Welcome from the President

On behalf of the worldwide Catholic Distance University family, I am pleased to introduce you to our new CDU website. CDU has been part of the web since 1995, our new website will guide you effortlessly to the many new and exciting ways to contemplate the face of Christ through online education that faithfully transmits the teachings of Christ and the Church. CDU’s inspiring programs bring education to the learner — a goal we have fulfilled since 1983. CDU is truly a learner-centered institution that makes life long learning in the faith not only a goal, but a reality for thousands of Catholic adults worldwide who are earning accredited degrees, certificates, and diplomas without leaving the comfort of home.

You will find the rich patrimony of the Church—Sacred Scripture, official Church documents, the wisdom of the saints and Doctors of the Church, and renowned faculty at your finger tips with the click of a mouse. CDU offers inspiring courses and programs to meet every educational need and level. Our courses are annotated to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and many recent magisterial documents.

CDU, which offered one of the first online programs in theology, specializes in a collaborative learning environment with our unique online campus and learning community. Instead of letting you meet only other students within commuting distance, CDU will introduce you to a vibrant learning community that truly reflects the universality of the Church. Our students represent every U.S. diocese and every continent in the world. Our undergraduate and graduate students meet daily online in a special orientation seminar called Academic Skills, which gives them the skills they need to succeed as online learners and to graduate with highly respected degrees and dipolmas in theology.

Our students pray for one another in our virtual chapel, catch up with one another in the online café, and share their family life through the online photo gallery. Our online campus, learning platform, and specially selected faculty foster a rich dialogical approach to adult learning modeled on the pedagogy of Christ in the Gospels. From our three-week online interactive seminars to our semester length graduate courses, we stress the importance of faculty guided dialogue and interaction as the best way for adults to grow in their faith and deepen their knowledge and understanding.

The goal of our website is to draw you into all that CDU offers --courses and seminars that will transform your knowledge and love of God while helping you to become a lifelong learner equipped and inspired to transform the culture. We look forward to meeting you online and serving you through adult education and faith formation that will truly enable you to encounter Christ and be formed lifelong by His word.

Marianne Evans Mount, Ph.D
President