History
The engineering program was established in 1896, soon after the founding of The Catholic University of America. The School of Engineering was formally established as a separate school in 1930 and was shortly thereafter renamed the School of Engineering and Architecture. In 1992, the School of Engineering and Architecture separated and became the School of Engineering and the School of Architecture and Planning. Prior to 1950, the primary focus of the school was on undergraduate professional programs, although graduate programs had always been offered. However, research activity and graduate professional offerings have increased at a steady rate since 1950. Today the School of Engineering offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in six academic programs, as well as master's degrees in Engineering Management, Materials Science and Engineering, and Data Analytics. The school prides itself on being a small, Catholic engineering school that provides quality education with a personal touch.
Students can expect close interaction with faculty, small class sizes, a small student-to-teacher ratio, and a faculty dedicated to teaching and research. All members of the full-time faculty hold doctoral degrees and are very active in funded research and scholarly publication.
The school's strong ties with local research institutions such as NASA, NIH, NIST, NRL etc., foster research collaborations and enable our faculty to bring research experience into the classroom. Students can benefit from research assistantships from funded research projects.
Mission
To discover and impart the truth through excellence in engineering teaching, research, and service while providing a personalized and caring environment in which faculty, staff, and students realize their full potential.
Vision
The Catholic University of America’s School of Engineering attracts people who care. Our students learn and grow in an environment where faculty, staff, and fellow students care about not just academic success but about one another as persons, and about the challenges facing humanity in an ever-more connected and complex world. The past century has seen a tremendous growth in technology, bringing huge improvements in the human condition but also bringing dangers and unforeseen consequences, as our ability to affect one another and our world becomes magnified by scientific progress and technical innovation. For humanity to flourish in the twenty-first century, tomorrow’s leaders will need to understand not only how to solve technical problems, but how to see those problems in broad context, and how to think deeply about the moral, ethical, and social issues that relate to technological advances. The Catholic University of America School of Engineering cultivates minds that are motivated to place analytical and technical knowledge at the service of others, and create engineering solutions to problems and new ways of thinking for the common good. Our efforts reflect Pope Francis’s call for sustainable development that honors the dignity of each person and embraces our responsibility to care for one another and for the world that is our common home.