One of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf College offers a distinctive education grounded in intellectual rigor, residential learning, global engagement, and a vibrant Lutheran faith tradition. A St. Olaf College education develops the habits of mind and heart that enable students to embrace the challenges of a changing world, leading to lives of professional accomplishment, financial independence, and personal fulfillment.

A St. Olaf education is

Academically Rigorous — Academic rigor and intellectual curiosity are the educational foundations of the St. Olaf experience.

Intensely Residential — St. Olaf is fully committed to providing a learning experience that invites students to live and learn in community with others.

Globally Engaged — St. Olaf believes that knowledgeable and responsible engagement with people and cultures around the world informs learning and expands students’ perspectives.

Guided by Our Lutheran Faith Tradition — St. Olaf’s vibrant faith tradition encourages free inquiry and thoughtful conversations about religion and belief. We draw upon on our Lutheran heritage to help students shape their understanding of vocation and discern their life’s work.

Many excellent colleges provide one, two, or three of the elements of the St. Olaf experience. What makes St. Olaf unique is the combination of so many distinguishing features working together at the highest level: an intense academic program that sharpens minds and an emphasis on a global perspective that broadens them; the vitality of a residential community that engages thoughtful people across the full range of human experiences; and a faith tradition that encourages reflection and honors different perspectives.