The University of St. Thomas, founded in 1885, has two main campuses, one in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul. The coed school offers a liberal arts education with a number of focuses, including more than a dozen business degrees, several English and journalism-based degrees and an extensive educational studies program. Most undergraduate students spend their time on the St. Paul campus, while Minneapolis is mostly for business and law students. Fittingly, this Catholic college has another campus, abroad in Rome, known as the Bernardi campus, which is reserved for those who wish to devote a semester entirely to Catholic studies. St. Thomas is a member of the NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, with more than a dozen sports for men and women.
Saint Mary's University, located in Winona, in the southeast corner of Minnesota, was founded in 1912, but it wasn't until 1933 that the De La Salle Christian Brothers began to run the school. Of the school's roughly 6,000-person coed student body, fewer than 1,500 students are undergrads. Although the undergraduate program is fairly extensive, offering multiple degrees in such areas as biology, political science and music, the graduate program, according to the school's website, is one of the largest in the state. Saint Mary's graduate schools include education, business and technology, and health and human services, and each offers a range of degrees, from certificates to the doctoral level. The Division III Saint Mary's Cardinals also participate in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
St. Catherine University, informally known as "St. Kate's," is located in the capital of Saint Paul. The school, which was founded by Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, has an all-women undergraduate student body; however, the graduate program accepts students of both genders. Undergrad academics consist of a typical liberal arts education with degrees in various health and science fields as well as art and language-based studies, including Latin and sign language. The master's program at St. Catherine focuses primarily on educational studies, health and social work. Doctoral degrees cover nursing and physical therapy. The St. Catherine Wildcats feature teams in a number of varsity sports and are part of the women's division of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The College of Saint Benedict & Saint John's University is actually a combination of two separate Benedictine Catholic colleges, one for men and one for women. The partnered liberal arts schools are located just a few miles from each other on campuses in Collegeville and St. Joseph, respectively, in the middle of the state. According to the schools' website, Saint Benedict & Saint John's are "ranked as two of the top three Catholic colleges in the nation." Undergraduate academics are divided among the arts, humanities and sciences and include a particularly large music department that features several Catholic choirs, an orchestra and multiple ensembles.