Catholic Higher Education FAQs
• What was the first Catholic college or university in the United States?
• How many Catholic colleges are in the United States?
• How many students are enrolled?
• What is the male: female ratio of students on Catholic college campuses?
• How many students at Catholic higher education institutions are Catholic?
• How diverse is Catholic higher education?
• What is the average tuition at a Catholic college/university?
• How much financial aid do students at Catholic institutions typically receive?
• How does enrollment in a Catholic elementary or high school affect undergraduate enrollment in a Catholic university or college?
• Do Catholic colleges and universities enjoy sizable endowment levels?
• How financially stable are Catholic colleges and universities?
• How many students study abroad at Catholic colleges and universities? Do international students enroll in Catholic institutions?
• Are there any two-year Catholic colleges?
What was the first Catholic college or university in the United States?
Georgetown University, founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 and operated by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), was the first Catholic institution of higher education in the United States.
How many Catholic colleges are in the United States?
The National Center for Education Statistics identified 226 Catholic institutions participating in federal student financial aid programs in 2018-19. These numbers exclude seminaries. There are several other Catholic colleges that do not participate in these programs, with a total of about 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.
Of the 226 reporting colleges and universities:
• 197 are degree-granting and 11 offer postsecondary programs that do not result in an associate degree or higher.
• 19 institutions grant only associate degrees.
• 2 institutions grant only graduate degrees.
How many students are enrolled?
About 700,000 students were enrolled in Catholic higher education in 2019-20, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. On average, Catholic colleges and universities had a student body population of 3,083 students and median of 2,015 students. Seventy-three percent of Catholic institutions had a student body population of more than 1,000 students, but only 12 institutions had more than 10,000 students, making most Catholic colleges and universities small to mid-sized.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Data Analysis System
What is the male: female ratio of students on Catholic college campuses?
Overall, 62 percent of students on Catholic campuses identified as female and 38 percent identified as male in 2019 -20, as compared to 59 percent of students in all of higher education identifying as female and 41 percent of students identifying as male.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Data Analysis System
How many students at Catholic higher education institutions are Catholic?
The Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) surveys college freshman each year. The 2019 report included data from 35 Catholic colleges and universities, representing about 14 percent of all participating institutions. Less than a quarter of all college freshmen at four-year institutions identify as Catholic; 47 percent of freshmen at Catholic institutions identified as Roman Catholic.
Catholic Religious Identification of the First-Year Class and Parents/Guardians: 2015-2017
| |
2016 |
2017 |
2019 |
| |
Student |
Parent/
Guardian 1
|
Parent/
Guardian 2
|
Student |
Parent/
Guardian 1
|
Parent/
Guardian 2
|
Student |
Parent/
Guardian 1
|
Parent/
Guardian 2
|
| Four-year Catholic Colleges |
50.6% |
53.7% |
53.3% |
43.4% |
46.3% |
45.9% |
46.7% |
49.8% |
48.9% |
| All Institutions |
23.4% |
28.7% |
28.9% |
23.5% |
28.4% |
28.4% |
20.8% |
26.1% |
25.9% |
Source: The American Freshman: National Norms for Fall 2016, 2017 and 2019
How diverse is Catholic higher education?
Catholic institutions enjoy a racially and ethnically diverse student body population, enrolling students from the local community and across the world, as shown here:
On average, 96 percent of students enrolled at Catholic institutions receive any kind of financial aid, with an average amount of $20,742 per student in 2017-2018. Almost 91 percent of students at Catholic institutions also received institutional aid.
Source: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Data Analysis System
According to the authors of American Catholics Today: New Realities of their Faith and their Church, 42 percent of all Catholics who attended a Catholic college completed all or most of their education at Catholic schools (p. 160). The authors also state that 79 percent of current Catholic attendees at a Catholic college or university said they had attended a Catholic elementary school, and 65 percent had attended a Catholic high school. For more information about Catholic elementary and secondary schools, visit the website of the National Catholic Educational Association.
Do Catholic colleges and universities enjoy sizable endowment levels?
According to the federal IPEDS database, the average value of endowment assets for Catholic institutions at the beginning of the 2020 fiscal year was about $194 million. The median endowment asset for Catholic colleges and universities was $40.4 million.
How financially stable are Catholic colleges and universities?
In 2016-17, 97 percent of Catholic colleges and universities were identified as financially responsible and healthy by the U.S. Department of Education.
How many students study abroad at Catholic colleges and universities? Do international students enroll in Catholic institutions?
Catholic colleges and universities have a large number of students studying abroad and frequently host international students. According to the Institute of International Education, about 95 Catholic colleges and universities had at least ten students studying abroad in 2017-18, with about 27,600 students combined. Over 100 Catholic institutions enroll ten or more international students a year, with about 38,000 international students combined.
Are there any two-year Catholic colleges?
Most Catholic colleges are four-year institutions that also offer two-year degree programs, but ACCU includes several traditional two-year institutions among its membership, such as Ancilla Domini College, Assumption College for Sisters, and Chatfield College. In addition, several Catholic health science institutions offer two-year degree programs. Other Catholic universities have specific colleges within their institution offering two-year degrees, such as Arrupe College at Loyola University Chicago and Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas (MN).
Have a question not answered here? Please contact ACCU.