We transform people into leaders who change the world. With more than 125 years of experience providing an innovative Catholic education grounded in mindfulness of the world around us, we promote intellectual and professional excellence in tandem with service to others.

University Mission

Notre Dame of Maryland University educates leaders to transform the world.

Embracing the vision of the founders, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the University promotes the advancement of women and provides a liberal arts education in the Catholic tradition.

Notre Dame challenges women and men to:

  • strive for intellectual and professional excellence,
  • build inclusive communities,
  • engage in service to others, and
  • promote social responsibility.

A University of Firsts

We were the first Catholic college for women in America to offer the rigorous four-year education men already received. Our founders, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, brought their internationally renowned teaching skills to Baltimore in 1847. Since then, over 26,000 graduates have carried the Sisters’ values of truth, integrity and intellectual inquiry into the world. 

Looking to the Future

Though grounded in tradition, Notre Dame continues to respond to changes in education and society. While the Undergraduate Studies offers benefits of customizing a student's college experience, we also meet the needs of adult women and men with career-focused undergraduate and graduate programs designed around their real-life schedules. 

Our Graduates in the World

Whether your passion is NASA or nursing, you’ll find a Notre Dame graduate at the top of the field. Our Undergraduate Studies Graduates excel in the fields of work they employ. Men and women in our adult studies programs also serve in the military, improve educational policy, write books, start nonprofits, improve their communities and, everywhere, lead.