College of Saint Benedict

College of Saint Benedict Tennis courts, 1918 The College of Saint Benedict opened in 1913, with six students enrolled, and grew out of St. Benedict's Academy, which was founded by Saint Benedict's Monastery in 1889. The Benedictine community incorporated CSB in 1961. [ 8 ] In addition to its undergraduate offerings, CSB offers three graduate nursing tracks [ 9 ] that confer Doctor of Nursing and Master of Science in Nursing degrees.

Starting in 1955, CSB and SJU began offering joint evening classes, where men and women attend classes together on both campuses. They began sharing a common academic program in the 1960s, and a classes now are co-educational and taught by a shared faculty of approximately 300 professors, mostly full-time, permanent appointees. About 3,000 students are enrolled in CSB and SJU. Prior to 2022, the two institutions were led by separate presidents. Brian J. Bruess became the first person to serve as president of both the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University on July 1, 2022, succeeding transitional presidents Laurie Hamen and James Mullen. [ 14 ]

Ninety percent of CSB and SJU graduates finish in four years, 95% of CSB and SJU students receive financial aid, and 95% of CSB and SJU alums rate their college experience as good or excellent. [ 15 ] CSB and SJU have produced four Rhodes Scholars [ 16 ] and nine Truman Scholars. [ 17 ] CSB and SJU are also a consistent producer of Fulbright scholarship winners. From 2013 to 2020, 39 students from CSB/SJU received Fulbright Scholarships. [ 18 ] CSB/SJU has also been recently recognized as a top producer of Peace Corps volunteers. [ 19 ] The most popular majors at St. Benedict, by 2021 graduates, were: [ 20 ] Psychology (54) Biology/Biological Sciences (48) Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (46) Elementary Education and Teaching (42) Accounting (29) Speech Communication and Rhetoric (29) The most popular undergraduate majors at St. John's, by 2021 graduates, were: [ 21 ] Business Administration and Management, General (64) Accounting (52) Computer Science (33) Biology/Biological Sciences (27) Speech Communication and Rhetoric (25) Economics (24) Psychology (23) 85% of CSB and SJU professors are full-time, the student-to-faculty ratio is 12:1, and the average class size is 19. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] Phi Beta Kappa Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest academic honor society. CSB/SJU's Phi Beta Kappa chapter, Theta of Minnesota, was established in 2009. [ 24 ]

Alumnus trekking in Tibet CSB and SJU have achieved national recognition for strength in study abroad and international education opportunities. The Institute of International Education ranks CSB and SJU among the top baccalaureate institutions in the nation for the number of students who study abroad. [ 25 ] According to Open Doors 2018, CSB and SJU ranked second in the nation among undergraduate institutions for participation in semester-long study abroad programs. [ 26 ] There are 17 semester-long study abroad sites available on six different continents. These destinations include: Austria, Chile, China, France, Germany, Greece/Italy, Japan, London, Australia, Guatemala, South Africa, Spain, Northern Ireland and multiple cities in Republic of Ireland. [ 27 ]