Roman Catholic Colleges

The Roman Catholic Church, also referred to as the Catholic Church, is the oldest and largest Christian Church comprising over half of all Christians and an estimated one-sixth of the global population. The church is led by the pope, who resides in the Vatican. In the US, over 65 million residents are estimated to consider themselves Roman Catholic, which is the fourth largest population of Catholics in the world.

Roman Catholic Higher Education Overview

The history of Catholic higher education in the US dates to the founding of Georgetown University in 1789. There are now more than 200 Catholic colleges and universities in the US with over 700,000 students. The diversity in these schools is large: enrollments range from less than 1000 to over 20,000; locations include large cities and small towns; some are women's colleges; some are major universities with law, medical, and other professional schools; and several grant pontifical degrees. Some institutions are directly linked to a diocese or a Catholic religious order while others are run by boards of trustees made of lay people.