Mount Marty University

Private · Selective · SD

Photo: Bennylancer (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationSD · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads697

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate41.3%

6-yr grad rate52.4%

Drop-out rate32.4%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$35k

Out-of-state tuition$35k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity37.3%

Gender diversity42.9%

International9%

IdentityRoman Catholic

Overview

Mount Marty University is a private Catholic Benedictine university in Yankton, South Dakota, overlooking the Missouri River. It was founded by Benedictine sisters whose monastery still adjoins campus, and that heritage gives the university a close, faith-centered community feel unusual among regional universities its size, with the sisters remaining a visible, active presence in campus life rather than a historical footnote.

Academics

Nursing is the standout program, including one of the region's more prominent nurse anesthesia pathways, a doctoral-level credential that draws students from well beyond South Dakota specifically for that program. Education and business are other established programs, and class sizes are generally small, with faculty who know students individually rather than as names on a roster.

Campus & student life

The Yankton campus sits along the Missouri River in a small-town setting, and the adjoining Benedictine monastery gives the community a visible, lived connection to its founding order, including shared chapel life and campus ministry programming. Campus life is intimate rather than large-scale, with athletics and small clubs forming the core of student social life.

Getting in

Admissions is holistic and personal, in keeping with the university's small size and Catholic Benedictine mission; students seeking that faith-centered community are a natural fit, though the university does not require students to share the Catholic faith to attend.

After graduation

Nursing graduates, especially those completing the nurse anesthesia pathway, place well into hospitals and surgical settings across the region and nationally, a genuine outcome advantage for a university this size. Education and business graduates tend to stay more regionally concentrated in South Dakota and the surrounding upper Midwest.

Worth knowing

The nurse anesthesia program in particular has a national reputation disproportionate to the university's overall size, and applicants pursuing that specific path should know it is a real draw for out-of-state students who might otherwise overlook a small South Dakota university.

mountmarty.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate42.6%

Enrolled mid-50%ACT 18–25

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying