Catholic University of America
The Catholic University of America (CUA) seeks to give students a liberal education inspired by the Catholic intellectual tradition, while also thriving as a major research university. Located in Washington, D.C., CUA boasts both a pleasant campus and easy access to the nation’s capital.
CUA’s official policy states that the university “values and defends the right of free speech” and “the freedom of members of the University community to express themselves on University property,” within reasonable boundaries of decorum, including the law and other relevant policies. However, in one instance in 2020, the university suspended a professor for social-media posts criticizing prominent Democratic politicians. This prompted the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) to send CUA a letter of complaint, which went unanswered.
The school does not have a traditional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) office but, until recently, did house a smaller Center for Cultural Engagement (CCE). The center was disbanded in May 2025 and merged with the Office of Campus Activities. Time will tell how CUA approaches its diversity initiatives in the future. Among the stated goals of the CCE was to “support the university’s efforts to increase the diversity of its student population.” It is unclear how this objective relates to CUA’s official policy of not discriminating based on race in the admissions process, but perhaps without a formal CCE the university will focus on merit. Programs within the university such as the law school and the School of Performing Arts have committees more overtly committed to “anti-racism,” “diversity,” and “equity.” The Sister Thea Bowman Committee, formed in 2020 to write a major 2021 report to advance an equity agenda, is no longer active, but its recommendations likely remain operative.
Offsetting these concerning signs of speech policing and DEI, the university offers a strong curriculum centered on a required liberal arts core. That core consists of about 15 courses in philosophy, theology, English, social sciences, natural sciences, history, and fine arts. Instruction in these courses, unsurprisingly, emphasizes Catholic teaching.
The honors program at CUA provides an even stronger academic experience for the university’s brightest students. Honors students enjoy priority class registration, honors housing, more personalized mentoring and instruction from professors, and expanded research opportunities and exposure to events in Washington. An honors track program each fall affords honors students the chance to study at CUA’s center in Rome. For-credit internships are also available. Honors classes are taught by CUA’s premier faculty in intimate seminar settings. Through these courses, students approach such subjects as the Christian tradition, Aristotelian philosophy, and the evolution of Catholic thought in an interdisciplinary manner, building toward a capstone seminar in which students write thesis papers.
While CUA offers many resources and perks on top of a sound curriculum, it does not rank highly as an efficient educational investment. College Factual puts CUA at number 2,139 on its National Value ranking of universities, deeming it “overpriced” at an average annual cost of $46,460. However, 98 percent of first-year students receive scholarships or grants—including merit-based awards—from CUA, and retention and graduation rates are higher than the national average. CUA has a smaller alumni network than some other Catholic schools (Notre Dame, Boston College); but likely due to its location, it may have an outsize alumni presence in the capital city, especially in fields like politics and law. The average starting salary of CUA graduates is considerably above the national average.