,·Private (Catholic, Marianist) — Regional University·Est. 1852
“Texas's oldest Catholic university — a Marianist, Hispanic-Serving residential campus blending values-driven liberal arts with engineering, business, and law.”
St. Mary's University is the oldest Catholic university in Texas and the American Southwest, founded in 1852 by the Society of Mary (Marianists) as a small boys' school in downtown San Antonio. Today it is a residential, mid-sized regional university of roughly 3,500 students set on a 135-acre campus on the city's West Side, with a clear identity built around three pillars: Catholic Marianist values, academic rigor in business, engineering, and law, and a deep commitment to Latino and first-generation students. Federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, more than half of St. Mary's undergraduates identify as Hispanic or Latino and a large share are the first in their family to attend college, which shapes the texture of student life, mentorship, and outcomes. Academically, St. Mary's is organized into four divisions: the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; the School of Science, Engineering and Technology (home to ABET-accredited electrical and industrial engineering); the Greehey School of Business (AACSB-accredited, in the top 7% of business schools globally); and the School of Law, the oldest Catholic law school in the Southwest, which sits on the same campus and produces a distinctive undergraduate-to-JD pipeline. U.S. News ranks St. Mary's #13 among Regional Universities West and #1 in Best Value Schools (West) for 2026, the seventh consecutive year it has led San Antonio in social mobility — a strong signal for international students looking for a high-touch, outcomes-focused education at a price point well below national private-research peers. Student life centers on a leafy, tree-lined campus organized around residential halls, the Marianist student community, and Rattler Athletics (NCAA Division II, Lone Star Conference). Long-standing traditions include the Fiesta Oyster Bake — held since 1916 during San Antonio's citywide Fiesta — and a strong service-learning culture that connects students to the surrounding city. San Antonio itself is the seventh-largest US city, deeply bilingual and bicultural, with an emerging tech, cybersecurity, and biomedical economy and a low cost of living that international students often find more livable than coastal alternatives.
Visa, OPT, H-1B alumni outcomes, and acceptance rates by country — sourced from FOIA, USCIS H-1B Hub, and DHS SEVIS.
Regional Universities West
US News Best Colleges 2026
Best Value Schools — Regional Universities West
US News Best Colleges 2026
Best Colleges for Veterans (national)
US News Best Colleges 2026
Best Master's in Cybersecurity
Fortune 2025
Best Catholic Colleges in Texas
Niche 2026
Test Optional — You can submit scores if they help your case, but they're not required.
Official SourceSpecialty Scholarship Priority
Required for consideration for named/specialty scholarships.
Priority Admission & General Merit
Priority deadline for first-year applicants and general merit scholarships.
Financial Aid Priority
FAFSA/CSS priority deadline.
International — Fall Entry
Final international application deadline for Fall semester.
Enrollment Deposit
Preferred enrollment deposit deadline.
International — Spring Entry
International application deadline for Spring semester.
The deep admissions playbook beyond the headline acceptance rate — round-by-round breakdowns, nationality data, requirements, and contact paths.
Tuition & Fees (All Students)
$37,284
/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.
AACSB International-accredited since 1991 — placing it in the top 7% of business schools worldwide. Founded 1923, the school grounds business education in Marianist ethics and service, with strong undergraduate pipelines into accounting, finance, and international business.
Houses ABET-accredited electrical and industrial engineering programs alongside computer science, forensic science, environmental science, and a respected pre-health pipeline. Small lab sizes and undergraduate research access are signature features.
The intellectual heart of the university's Catholic liberal arts identity, with strong programs in international relations, political science, English, and theology, plus a popular criminology track linked to the law school.
The oldest Catholic law school in the American Southwest, on the same campus as undergraduate divisions. Strong Texas bar passage, deep San Antonio judicial network (500+ alumni judges and elected officials), and accelerated 3+3 BA/JD pathways for high-performing undergraduates.
4 years
Greehey School's intentional global track combines AACSB-accredited core business coursework with required language, study-abroad, and cross-cultural electives — well-suited to international students who want a US business credential with global framing.
4 years
ABET-accredited program oriented toward systems optimization, manufacturing, and supply chain. STEM-designated for OPT eligibility, with strong placement into San Antonio's growing logistics and aerospace cluster (USAA, Toyota, Boeing San Antonio, JBSA).
2 years
Ranked #5 Best Master's in Cybersecurity by Fortune 2025. Builds on San Antonio's status as the second-largest US cybersecurity hub (NSA Texas, AFCYBER at JBSA-Lackland), giving graduates direct access to a market hungry for cleared and uncleared cyber talent.
6 years
Strong undergraduates can complete a bachelor's and JD in six total years instead of seven by overlapping the senior year with the first year of law school — a distinctive advantage for international students aiming at US legal careers via the same residential campus.
Where alumni go after graduation — top industries, grad-school continuation, and the qualitative outcomes story.
Sticker price (annual, out-of-state): $37,434
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.