Why a Women's University?
If you’re a prospective first year student, the question isn’t why should you attend a women’s university – it’s why wouldn’t you? For perhaps the first time in your life, you’ll be surrounded by successful women role models and mentors – and yes, some men as well – whose mission is to maximize your leadership qualities, help you find your life’s passion, and steer you on your individual path to success, fulfilment and purpose.
At the Mount, you’ll 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’s small student body size ensures you’ll 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.
Racial/ethnic diversity
88%
Mount Saint Mary's (2022)
38.5%
Private liberal arts colleges
43.6%
Public universities
Development of confidence, initiative
89%
MSMU (2021 alumnae survey)
70%
Coed
Importance of contributing to community
86%
MSMU
63%
Coed
STEM
Women’s colleges focus on STEMLeaving 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.
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
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
/filters:format(webp)/prod01/channel_18/media/website/about-the-mount/fast-facts/B37A1225-copy-cropped.JPG)
A women-centered learning environment devoted to women's leadership and empowerment
Women’s universities: changemakersBeing at Mount Saint Mary’s University means learning in an environment where your voice is heard — 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.
View ProgramsAbout the Women’s College Coalition
Founded in 1972, the Women’s College Coalition is a consortium of 36-member women’s 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’s only education in these times of equal participation but not parity, and tackling issues within higher education, whether singularly affecting women’s institutions or the broader educational landscape.
The WCC is currently “housed” at Mount Saint Mary’s University. The Mount’s president, Ann McElaney-Johnson, PhD, is the chair of the WCC’s 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’s executive director.
Alumnae from women’s 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’t feel that their networks are as strong as the men’s network. Here, you will be welcomed to the Alumnae Association the moment you receive your diploma; also check out the Facebook page of the Women’s Colleges Alum Network., 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.
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 ’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.
Political Science
Since 2005, MSMU 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 ’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’s Global Women in STEM program.
Psychology
The American Journal of Undergraduate Research published a report on the gender gap in higher education, “Women in Higher Educational Leadership: Representation, Career Progression and Compensation,” by Joselyn Rivera ’18, Carla Canas ’19, Caitlyn Keeve ’20 and Carmen Ramos ’20.
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.