Over the years, the university has become increasingly diverse and inclusive, with nearly 45 percent of its 2500 students identifying as people of color and a significant number coming from low-income backgrounds. The acceptance of different viewpoints on the campus is the result of a diverse faculty from multiple disciplines, who contribute to the inculcation of these values. Faculty members actively pull questions from the syllabus to be examined through a disciplinary perspective, helping students connect their learning across disciplines and real life.
“Our university encourages a symbiotic relationship where learning is a two-way street,” says Timothy Trainor, Ph.D., president of Mount St. Mary`s University. “Our students grow from the knowledge imparted by our faculty, and in turn, our faculties learn from the fresh perspectives brought forth by each new generation of students.”
The university offers students a strong core curriculum intricately linked with a pool of more than 80 majors, minors, concentrations and special programs they can choose from. More than 20 adult undergraduate and graduate programs are offered.
The curriculum is designed to develop students’ critical thinking skills to enable them to view life problems from multiple angles and welcome diverse viewpoints, helping them become the independent intellectuals they are meant to be.
The university also has a large National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletics program and a study abroad program that allows the students to interact with the world beyond the campus. Its competitive fellowships and grants give high-performing students a chance to win national and international fellowships, internships and other opportunities outside the campus.
The community-oriented environment encourages students to explore and grow in their faith, with multiple students welcomed into the Catholic Church on the Feast of Divine Mercy for Roman Catholics each year. Masses are offered daily, and a Mass in Spanish is conducted weekly.
Mount St. Mary’s Seminary has seen a remarkable 54 percent growth in the last seven years and is now the largest Catholic seminary in the country. The increase in the country’s Hispanic population in the church has propelled the seminary to develop a Hispanic ministry certification program that allows seminarians to learn Spanish and participate in summer immersion programs. An initial formation year, known as the propaedeutic stage, has been introduced to provide seminarians with a strong human and spiritual foundation before they delve into intense philosophical and theological studies.
The university’s growth in enrollment, programs and facilities is in tune with its mission statement of producing ethical leaders who are inspired by a passion for learning and lead lives of significance in service to God and others. To create such individuals, the Mount recently initiated an Ethical Leaders program that includes curricular and co-curricular requirements and aims to increase undergraduate students’ ethical decision-making capabilities.
This program offers students a range of opportunities, like the Mount Caritas program, to engage in service inside and outside the classroom. The initiative uses the university’s resources in the form of research and hands it over to community partners to address problems and needs.
Our university encourages a symbiotic relationship where learning is a two-way street. Our students grow from the knowledge imparted by our faculty, and in turn, our faculty learn from the fresh perspectives brought forth by each new generation of students
The university also has a distinct curricular program called the Semester of Service that allows undergraduate students to spend an academic semester engaged in deep encounters of service with community partners.
All these programs, tied together with the core curriculum, have added to the Mount’s appeal, which has resulted in a 12 percent growth in student enrollment. This success goes beyond enrollment and is evident in the students’ achievements after graduation. Almost 100 percent of the university’s students, within a year of graduating, are either employed or pursuing graduate education.
The Mount is looking to further elevate the students’ academic experience by opening a graduate school for health professionals. This is in response to the societal need for specialties like physician assistants (PA) and behavior analysts.
The PA program will offer special focuses on healthcare equity and clinician burnout. In this program, the university will provide students with the resources needed to thrive in underserved and under-resourced settings. Under the behavior analysis program, a community pediatric behavioral health center will serve children who have intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Mount St. Mary's University, with all its beauty and curricular and community programs, remains what students imagine their future university to be: A place where they are encouraged to grow spiritually and socially, ultimately contributing positively to the world around them.
