You will experience something bigger at Saint Mary’s.
Because of you.
What are you looking for?
When asked what they want from college, most prospective students reply, “A great job.”
We want that for you, too. Yet you deserve more. A minimum expectation of any college education should be that graduates possess the skills they need to gain employment.
At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, we take seriously the obligation to prepare you for your professional calling. We aspire to do this work better than anyone through our commitments to top-quality teaching, student advising, and practical education.
You are more than your future career or the money you’ll make; your education must be, too. We believe a college education should prepare students to live well and not merely make a living.
Gain direction for your life.
You matter, and your life goes beyond you.
God created you to do or be something unique. We accompany you as you discover and fulfill that purpose. Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s whole approach to education builds upon this belief and your intrinsic dignity.
The life that you receive grows when you stop clinging to it. We must break free from the narrow, cramped space of our private desires, and instead live for others. Your life explodes with meaning when you respond to the call to give your gifts away to a world in need.
First-generation forward
Generous donations allow Saint Mary’s to award full scholarships to first-generation students through Countdown to College (C2C) and the First-Generation Initiative (FGI). The Zeta Delta chapter of Alpha Alpha Alpha, the first-generation honor society, provides additional support — from first-year orientation to post-graduation.
Give your gifts
Saint Mary’s students take on projects such as tutoring developmentally disabled youth, mentoring school kids, and advocating for affordable housing and food security. We invite you to make an impact on this world.
Serving Others United in Love (S.O.U.L)
The Serving Others United in Love (S.O.U.L) program offers alternative spring break immersion experiences and service trips. Guatemala remains a focus, honoring the life and work of Blessed Brother James Miller, a 1966 Saint Mary’s alumnus who devoted his life to helping Guatemalans.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 16:25
We believe in a future full of hope. Because of you.
Value-driven, accessible excellence.
At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, your education will consist of many things, rarely just a lecture. Classrooms come alive with passionate discussions and engaging debates that compel you to learn more.
In the company of a caring and supportive community, you will gain career-ready skills and engage questions that provide meaning to life. Our professors become trusted mentors, inspiring you to investigate new opportunities and celebrating you on every step of the journey.
We see education not as a life of tests but as preparation for the examinations of life.
No matter your passion, interests, or talents, you’ll find a program at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota that empowers you to fulfill your calling.
School of Arts and Humanities
John C. Parmer School of Sciences
The value of liberal education
Someone narrowly trained in a single discipline (nursing, education, medicine, or business) will not be competent even in that one. Saint Mary’s General Education Program helps you grasp the big picture by providing an integrated education that connects different subjects.
Lasallian Honors Program
The Lasallian Honors Program invites eligible students to explore subjects through experiential learning opportunities and one-of-a-kind seminars.
Finding inspiration as a PA
Choose between our challenging Accelerated Physician Assistant major or the traditional Biology: Pre-Physician Assistant track, and earn a degree that propels you toward success.
Accelerated Physician Assistant Major (3+2): Enroll in our highly competitive program, partnered with the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, and expedite your journey to becoming a PA in only five years.
Biology Pre-Physician Assistant Studies: Explore our traditional major tailored to ready you for any esteemed master’s level programs, establishing a strong groundwork for your future PA career.
Health Humanities
Philosophy
School of Business and Technology
Accounting
Business Intelligence & Analytics
Finance
Healthcare Management
Management
Marketing
Public Relations & Digital Media
Sport Management
School of Health and Human Services
Criminal Justice
Corrections
Law Enforcement
Nursing: Prelicensure
Psychology
Accelerated Physician Assistant (partnership with Mayo Clinic)
Biochemistry
Biology
General Biology
Life Science
Pre-Medical Professions
Pre-Physician Assistant
Pre-Laboratory Science
Pre-Medical Imaging
Chemistry
Computer Science
Cybersecurity Engineering
Software Engineering
Data Analytics
Management Information
Systems
Environmental Biology & Conservation
Mathematics
Mathematics
Data Science
Mechatronics Engineering
Pre-Law
School of Education
Catholic Education
Educational Studies
Elementary Education
optional endorsements:
Communication Arts and Literature (5-8)
General Science (5-8)
Mathematics (5-8)
Social Studies (5-8)
World Language and Culture:
Spanish (K-8)
Secondary Education
Licensures (5-12):
Chemistry
Communication and English Language Arts
Life Science/Biology
Physics
Mathematics
Social Studies
Spanish (K-12)
Practical education for remarkable lives.
Whether it’s internships, research projects, service-learning, or study abroad, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s experiential learning initiatives empower you to apply your knowledge in real-world settings.
International study
Four university-led study abroad opportunities (London, Belize, England, Italy) provide the excitement of living and studying in a different culture together. In addition, Saint Mary’s offers many unique opportunities to study abroad through affiliated programs.
Saving Alaska’s oceans
In her senior year, environmental biology major Katrina Danzinger B’23 spent a week in coastal Alaska interning with the Ocean Plastics Recovery Project along the coastline of Katmai National Park and Preserve.
“My campus sponsor (GeoSpatial Services) said, ‘How do you feel about flying on a bush plane?’ said, ‘Fantastic!’”
Internships
Our GeoSpatial Services (GSS) project center provides dozens of students with paid work opportunities. GSS utilizes Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology and data analytics to support partners with natural resource conservation. Students are mentored by professional staff and learn about addressing critical water management issues facing the US. Additionally, GSS places students in paid summer internships with partner organizations across the nation.
Photo credit: Max Romey
The journey to character and virtue.
At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, we affirm two aspects of education that our tradition, including Saint John Baptist de La Salle, see as fundamental: the cultivation of virtue and the search for God. Unmoved by the culture’s trends away from such commitments, we believe that character and faith are foundational to a university education.
To be a good accountant, a good manager, or a good teacher means being good. Character is who you are and who you have the potential to become, and all of us are on that journey together.
Here, you will join other students, faculty, and staff, all striving to be the best version of themselves. Sharpen and strengthen your abilities as you develop a vision for your future.
Lead ethical lives of service and leadership
As a student, you will be enriched by the Saint Mary’s Cardinal Virtue lecture series, which brings leading thinkers from around the world to campus to help guide you on your journeys as fully reflective professionals and community leaders.
Saint Mary’s is deeply committed to empowering students to lead ethical lives of service and leadership. Our guiding framework is virtue ethics – taught in the classroom, caught within our rich Lasallian Catholic school culture, and sought in the community we have created, where you will find limitless opportunities for your growth.
“The aim of our studies is not to know what virtue is, but to become good.”
– Aristotle
Lasallian Societal Impact Case Competition
Maya Wachter B’24 and teammates, Brady Lindauer B’23 and Jackson Nauss B’23, captured first place in the 2023 Lasallian Societal Impact Case Competition. How did Saint Mary’s outperform the five other Lasallian colleges and universities?
“We discussed the intersection of business strategy and Lasallian values in every finance class,” Wachter said. “We excelled at the question-and-answer format. We knew our case.”
Friendships for life
Through all we do, we strive to ensure that the friends you make here will be the friends who celebrate the major events of your life with you.
While some friendships develop based on mutual benefits or shared enjoyment of activities, such as studies and sports, the most fulfilling and lasting friendships are those grounded in the shared pursuit of moral and spiritual growth.
We are in the holy presence of God.
The sponsors of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, the De La Salle Christian Brothers, often begin prayer by saying, “Let us remember that we are in the holy presence of God.”
Unlike many colleges and universities, Saint Mary’s welcomes your spiritual beliefs, invites discussion, and freely explores differences.
Rather than avoid tough conversations, we encourage you to speak from your center and articulate what you believe in such a way that invites others to do the same. If you do so, we know your friendships will be authentic and deep, and your education will be more complete.
A community of faith
At Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, we uphold these values — respect for all persons, service to others, and the pursuit of Truth. Our supportive and diverse campus provides the perfect setting for exploring life‘s most important questions. In our embrace of differences, we welcome students of all faiths and backgrounds to a place where worship and prayer are as integral as study and fun.
“No legitimate question, sincerely asked and that seeks the truth, is off limits at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota.”
-
The Very Rev. James P. Burns, IVD, Ph.D., President
“When visited [Saint Mary’s], I felt led by prayer and a deep devotion to Our Lady. The whole experience gave me a sense of peace. I felt invited to this warm and welcoming community where I knew, interiorly, could grow. And it’s delivered. Saint Mary’s Catholic community has been one of the greatest gifts in my life. It is an authentic, integrated, virtuous, striving community, pursuing what the Lord calls us to do.”
Cannon Manley B’27 Environmental Biology
“As a non-Catholic, I’ve gone to night prayer, daily mass, fellowship, and I’ve been welcomed to everything. I have found Saint Mary’s to be a place where people practice a higher level of respect, and that call to an inner divinity has amplified my own faith. The passage in the Bible about being repaid sevenfold, that’s how I feel about the gifts have received and the growth I’ve experienced.” Rich
Professed religious
Success is defined by service. Because of you.
Maddie McCartney B’26 Psychology
sacramental life Daily Mass, Confession, Evening Prayer, Adoration Welcoming experiences Retreats, Bible Studies, Theology on Tap
De La Salle Christian Brothers, Priest Chaplain, IHM Seminary Faculty, Religious Sisters of Mercy [RSMs]
Excel the Cardinal way.
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota’s athletics shape us into the people we were created to be. Whether you’re an athlete or a fan and friend, you will experience athletics at the service of holistic education. While victory is certainly a goal, student-athletes compete to grow in character and virtue. We celebrate the virtues of humbly surrendering individual pride and rejoicing in the achievements of others and our teams.
Student-athletes compete in 17 Division III varsity and four club sports.
Hockey’s top humanitarian
Delaney Wolf B’21, now a graduate student at Duke University, became one of 11 females and just the eighth NCAA Division III student-athlete to win the Hockey Humanitarian Award. The honor, presented annually at the Frozen Four to college hockey’s “finest citizen,” recognizes leadership in community service.
Ski Club’s five “must-ski” places
1. Spaghetti Junction (trail crossing)
2. Champions Hill (pow) 3. Yon’s Bowl (sick licks)
4. The Dike (straight path)
5. The Loop (1k practice trail)
Life as a student.
Living on campus lets you immerse yourself in all the academic, social, cultural, recreational, faith, and service opportunities Saint Mary’s offers. More than 90% of Saint Mary’s students live on campus all four years.
Your bright home for the next four years.
Welcome to our 450-acre, amenity-filled campus, nestled among an ecologically unique region of Southeastern Minnesota known as the “blufflands.” Here, you’ll not just live on campus, but live life to the fullest as you grow as a student, servant, athlete, mentor, and friend.
Saint Mary’s has an active campus chapter for The Green Bandana Project, which coaches students on how to help peers access mental health resources and feel supported. The Green Bandana Project
Pep band’s top 5 tunes
“Build Me Up, Buttercup” The Foundations
“Final Countdown” Europe
“Country Roads” John Denver
“I Will Follow Him” from Sister Act
“Viva La Vida” Coldplay
“If we’re not talking about it, it’s getting heavy on our shoulders, getting heavy on the inside and we can’t get it out.”
Schultz
We are all in, every day. Because of you.
Justine
B’20 psychology, founder of Saint Mary’s Green Bandana Project
Love, Winona
Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota welcomes you to a picturesque campus with acres of bluffs and miles of trails next to the Mississippi River and a community with a vibrant (and outsized) economic engine.
Ten things to do at Saint Mary’s and Winona
9. Join your residence hall staff for in-hall programming like s’mores and a campfire
Soaring sites
Enjoying Winona’s blue skies and waterways. Watch more than 325 bird species make the seasonal migration round-trip along the Mississippi Flyway.
Our campus city
Joy and kindness bring people together in a place like Winona, from early mornings at the local donut shop to coffee or lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Winona packs a punch on economic impact as the home to major companies like Fastenal, Watkins 1868, Fanatics, RTP International Holdings, and more!
We foster interesting, engaging, and meaningful connections. Because of you.
1. Hike to “The Rock” in the Saint Mary’s bluffs
2. Have dinner with Christian Brothers at their residence on campus
3. Create in the Anthony B’59 and Sandra Adducci Family Makerspace
4. Devour as many Bloedow’s donuts as you can
5. Rent a canoe, kayak, or paddleboard from the Lake Lodge on Lake Winona
6. Play BINGO and Trivia on campus with the student activities committee
7. Hike up to Garvin Heights or Sugar Loaf 8. Fill up a cup of frozen yogurt at Nate and Ally’s
10. Get a group picture at the old Saint Mary’s stone sign
Join a deep-rooted community.
Meet trailblazing Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Cardinals — graduates who are leading the way with their achievements. From revolutionizing user experience at tech firms to shaping marketing strategies for iconic brands, these alumni are driving impactful change in diverse industries. We
Nadia Effendi B’09 Senior Manager
Barbie Global Marketing at Mattel, Inc.
Nadia has managed some of the world’s most recognized film/toy brands (Toy Story, Cars, Barbie). “You don’t realize how much (these properties) touch people until you work for the company,” she says.
58,000
These few Cardinals are just a glimpse of the 58,000 alumni from Saint Mary’s who are making their mark on the world. We hope you’ll get inspired by these individuals who are shaping the future with their talents and hard work.
U.S. Army Capt. Matthew Faucett B’15 Battalion Chaplain
3rd Expeditionary Support Command
While most American service members deployed in Europe in support of our NATO carry a weapon, Caucett holds tight to his Bible. As an Army chaplain, Faucett follows in the footsteps of his father (a retired U.S. Army colonel) and two soldier brothers.
Kendall has clerked for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Division and interned with the U.S. District Court for Utah. “I chose Saint Mary’s because it would allow me to do so much,” she says.
of you.
Photo credit: Staff Sgt. Erick Yates (DVIDS)
Admissions & affordability
navigate financial aid together.
Financial aid checklist
Apply: As you enter your senior year, apply for admission and academic scholarships online (free!) at smumn.edu/apply
Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid [FAFSA]: On or after October 1 of your senior year, complete your FAFSA at studentaid.gov to be considered for need-based scholarships from both university and government sources. Be sure to use our Federal School Code: 002380 If you don’t intend to apply for need-based aid, inform your counselor.
Receive Financial Aid Offer: Once you have been accepted to Saint Mary’s and have submitted your FAFSA (or informed us you won’t seek need-based aid), we will send your financial aid offer.
Walk Through Offer: Our staff will accompany you as you review your financial aid offer and answer any questions you may have.
Deposit: May 1 is the deadline to submit your deposit and confirm your attendance at Saint Mary’s.
What’s your future worth?
A college education is an investment in yourself. Here at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, we are committed to providing a hands-on, practical, quality education that is accessible and affordable. All students receive a scholarship, and here are a few of our scholarships; to learn more, contact your admissions advisor.
Cardinal Promise
The Cardinal Promise allows qualifying students from families with modest incomes to attend Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota tuition-free It is our commitment to an accessible, meaningful, and life-changing education. Minnesota or Wisconsin residents with an income under $80,000 may qualify for the Cardinal Promise, which covers your remaining tuition (after all other scholarships and grants) for four years of study. Some eligibility requirements may apply; check with your enrollment counselor.
Cardinal Visit Scholarship
The Cardinal Visit Scholarship awards a $1,000 annual renewable yearly scholarship to first-year students who make an official campus visit during their junior or senior year of high school or transfer students who visit before they enroll at Saint Mary’s University.
First-Generation Initiative
First-generation college students can apply for a full scholarship, covering tuition, fees, room, and board. The University welcomes a cohort of 15-20 “FGI Scholars” every year, thanks to the generous donations of our alumni and benefactors. In addition to their scholarship, FGI Scholars receive structured support from orientation through graduation.
Merit scholarships
All students receive a minimum of $25,500/yr in Merit Scholarships the first year, and they may be eligible for up to $120,000 in Merit Scholarships over four years.
Out-of-state student grant
Domestic students who are not residents of Minnesota may qualify for up to $2,000/year.
Sample aid offers:
Prior to your senior year, you can utilize the “Net Price Calculator” to estimate your financial aid offer from Saint Mary’s. Then, in your senior year, you can use the financial aid checklist to get the exact offer for your circumstances.
Return on your educational investment
Data from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) confirms the value of a degree from a school like Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota, which graduates students with a mix of applied and core knowledge that enables each career step forward. Between the 10- and 15-year mark postgraduation, when your core knowledge supports a move into peak performance and responsibility, the net present value of your degree more than doubles to reach $276,000. After 40 years, the value approaches $1 million.
https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/ collegeroi/#data-tool
