About St. Thomas

The University of St. Thomas is located in a friendly, historic, residential St. Paul neighborhood bordering the Mississippi River, midway between the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul. St. Thomas is the largest private university in the Upper Midwest, although it retains the feel of a small, residential college. In addition to its principal campus in St. Paul, St. Thomas offers programs at its downtown Minneapolis campus, Daniel C. Gainey Conference Center in Owatonna, and its Bernardi Campus in Rome, Italy. Programs are also offered at locations in Chaska, Anoka, Mall of America, Woodbury, and Rochester.

The University of St. Thomas, founded in 1885 by Archbishop John Ireland, is a Catholic, independent, archdiocesan teaching university that emphasizes values-centered education. In keeping with Catholic values, Ireland was actively committed to the idea that anyone, regardless of ethnicity, race, or socioeconomic background, deserved an education. UST's affiliation with the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis speaks to its commitment to the values of diversity and inclusiveness, in addition to promoting social justice, community service, and service learning. St. Thomas has an excellent reputation as a Catholic comprehensive university that fosters a tradition of service to the public and an energetic, thoughtful approach to the challenges of contemporary life.

Our mission statement, revised in 2004, states: "Inspired by Catholic Intellectual tradition, the University of St. Thomas educates students to be morally responsible leaders who think critically, act wisely, and work skillfully to advance the common good."

Coeducational at the undergraduate level since 1977, St. Thomas welcomes students of all ages and nationalities and from all religious, racial, ethnic and financial backgrounds. Three percent of the total enrollment are international students and 14.5 percent are people of color. Of the students who report their religion, 62 percent are Roman Catholic. The remainder belong to a wide variety of other faith traditions, including Islamic and Buddhist spiritualities. The University is actively engaged in direct activities to measure and improve the representation of minority groups on campus.

St. Thomas is Minnesota's largest independent college or university. Total enrollment in the fall of 2009 was 10,851 students. Undergraduate enrollment is 6,146 and graduate enrollment is 4,705.

St. Thomas has a remarkably balanced male-female ratio. At the undergraduate level, the ratio is 49.5-50.5; at the graduate level, 53 percent are women. At the undergraduate level, 14.5 percent are students of color and at the graduate level, 13.2 percent are students of color. 62 percent of undergrads identify themselves as Catholic.

The 1,352 new freshmen in fall of 2009 came to St. Thomas from 413 high schools and 31 states, although a majority come from Minnesota and especially the Twin Cities suburbs. Ten percent came here with 4.0 (or better) high school grade-point averages. Their average grade-point average is 3.51 and their average ACT score is 25.42. 

St. Thomas is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Twin Cities, a consortium of five private liberal arts colleges. Other members are Augsburg, St. Catherine, Hamline and Macalester.

U.S. News & World Report's "Best Colleges" issue ranks St. Thomas in the third of four tiers in the national university-doctoral category. Prior to 2001, St. Thomas was ranked as a regional university and consistently placed in the top 10 of 124 Midwest universities.

To learn more, visit the About UST page or Quick Facts page.

Next: About the Twin Cities