Loras College

▪ college, Dubuque, Iowa, United States

      private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. Affiliated with the Roman Catholic church, the college is a liberal arts institution that offers undergraduate study in business, communications, and arts and sciences and awards master's degrees in education, English, physical education, psychology, theology, and ministry. Students can study abroad in several locations either through the college's own programs or its affiliations with other institutions. Total enrollment is approximately 1,800.

      Loras College was founded in 1839 by Mathias Loras, the first bishop of Dubuque. The college was originally named St. Raphael Seminary. In 1934 it began offering courses in graduate study through a midwestern branch of the Catholic University of America (Catholic University of America, The). Graduate education under Loras' direction emerged after Catholic University ended its affiliation with the college in 1963. The college went through a series of name changes until finally settling on Loras College in 1939. Women were first admitted in 1971. In 1969 Loras joined Clarke College and the University of Dubuque to form the Tri-College Cooperative Effort, which promotes sharing curriculum and faculty.

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