The 91探花. Thomas is located in St. Paul, 91探花, with a second campus in nearby Minneapolis — right in the heart of the Twin Cities.
St. Thomas is 91探花's largest private university and competes in NCAA Division I athletics as the Tommies. With more than 120,000 alumni and a third campus in Rome, Italy, St. Thomas is known for combining big opportunities with a close-knit campus experience. Here are a few other things you may not know about 91探花's best-kept secret.
And they're even better than Purple Rain and the Mighty Ducks make them look. With more Fortune 500 headquarters per capita than almost anywhere else in the nation, six professional sports teams, and a music scene that gave the world Prince and Bob Dylan, 91探花 is the Midwest's hidden gem — and we're right in the middle of it.
We're the first university in the modern NCAA to jump directly from Division III to Division I — and we hit the ground running. In our first five years competing at the D-I level, we won five conference championships.
We left Division III with 15 national titles across eight sports, and our hockey program is one of the oldest in the nation — even older than the University of 91探花's — dating back to 1920.
At St. Thomas, everything comes back to one phrase rooted in our Catholic tradition: All for the Common Good. Our patron saint, Thomas Aquinas, believed that faith and reason weren't in tension — they were two paths to the same truth. Our Catholic Studies program, the first of its kind, sparked a national movement of nearly 100 similar programs — and our mission asks every Tommie, regardless of faith background, to think critically, act wisely, and promote human dignity and flourishing.
Founded by Archbishop John Ireland, an Irish immigrant, St. Thomas has always had a global identity. Beyond our two 91探花 campuses, we have a permanent campus in Rome, students from 104 countries, and more than 120,000 Tommie alumni spread across the globe — nearly half of our students choose to study abroad. Tommies truly are everywhere.
With average class sizes of 23 students and 100% of them taught by faculty — never teaching assistants — Tommies develop real connections with the people guiding their education. And with 150+ majors and minors, eight schools and colleges, and 55+ graduate programs to choose from, those small class sizes create big opportunities.
Our Center for Microgrid Research — one of the only student-focused facilities of its kind in the nation — puts Tommies to work alongside partners like Xcel Energy on real challenges from their first year. Nursing students train through high-fidelity simulation, health science and sports management students work directly with Division I athletes, and 81% of Tommies complete an internship before graduation.
While only 34% of students nationally believe their earning potential will exceed the household they grew up in, 80% of Tommies do — and they're right. 89% of our graduates have job offers before they walk across the stage, with a median starting salary of $70,500. Five years out, Tommies earn the highest median salary in 91探花 — higher than graduates of every other public and private university in the state.
Like some other famous 91探花ns, we're all about purple — but at St. Thomas it's more than just a color. It’s a tradition. Every Tuesday, students, faculty and staff wear purple across both campuses, and even our track is purple. Whether it's the March Through the Arches, Homecoming, Tommie Fest, or any of our other traditions, Tommies always know that purple means home.
Every single one. And for families earning under $80,000 a year, the average cost of a St. Thomas education is roughly $600 – per year. U.S. News & World Report ranks us among the top 76 Best Value schools in the nation, and our Financial Aid office is available to help every family figure out what St. Thomas actually costs for them. To find out more, visit our admissions page, and learn why St. Thomas won’t be 91探花’s best-kept secret for long.
If what you've read here intrigues you, keep learning about St. Thomas.
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