“A Catholic women's college in Milwaukee where you graduate by demonstrating mastery of 8 abilities — not by chasing letter grades.”
Alverno College is a four-year, independent Catholic liberal arts college for women on Milwaukee's south side, sponsored since 1887 by the School Sisters of St. Francis. With about 1,200 women undergraduates and roughly 1,700 students total once coeducational graduate programs are included, it is one of the smaller Catholic women's colleges in the country — and one of the most academically distinctive. Alverno is nationally known for its abilities-based curriculum, a model the faculty designed in the early 1970s and still refines today: instead of letter grades, students progress by demonstrating mastery of eight abilities — Communication, Analysis, Problem Solving, Valuing in Decision Making, Social Interaction, Developing a Global Perspective, Effective Citizenship, and Aesthetic Engagement. Every course delivers narrative feedback rather than A-through-F grades, and external assessors from industry sit in on student performance assessments. This pedagogy has been studied by the Carnegie Foundation and replicated in pieces by hundreds of schools, but Alverno is the place that built it. Academically, Alverno is strongest in the professional fields it has championed for decades: the JoAnn McGrath School of Nursing and Health Professions has trained nurses since 1932 and offers a BSN, an accelerated Direct Entry MSN that earns BSN+MSN in 18 months, post-MSN certificates and a Doctor of Nursing Practice; the School of Education prepares more new K-12 teachers than almost any other Wisconsin private college; and the business division, established in 1976, runs an MBA aimed at working professionals. The college became Wisconsin's first federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution in 2017, and 70% of undergraduates are first-generation college students. Life at Alverno is small, residential and intentionally hands-on. Students live on a 46-acre wooded urban campus, compete as the Inferno in NCAA Division III in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, and graduate with a transcript that records demonstrated competencies alongside the courses they took — a document employers in Milwaukee health systems, schools, and Fortune 500 firms have learned to read closely. Graduate, doctoral, and adult-degree programs are coeducational; the traditional weekday undergraduate college remains women-only.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Regional Universities Midwest
US News Best Colleges 2026
Best Undergraduate Teaching (Regional Universities Midwest)
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Most Innovative Schools (Regional Universities Midwest)
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Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceRolling Admission
Alverno uses rolling admission; decisions are typically returned within 1-4 weeks of a complete file. Apply by early August for the following fall semester.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$34,212
/yr
Beyond the sticker price — every named scholarship, the financial aid policy, need-aware notes, and a personalized net-cost estimate.
How life on campus actually feels — clubs, sports, traditions, housing realities, and how the school integrates with its city.
Alverno's flagship professional school, training nurses since 1932. Offers BSN, accelerated Direct Entry MSN (BSN+MSN in 18 months), post-MSN certificates, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP). NCLEX pass rates and Milwaukee health-system placement drive its reputation regionally.
Has prepared K-12 teachers for the Milwaukee region since the institution's founding as a normal school in 1887. Offers undergraduate teacher licensure across early childhood, elementary, secondary and special education, plus a Master of Arts in Education and a Doctor of Education (EdD) in leadership.
Founded in 1976 as Alverno expanded beyond teaching and nursing. Undergraduate majors in management, marketing and accounting; graduate-level Alverno MBA designed for working professionals on evening and weekend schedules.
Liberal arts core of the college and home to the abilities-based general education sequence. Strongest enrollments in psychology, social work, art therapy, biology, and communication. Hosts the college's signature programs in the visual and performing arts.
1.5 years
Accelerated track for non-nursing bachelor's holders to earn both a BSN and an MSN in as little as 18 months of full-time study. Coeducational. Heavy clinical placement across Milwaukee-area health systems; graduates are eligible to sit for the NCLEX-RN.
4 years
Every undergraduate degree at Alverno is built around demonstrated mastery of eight abilities (Communication, Analysis, Problem Solving, Valuing in Decision Making, Social Interaction, Global Perspective, Effective Citizenship, Aesthetic Engagement). No letter grades — students receive narrative feedback and pass formal performance assessments observed by faculty plus external assessors from industry.
2 years
One of the few CAAHEP-recognized art therapy graduate programs in the Midwest. Coeducational. Combines studio practice, clinical placements at Milwaukee hospitals and community agencies, and abilities-based assessment of clinical competence.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $34,086
Net-cost estimate is US-resident-only — international applicants are typically excluded from need-based aid at most schools and should treat the sticker price as the planning baseline.
