A National Research University in the Heart of the Nation's Capital in the Catholic Intellectual Tradition. The Catholic University of America is unique among universities in the United States — even among Catholic universities. And it’s not just because we're located in Washington, D.C. — a city of global significance and a place of extraordinary educational opportunity. Our university was founded by the Catholic bishops of the United States, with a charter from then Pope Leo XIII, to be the national university of the Catholic Church in America. For more than 130 years, we have lived out our mission to discover and impart the truth through excellence in teaching and research. Catholic University scientists, engineers, nurses, philosophers, theologians, historians, architects, social workers, musicians, artists, and scholars in all fields embrace both reason and faith as they apply the inexhaustible resources of the Catholic intellectual tradition to help solve the problems of contemporary life and enrich the culture around us. Catholic University is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., a city of politics, parades, festivals, museums (did we mention most of them are free?), professional sports, theater, concerts, shopping, parks, restaurants, monuments, waterways, and trendy neighborhoods. For every area of academic pursuit at Catholic University, there are stories of students finding ways to connect, to make a difference, to open doors, and to have an impact here in the heart of our nation’s culture. These are just a few examples: A psychology student interned at the D.C. Homeland Security and Management Agency and the Washington Regional Threat Analysis Center, an experience she describes as "once in a lifetime". A Master of Science in Business Analysis student interned at Amtrak then went right from graduation to a full-time job as interactive media coordinator at Amtrak. A Ph.D. student in astrophysics flew around the world in an airborne observatory as part of a project on NASA’s Boeing 747SP. A student studying theology and Spanish for International Services interned at the Embassy of Ecuador, the Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. Students in the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art participated in a workshop with the world-renowned Sistine Chapel Choir.