The Catholic University of America

The Catholic University of America is a private, non-profit Catholic university located in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by the U.S. Catholic bishops.

Established in 1887 as a graduate and research center following approval by Pope Leo XIII on Easter Sunday, the university began offering undergraduate education in 1904. The university's campus lies within the Brookland neighborhood, known as "Little Rome", which contains 60 Catholic institutions, including Trinity Washington University and the Dominican House of Studies, as well as the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

It has been ranked as one of the nation's best colleges by the Princeton Review, one of the best values of any private school in the country by Kiplinger's, "one of the most eco-friendly universities in the country", and was awarded the "highest federal recognition an institution can receive" for community service.