Catholic Online Colleges & Universities

Catholic colleges and universities have, for many years, offered the possibility of a private school education with a strong ethical focus at a relatively reasonable price. While a good percentage of the students at these schools have always been Roman Catholic, most of them also have a strong tradition of welcoming kids from all kinds of religious and ethnic backgrounds (at St. John's University in New York, for example, only about half the student body is Catholic). I actually attended a branch of Loyola University of Chicago (in Italy) for a half a year some time ago, and found it very open to a non-religious person like myself.

Individual Approaches
There are well over 200 Catholic colleges in the U.S., serving more than 650,000 students. They range from famous schools like Georgetown (the very first Catholic school in America, founded in 1789) to Our Lady Of The Lake University, a small Catholic school near San Antonio that is known better regionally than nationally. The schools are only loosely affiiliated. There are organizations like the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, which has a large membership of Catholic schools, and the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities, which represents the interests of 28 Jesuit schools. But generally, the Catholic schools each pursue their own education programs. You'll find that some Catholic schools integrate a quite a bit of religion into their degree programs, while others require little at all.

The Catholic Move to Online Teaching
Catholic schools, which are all non-profits, were not big movers and shakers in the initial stages if tge online teaching revolution. But they have begun to devote more resources to online degree programs. That's good news for two reasons: 1) tuitions at many of the schools are reasonable - not cheap exactly, but less than other private schools, and 2) many of these schools, like Duquesne, Regis and Gonzaga, enjoy national reputations. They're also quite old, which means they tend to have so many alumni spread around that you can regularly come across them in your job hunt after finishing school.

BENEDICTINE UNIVERSITY

Located near Chicago, this school is proud to call itself a "melting pot" of students from many different religious and philosphical backgrounds. It has a close relationship with the Benedictine order. The school has about 3,000 students, with a bit over 50% of them being female. More than promoting a strictly Roman Catholic viewpoint, the university aims to produce "informed and responsible citizens and leaders in the world community." It has six colleges. Benedictine's online degree programs are largely focused on business, but it does offer online degrees in several categories:
Business (24 different bachelor's and MBA programs in varied specialties, including several accelerated MBAs)
Education & Teaching (All master's degree programs)
Health Sciences
Social Sciences
Get information on Benedictine University

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY

Located in Spokane, WA since way back in 1887, Gonzaga is one of 28 higher learning schools in the U.S. associated with the Jesuits (it's named after Jesuit saint Aloysius Gonzaga). The school's curriculum does incorporate philosophy and religious study, but it's essentially a diverse liberal arts institution, with teaching in over 92 different subject areas. Its law school is well-known nationally, and the debating team has a strong reputation. It has a top-flight athletic program, and a wide range of student clubs and unions. Gonzaga's online teaching division offers master's degrees in:
Business (MA in organizational leadership)
Nursing (Includes an RN to MSN, nurse educator and health systems leadership degrees)
Get information on Gonzaga University

LEWIS UNIVERSITY

Illinois-based liberal arts school that was founded in 1932, which currently has just under 6,000 students and 80 different undergrad programs of study. Like many Catholic schools, Lewis pursues a mission of maximizing the development of the complete person. It's associated with the De La Salle Christian Brothers, and has colleges of arts & sciences, business, education, nursing & health professions and continuing education. The school has been favorably rated many times by both the U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review. It offers certificate programs and ten different master's degree programs online in:
MBA (Organizational leadership specialties)
Computers(Information security)
Education & Teaching
Nursing ( certificate programs and master's degrees in administration and education)
Science & Technology (Aviation)
Social Sciences (Masters in public administration)
Get information on Lewis University

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS

Loyola New Orleans is one of four Jesuit schools independently using the name "Loyola" (the others are in Chicago, Los Angeles and Baltimore). The school's website associates it closely with the multicultural and multi-national heritage of New Orleans, and highlights the long-held Jesuit tradition of rigorous critical thinking. Loyola NO's tuition is about $30,000 per year (again, not cheap, but reasonable for a private school). It's been ranked in the top ten of US News & World Report's "Great Schools Great Prices" category. Over 80% of it's 4,500 students receive financial aid, and the school's library is rated as one of the nation's top ten by The Princeton Review. Loyola New Orleans offers masters's degrees online in:
Nursing (MSN, health care systems managment)
Criminal Justice (Masters in forensics and administration)
Get information on Loyola University New Orleans

MARYLHURST UNIVERSITY

Marylhurst is a private not-for-profit Catholic school that promotes the fact that it is "open to men and women of any race or religion." The school has an interesting history. It was founded by a group of "Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary" who arrived in Portland, Oregon (where the school now operates) from Montreal, Canada - the sisters arrived in 1859, but didn't start the school until 1893. It was originally meant to education women from the northwest, and was called Marylhurst, which means "Mary's Woods." Today the school has about 2,000 students, and has been named several times as a "Best Value" college by US News & World Report. The cost per credit is a moderate $343., and more than half the students receive some form of financial aid. Marylhurst is particularly focused on accelerated online business degrees:
Business (Bachelors in real estate studies, management)
MBA (11 programs in energy policy, nonprofit management, finance and more)
Health Sciences (MBA in healthcare management)
Get information on Marylhurst University

OUR LADY OF THE LAKE UNIVERSITY
A small Catholic university in San Antonio that places a focus on diversity, claiming the highest percentage of Hispanic studnets for any American Catholic school if higher learning. The school also claims to leave students with low debt loads on graduation, partly because 90% of the student body receives some kind of scholarship or financial aid. It was founded in 1895 by a women's order called the Congregation of Divine Providence, which originated in France. Like many Catholic schools, OLLU promotes a combination of quality education and an approach that fosters spiritual and personal growth for students. Today it has about 2,600 undergraduate and graduate students. Our Lady of the Lake University offers one master's degree online in technology, which is certified by the National Security Agency:
Computers & IT (Master of science in information systems and security)
Get information on Our Lady of the Lake University

REGIS UNIVERSITY
Regis is one of the 28 American Jesuit schools. Located in Denver, CO, it has 14,000 students and three colleges: The College for Professional Studies, Regis College and the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions. As a Jesuit institution, Regis focuses not just on academics, but ethics, giving a particular importance to justice. According to the school's website" "Ours must be a dialogue, born of respect for people, especially the poor, in which we appreciate and share the values of their culture and offer our own treasures." The school has long encouraged students to engage in community service. It has been rated several times as a top school in the western U.S. by U.S. News & World Report. Comedian Bill Murray is among the school's alumni. Regis offers online bachelor's and master's degrees. It's distance learning programs have some strong concentration in business and technology:
Communication
Business (MS, organization leadership, MBA's in financial analysis, health care & other areas)
Computers & IT (11 degree programs in computer systems, software engineering, information assurance & more)
Health Sciences (MBA health leadership)
Criminal Justice (Bachelor or master in criminology)
Get information on Regis University