best Colleges for Education | College Factual |
Where Is Catholic University of America?

Contact details for CUA are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 620 Michigan Avenue, Ne, Washington, DC 20064 |
Phone: | 202-319-5000 |
Website: | https://www.catholic.edu |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/CatholicUniversity |
Twitter: | http://twitter.com/CatholicUniv |
How Do I Get Into CUA?
You can apply to CUA online at: https://applyonline.cua.edu/
Admission Requirements for CUA
Submission | Required? |
---|---|
High School GPA | required |
High School Rank | recommended |
High School Transcript | required |
College Prep Program | required |
Recommendations | required |
SAT or ACT Scores | neither required nor recommended |
TOEFL | required |
How Hard Is It To Get Into CUA?
Approximately 40% of accepted students are men and 60% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 80%, and the acceptance rate for women is 85%.
Can I Afford Catholic University of America?
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.
Student Loan Debt
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At CUA, approximately 61% of students took out student loans averaging $9,719 a year. That adds up to $38,876 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at CUA is 2.5%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Catholic University of America Undergraduate Student Diversity

There are also 2,624 graduate students at the school.
Gender Diversity
Of the 3,198 full-time undergraduates at CUA, 47% are male and 53% are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity
The racial-ethnic breakdown of Catholic University of America students is as follows.

Race/Ethnicity | Number of Grads |
---|---|
Asian | 129 |
Black or African American | 116 |
Hispanic or Latino | 439 |
White | 2,118 |
International Students | 176 |
Other Races/Ethnicities | 220 |
Geographic Diversity
District of Columbia students aren't the only ones who study at Catholic University of America. At this time, 34 states are represented by the student population at the school.
Over 75 countries are represented at CUA. The most popular countries sending students to the school are Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and China.
Online Learning at Catholic University of America
The following chart shows how the online learning population at CUA has changed over the last few years.

This school is the 5th most popular in District of Columbia for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2017-2018.
Online Growth Rankings of CUA
The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at Catholic University of America was 4.7%. This is the #1,696 largest growth rate of all schools that are only partially online. This refers to all students at CUA regardless of major.
The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of CUA majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.
Major | 1-Year Growth Rate |
---|---|
Business, Management & Marketing | 15% |
Health Professions | 9% |
Nursing | 9% |
Public Administration & Social Service | 13% |
Social Work | 13% |
The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at CUA ranks compared to all other partially online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at CUA.
Major | Growth Rate Rank | |
---|---|---|
Human Resource Management | #105 | |
Nursing | #369 |
When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.
Catholic University of America Undergraduate Concentrations
The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.
References
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
- College Factual
- National Center for Education Statistics
- Image Credit: By Gryffindor under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
![]() |
Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs. Learn More > |