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Who We ARe
Our Mission
We are University of St. Thomas, the Catholic university in the heart of Houston. We are committed to the Catholic intellectual tradition and the dialogue between faith and reason. By pursuing excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service, we embody and instill in our students the core values of our founders, the Basilian Fathers: goodness, discipline and knowledge. We foster engagement in a diverse, collaborative community.
University of St. Thomas is a comprehensive university, grounded in the liberal arts. Committed to the unity of all knowledge, we offer programs in the traditional liberal arts, professional, and skill-based disciplines. Graduates of University of St. Thomas think critically, communicate effectively, succeed professionally, and lead ethically.
The Foundation
A Living Catholic Identity
Founded in 1947 by the Basilian Fathers, the University of St. Thomas embodies the principles of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, committed to the religious, ethical, and intellectual traditions of Catholic higher education.
The University of St. Thomas is defined by more than academic offerings and campus traditions. It is shaped by a Catholic identity that informs what is taught, how inquiry is pursued, and why education is understood as the formation of the whole person. This identity is lived through worship, prayer, service, and community life, and sustained through the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Basilian charisms that founded the University—goodness, discipline, knowledge, and community. Our Catholic mission is the frame through which the University understands its purpose.
UST Spiritual Life
Explore Mission and Faith
Mission and faith at the University of St. Thomas are expressed through worship, scholarship, service, and community life. The Basilian view is that the quality of education is not about mastering a single discipline. It is about integrating a breadth of knowledge. UST’s Core Curriculum carries on this tradition, enriching your intellectual growth and every other dimension that defines who you are.
Catholic Identity
Learn how the Catholic intellectual tradition informs the academic, moral, and communal life of the university.
Campus Ministry
Opportunities for worship, spiritual guidance, retreats, and service that support students in faith and formation.
Basilian Fathers
The Basilian Fathers established the University of St. Thomas in 1947 and more than 70 of its members have served here. UST is committed to the core elements of the Basilian contribution to Catholic higher education.
UST Prayer Guild
The UST Prayer Guild is a spiritual initiative rooted in the Catholic tradition of intercessory prayer, open to all members of the University of St. Thomas community: faculty, staff, students, alumni and benefactors.
Chapel of St. Basil
An artistic marvel, the Chapel of St. Basil was designed by the late architect Philip Johnson and completed in 1997. The Chapel of St. Basil and Doherty Library face each other from opposite ends of the Academic Mall to signify the perpetual relationship between faith and reason. Mass is offered every day.
A Life of Purpose
Faith That Forms the Human Person
At the University of St. Thomas, mission is expressed in our habits, our standards, our campus culture, and our student experience. Students encounter a community where living your faith and engaging in a spiritual life are the norm. Here at UST, education is ordered toward goodness, discipline, knowledge, and community.