St. Thomas University (STU) is a privateCatholic university in Miami Gardens, Florida. 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.[3]
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 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[5] of the Miami Dolphins NFL team. It was also the spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles.
In 2019, St. Thomas University formally installed David A. Armstrong as the university's tenth president.[9]
Presidents
President
Tenure
Edward J. McCarthy
1962-1968
Ralph V. Shuhler
1968-1969
John H. McDonnell
1969-1975
John J. Farrell
1975-1980
Patrick H. O'Neill
1980-1986
Pasquale di Pasquale
1987-1988
Richard E. Greene
1989-1993
Edward J. McCarthy
1993-1994
Franklyn M. Casale
1994-2018
David A. Armstrong
2018-present
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:[10]
St. Thomas University is a member of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities,[15] the Independent Colleges & Universities of Florida, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities,[16] and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.[17]
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 and with standardized test scores of an average 860-1060 SAT score, or an average 16-21 ACT score.[18]
150-acre campus is located in Miami Gardens, Florida; minutes away from Miami's beaches, Wynwood Art District, the MiMo District, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami Downtown. The University Library also contains the Archbishop John C. Favalora Archive and Museum.[22] The museum opened in 2008.
Residential life
St. Thomas has five residence halls: Villanova Hall, Cascia Hall, Sullivan Hall, University Inn, Murphy Family Hall, and New Hall.[23]
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.[26]
^"St. Thomas University Admission Standards". collegesimply.com. CollegeSimply | U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
