College of Saint Benedict

Private · Moderately Selective · MN

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationMN · Midwest

SettingSuburban

Undergrads1,370

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate73%

6-yr grad rate77.1%

Drop-out rate13.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$56k

Out-of-state tuition$56k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity24.5%

Gender diversity100%

International3.6%

IdentityRoman Catholic

Overview

The College of Saint Benedict is a Catholic Benedictine college for women in St. Joseph, Minnesota, operating in full academic partnership with Saint John's University, the Benedictine men's college a few miles away — students share one integrated curriculum, cross-campus classes, and joint degrees rather than attending two separate schools with a casual exchange agreement. The college sits adjacent to Saint Benedict's Monastery, one of the largest Benedictine women's communities in the world, and that monastic presence remains active in campus life.

Academics

Sciences and nursing are particular strengths, and global education is a defining feature — study abroad and cross-cultural coursework are built deeply into the curriculum rather than offered as a peripheral option. The CSB/SJU partnership means course offerings and faculty span both campuses, effectively doubling the academic range available to a Saint Benedict's student while she remains enrolled at a women's college specifically.

Campus & student life

The St. Joseph campus is smaller and quieter than the SJU campus a few miles away, and students move regularly between the two for classes and activities, supported by a shuttle system tying the two communities together. Benedictine values — community, hospitality, stewardship — are explicit and lived, not just stated in mission materials, and the monastery's presence gives the campus a contemplative undercurrent even amid ordinary college life.

Getting in

Admission considers fit with the women's-college and Benedictine-values model alongside academic record; applicants should understand they are applying specifically to a women's college that shares curriculum with a men's college nearby, a structure unlike a typical coordinate-college arrangement.

After graduation

Graduates in nursing and the sciences have strong regional placement and graduate-school outcomes, and the global-education emphasis often shows up later in international or cross-cultural career paths.

Worth knowing

The women's-college identity paired with a fully shared curriculum with a men's college is genuinely uncommon; a prospective student should visit both campuses before deciding, since daily life spans both.

csbsju.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate91.5%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1048–1233 · ACT 20–27

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Regular decisionJan 15

AdmissionRolling

Applying