国产传媒

Students walking down the hill at Hannon Plaza, Chalon Campus

Why a Women's University?

If you鈥檙e a prospective first year student, the question isn鈥檛 why should you attend a women鈥檚 university 鈥� it鈥檚 why 飞辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 you? For perhaps the first time in your life, you鈥檒l be surrounded by successful women role models and mentors 鈥� and yes, some men as well 鈥� whose mission is to maximize your leadership qualities, help you find your life鈥檚 passion, and steer you on your individual path to success, fulfilment and purpose.

At the Mount, you鈥檒l never be just another face in the crowd, or, worse yet, a number. Your professors will know your name and go above and beyond to assist you. The Mount鈥檚 small student body size ensures you鈥檒l also make close friends among your roommates, classmates, and those involved in the same extracurriculars as you.

Skeptical? Curious? Here are some impressive numbers below to make the case for us.

Institutional support

Percentage of students receiving financial aid.

98%

Mount Saint Mary’s with an $180 million endowment. All undergraduates are automatically considered for merit-based scholarships.

Merit Scholarships

Racial/ethnic diversity

88%
Mount Saint Mary's (2022)

38.5%
Private liberal arts colleges

43.6%
Public universities

Development of confidence, initiative

89%
国产传媒 (2021 alumnae survey)

70%
Coed

Importance of contributing to community

86%
国产传媒

63%
Coed

An image for the home page statistics

STEM

Women’s colleges focus on STEM
1.5x More likely to major in science, math, or STEM fields
2x More likely to attend medical school or obtain doctoral degrees
34% Women of color pursing STEM versus just 19% from coed institutions

Leaving high school, I found that I was truly lacking in positive and healthy female relationships. I had always wanted a sisterhood. Leaving high school, I also felt like I had never truly excelled academically. Not because I was not smart, but because I wasn’t empowered by the people who educated me. When I looked into it, I saw so much magic in women’s college: the dynamic between women who bond so deeply, and who want each other to thrive; professors applying the feminist lens to every subject area; encouragement to ask questions and explore ideas. I chose a women’s college because it was everything I was looking for, and more.

Ileana Vargas ’14 B.A. Sociology, minor GIS

Leadership and success in the workplace

Career Preparedness

81%
Graduates from women's colleges who felt extremely or very prepared for their first job

61%
Corresponding number from public institutions

Career & Professional Development

Women in leadership

>20%
Of Congresswomen are alumnae from women's colleges

30%
Of Business Week list of rising women in corporate America are alumnae of women's colleges despite making up only 2% of all female college graduates

2x
More likely to be on boards of Fortune 1000 companies

Women's Leadership and Community Engagement
Students showing their diplomas at Commencement 2022

A women-centered learning environment devoted to women's leadership and empowerment

Women’s universities: changemakers

Being at Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 University means learning in an environment where your voice is heard 鈥� and where your confidence and abilities are cultivated. An active community of women exploring science and the arts in a supportive environment, the Mount strives to instill in each student a sense of just how much she can accomplish. 

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About the Women鈥檚 College Coalition

 Founded in 1972, the  is a consortium of 36-member women鈥檚 colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada. The organization works to support its members through collaborative research, approaches to illuminating the need for women鈥檚 only education in these times of equal participation but not parity, and tackling issues within higher education, whether singularly affecting women鈥檚 institutions or the broader educational landscape.

The WCC is currently 鈥渉oused鈥� at Mount Saint Mary鈥檚 University. The Mount鈥檚 president, Ann McElaney-Johnson, PhD, is the chair of the WCC鈥檚 board of directors. Emerald Archer, PhD, an associate professor at the Mount as well as the coordinator of the women and gender studies major and founding director of the Center for the Advancement of Women, serves as the WCC鈥檚 executive director.

Alumnae from women鈥檚 colleges not only maintain their networks from their time on campus but extend that affinity to those whom they meet as alumnae. Women from coed institutions don鈥檛 feel that their networks are as strong as the men鈥檚 network. Here, you will be welcomed to the Alumnae Association the moment you receive your diploma; also check out the Facebook page of the , which was created in 2017 and has nearly 23,000 members.

There is evidence that when private 4-year women’s colleges were compared with all private 4-year institutions…they conferred upon women equal or larger proportions of bachelor’s degrees in traditionally male-dominated fields than the norm for private 4-year colleges.

U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement 

Invigorating Academics

Research indicates that women’s colleges foster an environment "that fuels women’s understanding of self and others, a willingness to work with others, and the development of skills associated with career success and leadership.” Here is some recent work completed by our undergraduate students.

Biological Sciences

A number of students have worked with professor Luiza Nogaj, PhD, whose research has received more than $1.2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, with a rare fourth consecutive R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award in a collaborative project with Loyola Marymount University.

Biochemistry major Alicia Mercado 鈥�22 spent a summer in an UCLA undergraduate research program and another summer at Caltech and received a research award for lab work in neural computation and engineering. She plans to pursue a PhD/MD.

Biological Sciences department

Political Science

Since 2005, 国产传媒 Moot Court and Mock Trial teams have won 35 competition titles, including Best Attorney and Best Witness awards.

In the summer of 2020, Samantha Vasquez 鈥�21 (who double majored in sociology) received a fully funded, year-long PhD-preparation research assistantship through Emory University. She also won a best poster award in sustainability at the Southern California Conference for Undergraduate Research based on work in the Mount鈥檚 Global Women in STEM program.

History and Political Science department

Psychology

The American Journal of Undergraduate Research published a report on the gender gap in higher education, 鈥淲omen in Higher Educational Leadership: Representation, Career Progression and Compensation,鈥� by Joselyn Rivera 鈥�18, Carla Canas 鈥�19, Caitlyn Keeve 鈥�20 and Carmen Ramos 鈥�20.

Psychology department

I learned that leadership is supporting others, taking responsibility, being reliable and acting as a role model to inspire others to lead. There’s no shortage of leadership opportunities at the Mount, where students learn to be brave, bold, and to lead.

Melanie Sava ’17 B.A. Political Science and Global Politics (currently attending Yale Law)

More about the Mount

Learn more and explore the opportunities that await at Mount Saint Mary's University.