University of Saint Mary

Private · Moderately Selective · KS

Photo: Melissa Bower (CC0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationKS · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads925

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate38.1%

6-yr grad rate47.8%

Drop-out rate35%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$35k

Out-of-state tuition$35k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity54.8%

Gender diversity45%

International2.3%

IdentityRoman Catholic

Overview

The University of Saint Mary is a small private Catholic university in Leavenworth, Kansas, founded by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and set on a bluff campus overlooking the Missouri River near the Kansas City metro. It combines a values-based liberal arts core with a strong professional and health-sciences bent, serving a modest, close-knit student body drawn largely from the Kansas City region and beyond.

Academics

Nursing is the university's signature program, run in partnership with area hospital systems and built around small clinical cohorts rather than large lecture sections. Education and business round out the more career-oriented offerings, while a Catholic-inflected core curriculum in the humanities and social teaching underlies every major. Class sizes stay small across the board, giving faculty room for direct, personal instruction.

Campus & student life

The campus sits above the Missouri River in historic Leavenworth, one of Kansas's oldest towns, with easy access to Kansas City for internships and entertainment. Catholic identity shapes campus rhythms — chapel, service opportunities, ministry programming — without requiring Catholic affiliation of students. Athletics and a handful of close residential communities anchor a campus culture built more on personal relationships than size.

Getting in

Admission review is personal rather than formula-driven, with attention to fit for a small, mission-oriented campus. Because nursing draws the bulk of applicant interest, that program carries its own competitive internal admission and progression standards even where overall university admission is accessible.

After graduation

Nursing graduates fill regional demand across Kansas City-area hospital systems, and the university's small size gives students direct advising relationships that carry into job placement and graduate-school recommendations.

stmary.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate86.6%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 806–1028 · ACT 17–24

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying