R2 ResearchPrivate nonprofit

The Catholic University of America

Washington, District of Columbia·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Mid East·catholic.edu
6-yr Graduation
79%
+4.0pp vs R2 Research
Total enrollment
5,243
peer median 6,468
Avg net price
$32,798
-$751 vs R2 Research
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
6,714
6,714 candidates competed
Admitted
5,558
82.8% acceptance rate
Enrolled
742
13.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
79%+4.0pp vs R2 Research
4-year graduation
73%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
79%
Full-time retention
87%

Pell equity

11.0pp gap
Pell recipients
68%
Non-Pell
79%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 11.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 127 Title IV programs, 27 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 100 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
127
Passing
27
21.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

127programs
  • Passing27 · 21.3%
  • No Data100 · 78.7%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
26
No data
100

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

27
Theology and Religious Vocations Other
Master's Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+15.2%
$51,318 vs $44,535
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+32.5%
$46,123 vs $34,808
Philosophy
Bachelor Degree · Philosophy And Religious Studies
+41.9%
$49,378 vs $34,808
Social Work
First Professional Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+47.4%
$68,031 vs $46,158
Religion/Religious Studies
Bachelor Degree · Philosophy And Religious Studies
+51.2%
$52,638 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+51.8%
$52,846 vs $34,808
History
Bachelor Degree · History
+52.2%
$52,980 vs $34,808
Theological and Ministerial Studies
Master's Degree · Theology And Religious Vocations
+52.7%
$68,008 vs $44,535

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

22
Law
First Professional Degree · Legal Professions And Studies
131%
$148,230 debt · $112,809 earn
Social Work
First Professional Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
102%
$69,036 debt · $68,031 earn
Music
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
59%
$26,967 debt · $46,123 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
54%
$61,500 debt · $114,102 earn
Religion/Religious Studies
Bachelor Degree · Philosophy And Religious Studies
51%
$27,000 debt · $52,638 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
49%
$26,000 debt · $52,846 earn
Business/Commerce General
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
48%
$50,203 debt · $103,834 earn
Library Science and Administration
First Professional Degree · Library Science
48%
$36,920 debt · $76,685 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1921Next review Jan 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 11

Action history · 13

  1. Jun 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools · Theology (THEOL) - Freestanding schools, as well as programs affiliated with larger institutions, offering graduate professional education for ministry and graduate study of theology
  2. Jan 2022Grant Substantive Change: Other
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  3. Oct 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
  4. Jul 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Clinical Psychology (CLPSY) - PhD Doctoral programs
  5. Jun 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$22,216
$30–48k$19,709
$48–75k$25,667
$75–110k$31,131
$110k+$39,898

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$32,798
-$751vs R2 Research median $33,549
Federal loans
48.5%
In-state tuition
$55,834
Out-of-state
$55,834

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 869 students received $5.1M in Pell grants, alongside $37.0M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
869
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.1M
$5,120,913 total
Direct Loans
$37.0M
3,464 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$4.2M
998 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$5.8M
1,410 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$9.4M
510 loan awards
Parent PLUS$7.7M
265 loan awards
Grad PLUS$9.9M
281 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 1,144 borrowers who entered repayment, 14 (1.2%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.2%
-1.1pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,144
Defaulted
14
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.5%
2017
2.8%
2018
2.4%
2019
1.2%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Catholic

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs145
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,005 total completions
01Business
17717.6%
02Legal Professions
14314.2%
03Theology
10410.3%
04Health Professions
10210.1%
05Psychology
959.5%
06Engineering
898.9%
07Public Admin
767.6%
08Social Sciences
767.6%
09Visual/Performing Arts
737.3%
10Architecture
707.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
5,243
12-mo unduplicated
5,618
Undergraduate
3,248
Graduate
2,370

Gender split

Men
47%2,658
Women
53%2,960

Race / ethnicity composition

White
57.6%
Hispanic
19.4%
Black
9.3%
Two or more
4.6%
Non-resident
3.1%
Asian
3.0%
Unknown
2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.0%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
668
381 M · 287 W
Women athletes
43.0%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$5.4M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$56K
$53K
Head-coach salaries
$55K
$52K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
95 M · 84 W
$282K
Football
105 M ·
$586K
Lacrosse
49 M · 29 W
$369K
Rowing
30 M · 37 W
$315K
Soccer
34 M · 33 W
$288K
Swimming and Diving (combined)
31 M · 31 W
$159K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
7.65
38 offenses · 4,968 students

3-year trend

2.982 yrs ago2.171 yr ago7.65Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
65
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
14
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Robbery
11
Motor vehicle theft
11
Rape
6
Burglary
3
Fondling
3
Murder
2
Aggravated assault
2

By location

38total
  • On campus9
  • Non-campus2
  • Public property27

Includes 7 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
2
Stalking
3 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons20
Drugs036
Liquor0255

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
11.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
312

Catholic vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Catholic selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectThe Catholic University of America
79%5,243$32,798R2 Research
Howard University
70%41.3%14,890$47,919R2 Research
American University
75%62.0%12,321$41,945R2 Research
Teachers College at Columbia University
4,401R2 Research
Clarkson University
75%77.4%3,348$31,955R2 Research
Lehigh University
88%25.9%7,692$33,549R2 Research
Peer group median75%51.7%6,468$33,549

Frequently asked questions about The Catholic University of America

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Catholic.

What is the graduation rate at The Catholic University of America?

The Catholic University of America reports a 6-year graduation rate of 79% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend The Catholic University of America?

The Catholic University of America reports a total enrollment of 5,243 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at The Catholic University of America?

The average net price at The Catholic University of America is $32,798 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at The Catholic University of America?

The Catholic University of America's yield rate is 13.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is The Catholic University of America located?

The Catholic University of America is located in Washington, District of Columbia 20064.

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