Academics at St. Mary's

Learning at St. Mary’s is more than keeping your nose in a book and passing tests. Here you seek answers to your intellectual questions, and together with classmates and professors, pose new questions every day.

St. Mary’s professors are committed to teaching, and constantly renew their own intellectual perspective through research, study and publishing. This spirit of shared learning and a low student-to-faculty ratio mean that teachers track each of their students, offering personal attention in class, during office hours or by e-mail.

It may be unusual for undergraduates at larger universities to do professional-level research, but not for St. Mary’s students. For example, biology majors assist Dr. Timothy Raabe, an associate professor of biology, studying cell behavior and development that could lead to a better understanding of diabetic neuropathy, a debilitating condition affecting some diabetes patients. Some students are investigating a cell growth factor that could ultimately offer a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Others have worked with Dr. Albert Y.T. Sun, associate professor of engineering, on the development phases of innovative hip stem fabrication. What will you do as a St. Mary’s student?

Did you know?

• U.S. News & World Report in the 2008 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” ranked St. Mary’s among the top master’s-level institutions in the Western United States for best overall value.
• The Education Trust, a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, recognized St. Mary’s for high graduation rates, citing St. Mary’s as a national model of success.
• 50 percent of St. Mary’s graduates who apply are admitted to medical and dental schools compared with the national average of 35 percent.
• St. Mary’s is the only Catholic university in Texas accredited by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Only 20 percent of business programs in the United States achieve this coveted status.
• St. Mary’s is also accredited by ABET, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, in Industrial and Electrical Engineering.