St. Thomas University (STU) is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

Catholic university Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

. The university offers 61 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and post-graduate certificate programs on-campus and online. As of 2021, the university enrolled 5,922 students, which included 1,797 undergraduate students, 1,498 graduate students, 780 law students, 62 non-degree students, and 1,784 dual enrollment (high school) students. The university is

accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees app ...

History

St. Thomas University's history can be traced back to 1946 Havana, Cuba, where it was founded as the Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva, named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. In 1961, Fidel Castro's militia confiscated the school's land and expelled the faculty and priests. In turn, the Augustinians fled to Miami and opened a new Catholic men's college – Biscayne College. In 1984, with the establishment of the School of Law and other graduate degree programs, the college, by then co-educational, again became St. Thomas University. The university came under the sponsorship of the

Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami (, , ) is a Latin Church archdiocese of the Catholic Church in South Florida in the United States. It is the metropolitan see for the Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, which ...

in 1988, conferring upon St. Thomas the distinction of being the only Catholic Archdiocesan sponsored university in the state of Florida. From 1970 until 1993, St. Thomas University was the training camp home of the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

NFL team. It was also the spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles. The university was located in the Opa-locka North

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

, in an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

, - Page
1
an
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- Compare to the university's maps and addresses. until Miami Gardens incorporated as a city on May 13, 2003. In 2019, St. Thomas University formally installed David A. Armstrong as the university's tenth president.

Presidents

Academics

St. Thomas University offers 23 undergraduate majors, 24 graduate majors, four doctoral programs, and one professional law program through its four colleges and schools: * Benjamin L. Crump College of Law * Biscayne College of Social and Human Sciences * Gus Machado School of Business * School of Science, Technology and Health St. Thomas University is a member of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities, the Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities A Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) is defined in U.S. federal law as an accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institution of higher education with 25% or higher total undergraduate Hispanic or Latino full-time equivalent (FTE ...

Undergraduate admissions

In 2024, St. Thomas University accepted 65.1% of undergraduate applicants, was considered to have "Extremely Easy Admission Standards" with those enrolled having an average 3.24 high school

GPA Grading in education is the application of standardized measurements to evaluate different levels of student achievement in a course. Grades can be expressed as letters (usually A to F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), percentages, or as num ...

and with standardized test scores of an average 860-1060

SAT The SAT ( ) is a standardized test widely used for college admissions in the United States. Since its debut in 1926, its name and Test score, scoring have changed several times. For much of its history, it was called the Scholastic Aptitude Test ...

score, or an average 16-21 ACT score.

Rankings

'' U.S. News & World Report'' ranked St. Thomas University in the No. 392-434 category out of 436 universities in the National Universities category in its 2025 Best Colleges ranking.

Study Abroad

Study abroad opportunities offer students study abroad experiences in Croatia, India, Israel, Italy, and Spain.

Student demographics

Campus

The 150-acre campus is located in

Miami Gardens Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from I-95 and Northeast 2nd Avenue to its east to Northwest 47th ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

; minutes away from Miami's beaches, Wynwood Art District, the MiMo District,

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

, and Miami Downtown. The University Library also contains the Archbishop John C. Favalora Archive and Museum. The museum opened in 2008.

Residential life

St. Thomas has six residence halls: Villanova Hall, Cascia Hall, Sullivan Hall, University Inn, Murphy Family Hall, and New Hall.

Athletics

The St. Thomas athletic teams are called the Bobcats. The university is a member of the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA), primarily competing in the

Sun Conference The Sun Conference (TSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Eight of the ten full member institutions are located in Florida, with two in Georgia. The Sun Conference co ...

(formerly known as the Florida Sun Conference (FSC) until after spring 2008) since the 1990–91 academic year; while its men's wrestling team competes in the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) and its eSports team competes in the

Mid-South Conference The Mid-South Conference (MSC) is a List of college athletic conferences in the United States, college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Kentuc ...

(MSC). The Bobcats previously competed in the

Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly k ...

(SSC) of the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

ranks from 1975–76 to 1986–87. St. Thomas competes in 28 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, rugby, soccer, swimming & diving (2020), tennis, track & field and wrestling (2020); while women's sports include basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cross country, flag football (2020), golf, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, softball, swimming & diving (2020), tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, competitive dance and eSports.

Honors

Last year, 12 of its 14 athletic teams received NAIA Scholar Team honors while five of the teams competed in national tournaments. Moreover, athletes annually maintain a 3.0 overall GPA. St. Thomas University prides itself on being "Champions of Character" and has annually been sighted as a Five Star Champions of Character Institution by the NAIA.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of the university include:

References

External links

*
Athletics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas University (Florida) 1961 establishments in Florida Universities and colleges established in 1961 Miami Gardens, Florida Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami Catholic universities and colleges in Florida Universities and colleges in Miami-Dade County, Florida