The Cardinal Newman Society was founded in 1993 to, in his own words, “help renew and strengthen Catholic identity in Catholic higher education.”
Recently, a big controversy has risen and people seek to know if the Cardinal Newman Society is worthy to recommend colleges for students.
The question is most Catholic parents seem to ask is: should we judge Catholic institutions by a restricted set of criteria imposed by a self-proclaimed orthodox judge?
This debate about the promotion of Catholic higher education has been on the rise.
This article will clearly explain what you’ve to know about the Cardinal Newman Society and the different colleges they recommend.
About Cardinal Newman Society
The Cardinal Newman Society is a Catholic nonprofit organization for religious and educational purposes supported by individuals, businesses, and foundations.
This body came into existence since the year 1993, and since then they have been upholding their mission.
The Cardinal Newman Society is to promote and defend faithful Catholic education. They majorly respond to the needs of Catholic families and educators by:
The Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) says its mission is “to help renew and strengthen Catholic identity in Catholic higher education.” Yes, that may be true, but many members of the clergy, Catholic university staff, students, and laymen do not identify with the organization’s vision as a Catholic identity.
Some, like the National Catholic Reporter, have pointed out the stark contrast between Cardinal Newman, the man, and the society that bears his name: “the most unhappily and inappropriately named society on the planet.”
The Cardinal Newman Society devotes its energy to reporting alleged violations of dogma in Catholic universities, creating negative publicity primarily by launching letter-writing campaigns and posting petitions online.
Newman Society Catholic Curriculum Standards
The Catholic Curriculum Standards are intended primarily as a general resource for Catholic school curriculum designers, superintendents, and others familiar with creating programs and standards.
However, anyone interested in a Catholic education can find them helpful. Those who interact with the standards are encouraged to choose any or all of the standards that they believe could solidify and enhance the Catholic identity of their program and integrate them into their broader educational efforts.
The Newman Society offers these Standards of the Catholic Curriculum as a resource for educators to help them stay focused on what is unique about Catholic elementary and secondary education. Along with its evangelizing mission of integrally forming students in Christ and imparting a Christian worldview. .
Standards are provided for the subjects of English, History, Math, and Science for grades K-12. They can be fully adopted or adapted to match existing curricular standards.
Admission and Enrollment
Admission and enrollment decisions depend on practical boundaries, the educational behavior of students, and a family’s shared commitment to the mission of Catholic education.
Recommended Colleges by Cardinal Newman Society
The Newman Guide recommends Catholic colleges and universities because of their commitment to faithful Catholic education.
All the institutions they recommend are unique, each with its own charisma, approach to education, and campus culture.
For example, some immerse students in all aspects of faithful Catholic life, while others, though faithful, serve a more diverse group of students.
Some allow opposite-sex visits to student rooms, while others do not. Some have a strong core curriculum, while others offer more electives and encourage specialization.
One type of institution may not be better than the other. But one type is probably best for your unique needs. Parents and students should look closely at each college to decide if what it offers is what you need and are looking for.
We hope you will successfully find the college that is best for you from this article.
Recommended US Residential Colleges
#1. Ave Maria University
Address: Ave Maria, FL
Ave Maria University (AMU) is a vibrant Catholic university located in Southwest Florida, founded in 2003.
AMU has established a national reputation for its strong Catholic identity, a liberal arts program with a variety of majors, and a culture of service to those in need within the community and around the world.
The University offers 34 undergraduate majors, with programs in the humanities, sciences, psychology, music, communications, nursing, business, and education. The most popular majors are Biology, Exercise Physiology, Biochemistry, Communications, Business, Psychology, and Theology.
There are currently more than 40 men and women who attended WBU and now discern the priesthood or religious life, and now 12 elders are ordained priests.
According to the University, Residence Life’s policies, procedures, and mission are intended to strengthen the campus community and foster authentic and lasting friendship among AMU students.
#2. Belmont Abbey College
Address: Belmont, NC
Belmont Abbey is a strong testament to the Catholic faith, although only half of the faculty is Catholic. The rest are mainly Protestant and Evangelical Christians.
Belmont Abbey offers 23 majors, with a balance between liberal arts and career-oriented programs. More than half of full-time students focus on business or education.
An exciting new program is a Degree in Catholic Educational Studies which prepares graduates for careers as Catholic school teachers, youth pastors, or directors of parish religious education.
The college is recognized for its strong Department of Biology, which has a nearly 100% placement rate for graduates of medical, dental, and veterinary schools.
The university residences have recently undergone a major renovation, incorporating wireless interns and driveways, electrical renovations, and new lighting, heating, and air conditioning.
With the addition of two new university residences in 2013, the campus accommodation accommodates around 850 students in single-sex buildings. Meals on campus are located in the dining room and cafeteria.
#3. Benedictine College
Address: Atchison, KS
Benedictine College is a liberal arts college that requires each student to complete 58 credits in core courses. The College offers more than 40 traditional specializations.
Business, education, biology, and theology are popular majors, and Benedictine is one of the few Catholic liberal arts colleges that offers architecture, engineering, and astronomy.
The College is also part of an exchange program that allows students to study in Australia, Ireland, or anywhere in a network of 275 colleges and universities in 39 different countries. Students majoring in French or Spanish must complete a semester abroad.
The presence of Benedictine monks on campus is a blessing. Not only are five chaplains available to celebrate Mass and hear confessions, several also provide spiritual direction.
Bénédictine has 17 residences, nine for women and eight for men. Each of the residences has a different style and accommodates students according to their class.
#4. The Catholic University of America
Address: Washington, DC
The Catholic University of America is the only pontifical university in the United States that receives primarily lay students.
Today, the Catholic University has roughly the same number of undergraduate and graduate students, with an undergraduate program that is distinctively and reliably Catholic.
Currently, about 59 percent of teachers are Catholic. Almost 40% of the members of the theology faculty are clergy or religious, including Benedictines, Dominicans, and Franciscans.
The Catholic University is a largely residential campus, with more than 2,200 students living in 17 available residences in five separate areas of the campus. About two-thirds of undergraduate students live on campus. Access to the residences is safe.
#5. Christendom College
Address: Front Royal, VA
The two words that best describe Christendom College are Catholic and traditional. The college was founded in 1977 by the late historian Warren Carroll to counter damaging trends in American higher education and return to the emphasis on serious study and student development.
Today, Christianity sets a standard of fidelity and traditional education against which other Catholic liberal arts colleges are measured.
Christendom College students choose from seven major fields of study, with a traditional emphasis on the liberal arts.
All first and second-year courses are prescribed and include four theology courses and four philosophy courses. Third and fourth-year students are required to take two more courses in theology and two more courses in philosophy.
Two years of a foreign language (Latin, Greek, Spanish, or French) are required, as are English, history, math, science, and political science courses.
#6. Franciscan University of Steubenville
Address: Steubenville, Ohio
Franciscan University was founded in 1946 at the request of the Diocese of Steubenville, Ohio, which turned to the Third Order Regular of San Francisco to teach returning veterans.
The University offers majors in typical liberal arts fields, as well as three religiously-oriented majors in Catholic humanities and culture, catechesis, and theology.
Students can choose from more than 70 programs, including 40 majors. More than 35 minors are offered, including exercise science, human life studies, Franciscan studies, and Greek and Latin.
A new online program, Franciscan Fast Track, gives high school students a head start on their college degree with courses in theology, philosophy, biology, and other subjects.
More than 70% of college students live on campus. The Franciscan has a three-year residency requirement. There are 10 single-sex residences and a nearby apartment complex that houses men and women.
#7. John Paul the Great Catholic University
Address: Escondido, CA
When you think of a traditional Catholic college, no other Catholic university is quite like John Paul the Great Catholic University. The setting is quite appropriate for this 21st-century addition to Catholic higher education.
The University offers undergraduate degrees in Media, Business, and Humanities, as well as a Master’s in Film Production.
The University has a small Eucharistic chapel with a capacity for about 25 people. In order to accommodate greater mass attendance, the University transformed a large classroom into a respectful chapel, equipping it with icons, an altar, and a crucifix.
Approximately 20% of JPCatholic students commute between their homes and the remainder live in two-bedroom townhomes and university-rented apartments in the Latitude33 complex, less than a half-mile from campus.
#8. Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts
Address: Warner, NH
Magdalen College of the Liberal Arts is a small residential Catholic liberal arts college founded in 1973 as part of the new wave of renewal in American Catholic higher education.
Over the past seven years, the University has transformed its approach to student life, expanded its ledger program to include five majors and a fine arts concentration, and enhanced its career and discernment programs for students.
The university’s program comprises five majors and integrates the study of great books with classical liberal arts and fine arts (including music, theater, iconography, drawing, and painting).
The “Chapelle Notre-Dame, Reine des Apostles” is the center of the spiritual life of the campus. The chaplain offers Mass and Confession six days a week (with Mass available at a local Carmelite monastery on Saturday mornings).
The college residences are a “home away from home” for students enrolled at the University. The two residences, Santa María for women and San José for men, have a large living room, a chapel where Christ resides in the Blessed Sacrament, study areas, and a laundry room.
Each spacious dormitory can accommodate multiple students with bunk beds, wardrobes, storage space, and a private bathroom.
#9. Thomas Aquinas College
Address: Santa Paula, CA; Northfield, MA
Founded in 1971, Thomas Aquinas College (TAC) was the first in a wave of new Catholic universities born out of the Catholic identity crisis in American Catholic higher education.
This university has two campuses located in Santa Paula, California, and Northfield, MA. On both campuses, TAC is fully committed to its Catholic identity.
There are no departments, no specialties, no textbooks or conferences. All students progress through the same program and receive the same degree.
It is typically a Bachelor of Liberal Arts, with roughly the equivalent of a double major in Theology and Philosophy, and a minor in Mathematics.
On the California campus, there are four Masses celebrated each day by four non-teaching chaplains: a Dominican, a Jesuit, a Norbertine, and a diocesan priest. There are also two Masses on Saturday and three on Sunday.
On the California campus, TAC students are housed in six dormitories, three for men and three for women. Each room accommodates two students. There are no visits at any time to the residences of the opposite sex.
On the New England campus, some residences on the beautiful and historic 100-plus-acre campus are ready for men and women, while others are still under renovation. The residency rules will be the same as for the California campus.
#10. The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts
Address: Merrimack, NH
The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (TMC) retained both the charm and essence of traditional American higher education.
TMC’s college program has a number of specific goals, chosen like the qualifications of an educated Catholic. Examples include the ability to read Latin or Greek competently; recognize pattern, harmony, symmetry, and order in works of nature and art.
TMC supports various internship programs in specific fields such as journalism, law or finance.
Thomas More College is consecrated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus each year during a solemn mass. Five chaplains celebrate daily Mass, including Extraordinary Mass on Friday, in a small chapel on campus. The chapel is full of icons and sacred art.
Typically, about 50% of students and teachers attend Mass every day. For students seeking a rewarding intellectual experience, TMC has a lot to offer.
#11. University of Dallas
Address: Irving, Texas
The University of Dallas is a leading Catholic university in the United States. It combines a comprehensive core curriculum, often emphasizing the classics, with adherence to the Catholic intellectual tradition. They pride themselves on educating students in truth, wisdom, and virtue.
UD has an impressive study abroad semester with its Rome program. 80% of its students take this opportunity to immerse themselves in the classics of a region steeped in the antecedents of Western and Catholic thought.
A Catholic student interested in a challenging education in the heart of Texas would do well to consider UD.
#12. University of Mary
Address: Bismarck, ND
The University of Mary (U-Mary) is part of a second-generation in the resurgence of Catholic higher education.
General education requirements ensure that even pre-professional students are exposed to the liberal arts.
Given the diversity of beliefs among students, U-Mary’s campus ministry is Catholic and ecumenical, often taking a nondenominational approach to Christian prayer and social gatherings. Student participation has increased dramatically in recent years.
The University is looking for students who wish to take advantage of current offerings while contributing to the development of U-Mary.
#13. University of St. Thomas Houston
Address: Houston, TX
The University of St. Thomas is an excellent institution focused on the liberal arts. Its comprehensive core curriculum provi1des graduates with a comprehensive education.
The school continues to place a strong emphasis on its Catholic identity, which is reflected in its staunch theology and philosophy departments and in the way Catholicism permeates the campus.
UST is unique among most Newman Guide Colleges for its racial diversity and a small proportion of students living on campus. Students reluctant to attend a small university but who desire a strong Catholic education may be particularly drawn to UST.
True to its 70-year tradition, and building on it, the University of St. Thomas is ready to grow.
#14. Walsh University
Address: North Canton, OH
As Walsh University continues to strengthen its Catholic identity, it is clear to us that the campus administration, ministry, and many faculty are committed to this task.
The University is more than a doctrinal Catholic; his attention to service and working families reinforces his mission.
Walsh is not a strictly liberal arts college, like many in The Newman Guide.
Walsh offers authentic Catholic campus life with a wide variety of academic disciplines and other services typical of contemporary universities.
#15. Wyoming Catholic College
Address: Lander, WY
Wyoming Catholic College’s motto is “Wisdom in God’s Land.” This college is likely to appeal to students looking for a different kind of college experience.
With its outdoor leadership and equestrian component, unique Latin immersion program, dual four-year focus on the humanities and sacred theology, and its strong emphasis on written and oral rhetoric, there is no other Catholic university like it.
According to a faculty member, “The students who will come now and in the years to come will be the co-creators, actively involved in something that will make a significant contribution to Catholic universities in America.”
Recommended Non-US Residential Colleges
#1. Aquinas College
Address: Nashville, TN
For more than 150 years, the extraordinary Aquinas College has had a vibrant Catholic presence in Nashville, Tennessee.
Aquinas is a small university that aspires to grow, and only a quarter of its students are currently laying people. But given the sisters’ great reputation for excellent Catholic education, this is a program that Newman Cardinal Society highly recommends to anyone considering teaching in Catholic schools.
Aquinas College focuses primarily on teacher training for both sisters and lay Catholic teachers through its school of education and its philosophy and theology courses.
St. Thomas Aquinas emphasizes an education that upholds the dignity of the human person and enables students to grow spiritually, academically, and socially.
#2. Holy Apostles College and Seminary
Address: Cromwell, CT, and Online
The Holy Apostles have expanded their lay enrollment since the 1970s. The university’s small size and emphasis on authentic Catholic philosophy and theology attract students seeking a quiet and prayerful atmosphere to prepare for evangelism, graduate study, and careers.
With its on-campus and online courses open to all students, Holy Apostles creates a unique interaction between students as they prepare to serve God in all ways.
Known for its loyalty, excellence, and affordability, Holy Apostles is an option to consider for anyone who doesn’t miss out on the attributes of the typical American university.
Recommended Online Colleges
#1. Catholic Distance University
Address: Online
Education is evolving rapidly and online education is a growing and viable alternative to traditional education.
The Catholic Distance University has been at the forefront of providing quality and faithful Catholic education to students seeking flexibility.
The Undergraduate Completion Program, which offers a degree in theology, can be an attractive and inexpensive option for students who have completed or are considering taking non-core courses elsewhere or in CDU’s AA degree program.
Whether for work, location, family, or other reasons, more students are likely to view the Catholic Distance University as a unique opportunity to receive an education that will enhance their understanding of their Catholic faith.
Recommended International Students Colleges
#1. Campion College
Address: Toongabbie East, NSW
Campion College, Australia’s first liberal arts college, was founded to give students the opportunity to receive a good education and grow in the Catholic faith.
Today Campion is a successful Catholic institution providing a unique experience for American students seeking a study abroad option or a full degree.
While some aspects of Australian colleges and universities are unfamiliar to American students, for example, a three-year undergraduate program and an academic year from February to November.
The opportunity to study at Campion with its strong curriculum and Catholic identity could be very attractive to the loyal and adventurous student.
#2. Holy Angel University
Address: Angeles City, Philippines
Holy Angel University’s dedication to the Catholic faith is unquestionable, as is its commitment to providing students with serious academic training in a variety of fields.
Considering the importance of Asian countries to the world economy, as well as the very low cost of studying in the English-speaking Philippines, a semester or even a full undergraduate program at Holy Angel is attractive.
While it is true that there are cultural differences between the United States and the Philippines, the two countries have a history of friendship and have much in common.
Holy Angel offers students a unique opportunity to pursue a stimulating program in an Asian country while immersing themselves in a vibrant Catholic culture.
Conclusion
The Cardinal Newman Society offers a wide variety of resources to help Catholic educators and leaders support the important mission of faithful Catholic education.
The Newman Society encourages and invites parents and students to the best Catholic Universities and other experts to strengthen the standards and best practices of faithful Catholic education.
Their recommended colleges are actually the best. Try them out.
