School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Saint Mary's College is a Catholic women's college in Notre Dame, Indiana, sitting directly across the road from the University of Notre Dame, with which it shares deep institutional ties — students cross-register for classes and share some campus life, and the two schools' histories have been intertwined since the nineteenth century. Saint Mary's was founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, whose community remains part of the campus's identity. It occupies a wooded campus along the St. Joseph River, connected to Notre Dame's campus by a pedestrian bridge.
Academics
The college has particular strength in nursing, education, and the sciences, along with respected programs in art, communication, and business. Class sizes stay small and faculty contact is close, in the tradition of a women's liberal arts college; students can also draw on Notre Dame's much larger course catalog through cross-registration, widening the academic options available without diluting Saint Mary's own small-college character.
Campus & student life
The campus is known locally for its Avenue of Trees, a long tree-lined approach toward the Church of Our Lady of Loretto and the historic core of campus, and for its lake shared visually with Notre Dame's adjacent lakes. Residential life is central, with most students living on campus, and the college fields NCAA Division III athletics under the Belles name. Students also take part in Notre Dame's larger campus life, including football weekends and student organizations, giving Saint Mary's students access to a much bigger social scene than the college's own size would suggest.
Getting in
As a women's college with a values-driven Catholic identity, Saint Mary's admissions process looks for students committed to both academic seriousness and the college's mission and community; essays often ask applicants to reflect on what a women's college education and the Holy Cross tradition mean to them. The close Notre Dame relationship also draws applicants who want small-college support alongside access to a major research university's resources.
After graduation
Saint Mary's has a long track record of sending graduates into nursing, education, and health-related graduate programs, and maintains an active, close-knit alumnae network that includes women in law, medicine, and public life. The Notre Dame connection gives graduates practical access to that university's much larger alumni network as well, even though degrees are conferred separately.
Worth knowing
Because it is a women's college with essentially a shared campus and social life with a large coeducational research university next door, Saint Mary's occupies an unusual niche — single-sex classroom environments and close faculty mentorship, combined with full access to Notre Dame's clubs, events, and courses.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying
saintmarys.edu ↗High school coursework
Required16 academic units minimum · 4 years of English · 3 years of college prep mathematics · 2 years of laboratory science · 2 years of the same foreign language · 2 years of social studies · 3 additional units in the above areas
RecommendedHonors or Advanced Placement level classes
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