2023 Best Online Catholic Colleges

Saint Leo University Online is one of the largest Catholic higher education institutions in Florida, with a student body of over 18,000. Over 70 online programs at the associate, bachelor’s, and graduate levels include majors such as Computer Science, Criminal Justice, Education, Human Resources, Religion, Sociology, and Emergency Management. Saint Leo believes in supporting students holistically. Therefore, it provides academic support services, such as tutoring, access to library resources, and appointments with student success coaches to online students and mental health counseling as well.

Located in St. Paul, Minnesota, St. Catherine University (St. Kate’s) is a small, women’s-only institution steeped in the social teachings of the Catholic faith. This Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving university has a total enrollment of 3,915 and offers online degrees at the associate, bachelor’s, and graduate levels.

St. Kate’s has four schools, including health sciences, business, humanities, and nursing. Students can select from majors such as Healthcare Management, RN-BSN Completion, Psychology, Accounting, and Business Management. Certificates in the fields of accounting, community health, holistic health, and school library media are also available. Online student support services include career development, access to library resources, and tutoring.

As the nation’s largest Catholic university, Chicago-based DePaul University serves over 21,000 students across all degree levels, as of 2020. DePaul offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees, degree completions for transfer students, and certificates.

Students can choose from popular undergraduate majors, such as Business Administration, Communication and Media Studies, Decision Analytics, Information Technology, and Writing Rhetoric. Online graduate majors include Education, Nursing, Nurse Practitioner, Software Engineering, and Public Administration. DePaul supports its distance learners by offering online student support services, such as access to the career center, student bookstore, and library.

Midwestern Siena Heights University (SHU) is located in Michigan, but its online programs have a global reach. Serving approximately 2,300 students, Adrian Dominican Sisters-sponsored SHU offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees in diverse majors. These include Community and Human Services, RN to BSN, Public Services Administration, Healthcare Leadership, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and Higher Education Leadership. Online students can opt for classes with seven-week sessions so they may graduate in a year. SHU provides online students support services to its distance learners, such as career help, access to library resources, I.T. support, and academic advising.

Located in the North Dakota capital of Bismark, the rural University of Saint Mary currently educates over 3,700 students in the Catholic Benedictine tradition. It offers online undergraduate and graduate degrees in six fields: business, behavior sciences, arts and humanities, health sciences, education, and Catholic professionals.

Students can enroll in majors such as Addiction Counseling, School Counseling, Music, Philosophy, Respiratory Therapy, LPN to BSN, Elementary Education, and MBAs in Philanthropy and Virtuous Leadership. The University of Mary also offers an accelerated BSN second degree program so students can transfer credits and potentially finish in a little over a year. Online academic support includes services such as tutoring, writing help, library and bookstore access, and career preparation.