LORAS COLLEGE

private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. The college is a liberal arts institution and offers undergraduate study in business, communications, and arts and sciences. The college also awards master's degrees in six subjects. Students can study abroad in London, Paris, Vienna, and other sites in Europe. Total enrollment is approximately 1,700. Loras College, the oldest college in Iowa, 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. 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.