University of St. Thomas

About University of St. Thomas

Founded by Archbishop John Ireland in 1885, St. Thomas began as the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary. Its first bachelor's degrees were awarded in 1910, and the institution later expanded through coeducation and the development of graduate and professional schools. It remains grounded in the Catholic intellectual tradition, although its academic and student communities encompass people with varied identities and beliefs. St. Thomas is institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. The university reports that its accreditation was reaffirmed in 2024, and it is registered with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education. These points establish it as an operating, recognized degree-granting institution rather than a seminary, department, or training provider operating under a university-like name. The university has three locations. The main St. Paul campus is the center of undergraduate academics, housing, recreation, and campus life. The Minneapolis campus serves business, law, education, professional psychology, and Dougherty Family College, while the Bernardi residence in Rome supports university academic and summer programs. This structure gives students access to both a traditional residential campus and professional programs in a downtown setting. Applicants should nevertheless confirm where their intended program is delivered, since academic location and attendance format vary by school and degree.

For fall 2027 first-year admission, St. Thomas lists a November 1 Early Action deadline and a January 15 Regular Decision deadline. Both plans are nonbinding, and applications received after January 15 are reviewed on a rolling basis when space remains. The university accepts either its own free application or the Common Application. A secondary-school transcript is required; essays and recommendation letters are optional under the published first-year process. First-year applicants may apply without ACT or SAT results. Applicants who elect to have scores considered may self-report them during review, although enrolled students must later provide official results. Because the test-optional choice can affect how an application is evaluated, students should follow the university's current guidance rather than relying on older score ranges. International undergraduate applicants have additional documentation and English-language requirements. The university currently lists direct-admission thresholds including IELTS 6.0, TOEFL iBT 79, and Duolingo English Test 105, while also recognizing several curriculum- and country-specific alternatives. Conditional admission may be available to academically eligible applicants who have not yet demonstrated the required English proficiency. Graduate admission is decentralized: requirements, deadlines, eligible delivery modes, and F-1 sponsorship vary by program and must be checked with the relevant school.

St. Thomas offers undergraduate and graduate study through units covering arts and sciences, business, engineering, health, education, law, professional psychology, social work, and theology. The official academic site lists more than 150 undergraduate majors and minors and more than 55 graduate programs. Available awards include bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, but students should use the current program directory to verify the exact award, delivery format, campus, and professional accreditation associated with a particular course of study. Undergraduates complete a core curriculum alongside their major. The university describes the core as connecting learning across disciplines, consistent with its liberal-arts and Catholic intellectual foundations. It also states that undergraduate classes are taught by faculty rather than teaching assistants. Academic advising supports major exploration, course planning, and progress toward graduation. Experiential options include faculty-mentored research, internships with Twin Cities organizations, and study abroad. Graduate offerings are structured differently by school and include in-person, online, and hybrid formats, with many options designed for working professionals. Some fields have specialized admission, placement, clinical, licensure, or professional requirements that are not captured by university-wide descriptions. Graduate applicants therefore need to consult the relevant school rather than assume that general undergraduate policies, deadlines, or costs apply to them.

Key Highlights

• Private Catholic university founded in St. Paul in 1885
• Institutionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission
• Operates locations in St. Paul, downtown Minneapolis, and Rome
• First bachelor's degrees were conferred in 1910

Student Life & Environment

Undergraduate residential life is concentrated on the St. Paul campus. Full-time first- and second-year bachelor's students are generally required to live in university housing and purchase a meal plan, regardless of accumulated academic credits. Students considering St. Thomas should treat this as a significant academic and financial commitment and review the published exception process before assuming they can commute or rent privately. Residence options include traditional halls, suites, and apartments, with study, lounge, kitchen, and recreation spaces varying by building. Incoming students select either a Living Learning Community organized around an academic interest or a Common Good Learning Community connected to the university's mission. Housing for later undergraduates is more limited and depends on availability, while the university guarantees housing for students covered by the first-two-years requirement. Outside housing, students can participate in clubs, student government, ensembles, service, recreational activities, and university events. Fitness and student support services are primarily based in St. Paul. Because graduate and professional students may study in Minneapolis, online, or on hybrid schedules, their day-to-day experience can differ substantially from that of residential undergraduates. Prospective students should compare campus location, commuting expectations, and program schedules when assessing community life.

Location & Surroundings

The main campus occupies a residential part of St. Paul near Summit Avenue and roughly midway between downtown St. Paul and downtown Minneapolis. It combines residence halls, undergraduate academic buildings, libraries, recreation facilities, and green space. The Mississippi River and nearby walking and cycling routes provide outdoor options beyond the campus grounds. St. Thomas also operates a downtown Minneapolis campus approximately five miles from St. Paul. It houses several professional and graduate units, including business, law, education, and professional psychology. A university shuttle connects the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses, but students should confirm its current schedule before relying on it for a particular class timetable. The Twin Cities location can support internships, employment, arts, and cultural activities across two urban centers. The Rome location is different in purpose: the Bernardi residence supports participants in designated academic and summer programs rather than functioning as a parallel full-service undergraduate campus. Applicants should identify the primary location of their program and include local transportation, winter conditions, and any cross-campus travel in their planning.

Costs & Career Outcomes

For 2026–27, the university estimates a nine-month undergraduate cost of attendance of $77,772. This budget includes $56,856 in full-time tuition, $1,742 in required fees, and allowances for housing, food, books and supplies, transportation, and personal or loan-related expenses. It is an aid-planning estimate rather than a promise of each student's bill; actual housing, meal-plan, travel, and personal costs can differ. J-Term and summer study are additional. Undergraduate tuition is billed at $28,428 per fall or spring term for enrollment of 12–18 credits. Certain programs and enrollment patterns carry different charges. Graduate and professional tuition varies substantially by school and program, so the undergraduate figure should not be applied to master's, doctoral, or law students. St. Thomas offers institutional scholarships and directs applicants to its net-price calculator and financial-aid process. Students should compare grants and scholarships, required borrowing, housing obligations, and the conditions for renewing aid rather than judging affordability from the sticker price alone. The Career Development Center provides advising and reports first-destination status within six months of graduation. Its latest displayed survey is for 2025 and has a 71.3% knowledge rate, meaning the reported outcomes do not describe every graduate. Applicants should examine results by degree and field where available and avoid treating a university-wide outcome percentage as a guaranteed personal result.