Catholic Distance University

Last updated
Catholic Distance University
Catholic Distance University Seal.png
Other name
CDU
MottoGaudium de veritate
Motto in English
Joy from the Truth
Type Private online university
Established1983;40 years ago (1983)
Religious affiliation
Roman Catholic
Chancellor Archbishop Timothy Broglio
President Dr. Maria Sophia Aguirre
Academic staff
39
Students750
Location, ,
United States
CampusOnline
Colors Red, blue, black    
Website cdu.edu

Catholic Distance University (CDU) is a private online Roman Catholic university based in Charles Town, West Virginia. [1] A number of Catholic dioceses partner with CDU to educate those serving in parish ministry. [2]

Contents

History

Catholic Distance University was established in 1983 in the Arlington diocese by Bishop Thomas Jerome Welsh. [3] In 2015, the university relocated its headquarters to Charles Town, West Virginia, as part of its strategic vision. CDU offers an accredited bachelor's degree program in theology, a master's degree in theology, a master's degree in theology and educational ministry, graduate certificates, undergraduate certificates, a catechetical diploma, and a variety of catechetical certificates. In fall 2023, the university began offering an AA degree in Liberal Arts taught completely in Spanish. As of Fall 2023, CDU is the only emerging Hispanic-serving institution of higher education in the state of West Virginia. The university's programs are offered completely online; CDU offered its first online program in 2000. [4] According to Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, in the academic year 2007–2008, CDU was the top Lay Ecclesial Ministry Program by number of enrollments. [5]

Presidents

In 2003, Paul Loverde became the university president as Thomas Jerome Welsh, the university's founder, became chairman emeritus. Loverde was succeeded by Marianne Evans Mount in 2008. [6]

Academics

Catholic Distance University currently offers the Associate of Arts, Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Arts. It also offers undergraduate and graduate certificates and non-degree programs. All of the degree and certificate programs focus on theology, liberal arts, philosophy, Catholic social teaching, and related subjects.

Accreditation and affiliations

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission authorized Catholic Distance University to operate as a degree-granting institution of higher education in West Virginia. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission with its Graduate School of Theology accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. [6]

In March 2015 the university was also approved for membership in the International Federation of Catholic Universities on the recommendation of Catholic University of America and Australian Catholic University. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doctor of Divinity</span> Holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity

A Doctor of Divinity is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.

B. H. Carroll Theological Institute is an accredited Christian Baptist institution in Irving, Texas with multiple sources of funding and a self-perpetuating board of governors. It is named after Benajah Harvey Carroll and teaches Baptist principles and practices. It operates in cooperation primarily with Baptist churches, and also cooperates with other Great Commission Christians. The institution offers classes in both conventional classroom settings and by innovative means. It trains students in "“teaching churches” located in multiple Texas cities, as well as through interactive lessons taught over the Internet", with 20 such "teaching churches" in operation throughout Texas as of November 2006. The school plans to focus on the use of distance education to make it easier for students to obtain theological education. As of 2006, the school's second year of operation, B. H. Carroll Theological Institute had 300 students taking courses and an additional 300 students auditing courses. Bruce Corley was Carroll's first president; Gene Wilkes is Carroll's second president.

Appalachian Bible College is a private Christian Bible college in Mount Hope, West Virginia. While unaffiliated with any particular denomination, it generally serves independent churches within the fundamental Bible and Baptist associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic School of Theology</span>

Atlantic School of Theology (AST) is a Canadian public ecumenical university that provides graduate level theological education and undertakes research to assist students to prepare for Christian ministries and other forms of public leadership. It is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and its enrolment is approximately 160 degree and non-degree students. Persons of all religious traditions, or none, are welcome to study at AST.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington</span> Latin Catholic jurisdiction in the United States

The Diocese of Arlington is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Northern Virginia in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The Cathedral of St. Thomas More is the mother church of the diocese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church Divinity School of the Pacific</span> Episcopal Church seminary in California, U.S.

Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It one of nine seminaries U.S. Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, CDSP has, since 1911, been designated the official seminary of the Episcopal Church's Eighth Province, the Province west of the Rocky Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryvale Institute</span>

Maryvale Institute is a college of further and higher education, an International Catholic Distance-Learning College for Catechesis, Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education in Old Oscott, Great Barr, Birmingham, England. It specialises in the provision of part-time, distance learning courses to the lay faithful, consecrated religious and ministers of the Roman Catholic Church.

Atlantic University is an American private non-profit distance education institution of higher and continuing education in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The university is associated with Edgar Cayce's Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.), and its administrative offices are in the Don and Nancy de Laski Education Center on the main A.R.E. campus. The university is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which is a member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), for its distance education and hybrid programs. The university also maintains licensure with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Loverde</span> American prelate of the Catholic Church (born 1940)

Paul Stephen Loverde is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. Loverde served as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia from 1998 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of the Assumption</span>

The University of the Assumption (U.A.) is a private archdiocesan Catholic university in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, Philippines. The University of the Assumption is the first Catholic archdiocesan university in the Philippines and in Asia. It is among the top schools in the region, based on its accredited programs, and licensure and professional examination results.

Thomas Jerome Welsh was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania (1970-1974), as bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia (1974–1983) and as bishop of the Diocese of Allentown in Pennsylvania (1983–1997).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John's Seminary (Massachusetts)</span>

Saint John's Seminary, located in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, is a Catholic major seminary sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston.

The Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), is a Seventh-day Adventist graduate institution located in the Philippines, offering graduate degrees in Business, Education, Public health, and Theology. It is a part of the Seventh-day Adventist education system, the world's second largest Christian school system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Management and Technology (Virginia)</span> Private university in the United States

The University of Management and Technology (UMT) is a private for-profit online university headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. It was founded in 1998 and offers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees as well as certificate programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint John Vianney Seminary (Denver)</span> Catholic seminary in Denver

Saint John Vianney Theological Seminary is a Catholic seminary in Denver, Colorado, dedicated to Saint John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. It is located at 1300 South Steele Street in the Cory-Merrill neighborhood of Denver, on the campus of the St. John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization. Founded in 1999, St. John Vianney is run by the Archdiocese of Denver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Charles Borromeo Seminary</span>

Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, that is under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The oldest Catholic institution of higher learning in the Philadelphia region, the school is named after Charles Borromeo, an Italian saint from the Counter-Reformation. As of April 2022, Auxiliary Bishop Timothy C. Senior was president of Saint Charles.

The John Leland Center for Theological Studies is a Baptist theological institute in Arlington, Virginia, with several satellite locations elsewhere in Virginia. Leland is partnered with the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, though the center has ties with a range of denominations and churches. Leland is a member of the Washington Theological Consortium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augustine Institute</span> American Catholic theology graduate school

The Augustine Institute (AI), located in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States, is a private Catholic graduate theology school that offers master's degree programs. In addition, the Institute produces catechetical videos, records audio drama productions, publishes books, and distributes Catholic media materials. It is also the exclusive Catholic publisher of the ESV Catholic Edition Bible in North America.

Saint Mary Seminary and Graduate School of Theology in Wickliffe, Ohio, is a Roman Catholic seminary that serves the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. It was established in 1848 by the first bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, Louis Amadeus Rappe.

References

  1. "The Catholic Distance University". Thenewmanguide.com. 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  2. Catholic Online (2011-03-27). "Arlington Diocese partners with Catholic Distance University – Prwire – Catholic Online". Catholic.org. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  3. Flach, Mike. "Diocese's founding bishop remembered for personal touch – The Arlington Catholic Herald". Catholicherald.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-07. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  4. "CDU History". Cdu.edu. Archived from the original on 2012-03-25. Retrieved 2012-06-12.
  5. Gautier, Mary L., Ph.D. (April 2008). "Catholic Ministry Formation Enrollments: Statistical Overview for 2007–2008" (PDF). Washington, DC: Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, Georgetown University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2012-12-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 "CDU History". Catholic Distance University. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  7. "2015 Annual Report". Catholic Distance University. Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.