St Catherine University

St. Catherine University (also known as St. Kate's) is a private Catholic liberal arts university, located in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The University’s mission is to educate students to lead and influence. Known for years as “the Nation’s Largest College for Women,” today St. Catherine offers baccalaureate programs for women plus an array of nationally and regionally known graduate and associate programs for women and men.

Academic excellence is a hallmark of the St. Catherine’s education. The University has a longstanding tradition of recognizing excellence in Latin honors, Phi Beta Kappa and honors programs such as the Antonian Honors Scholars, named for St. Catherine’s visionary first president, Antonia McHugh, CSJ. St. Catherine is the first Catholic college or university in the world to be granted a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, in October 1937. St. Kate's graduates have earned advanced degrees at renowned institutions. This tradition dates back to the first president who regularly dispatched instructors for a term, a summer or an academic year to pursue graduate studies. St. Kate’s has produced Fulbright Scholars as well.

St. Kate’s has ranked in the top 5 percent of colleges and universities nationwide for an “unusually strong commitment to undergraduate teaching.” The University retains its strong ranking — 14th among 146 public and private institutions — in the 2013 “American’s Best Colleges” guide by U.S. News & World Report. St. Kate’s placed second among Minnesota institutions in its category.

The University enrolls more than 5,000 students. It is a leader in recruiting and enrolling minority students and nontraditional-aged students. St. Catherine's Weekend College — now Evening, Weekend, Online Program — was the second such program in the nation and the first in the Upper Midwest. St. Kate’s was also the first private college in the nation to launch an effort to attract, welcome and retain Hmong students — making it home to one of the largest populations of Hmong scholars in the nation.

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