International Students

The University of Mary is a four-year Catholic liberal arts school that offers nearly sixty undergraduate degrees and a dozen graduate degrees.  Faculty are deeply invested in students, and our small class sizes ensure that students receive one-on-one mentoring as they seek their degrees and discern their future careers.

Built in 1959, the University of Mary has a beautiful and modern campus that overlooks the Missouri River.  80% of our undergraduate students live on campus, and with a student body of about 2,600 undergraduates, it is easy to make friends and get to know your professors.  There is 24-hour dining in our campus cafeteria, the Crow’s Nest, and we offer comfortable, safe dorm rooms for students located right in the heart of campus.  Many of our dorms also offer communal kitchens.  We also have an on-campus bank, health clinic, chapel, and gym, so everything that you need is a short walk away.  Our students will tell you that our campus is friendly, convenient and a gorgeous place to call home.

The University of Mary is located in Bismarck, North Dakota – right in the middle of the Great Plains region of the central United States.  Living here, you will experience the best of small-town America: a friendly and very safe culture, low-cost living expenses, and beautiful views of the Missouri River and the wide-open prairie.  At the same time, Bismarck is the capital city of North Dakota and has all the convenient amenities of city life.  A bus route connects our campus to downtown Bismarck, which is just a ten-minute drive away.  In town, there is a major airport, top-rated hospitals, and all kinds of shopping and restaurants.  This proximity also means that our students have access to many internship opportunities with North Dakota’s most successful companies in the fields of engineering, health and medicine, journalism, business, and politics.

99% of our undergraduates receive financial aid, and the University of Mary has been rated as one of the most affordable top-rated schools in the region. Our international students can receive merit scholarships from the University for every year of their studies and qualify to work on campus. The Financial Aid Office and your International Student Admissions Representative can help you with your financial plan.

Our International Student Office has helped hundreds of students from all over the world pursue their future at the University of Mary.  We want you to have the best possible college experience from start to finish, which is why our office is ready to help you navigate each piece of your application and visa process.

Our commitment is to prepare you for a smooth transition to college life in the U.S., to help you connect to our vibrant community, and to assist you as you plan your degree and career.   We’re ready to help you with questions concerning: 

• University of Mary application 
• Visa requirements  
• Transcripts 
• Information on majors, degrees, and academic programs  
• Financial aid  
• Travel and moving advice  
• Community life questions  
• Housing and dining options  
• On-campus employment opportunities  

To contact our international student representative, please call (701) 355-8273 or email enroll@umary.edu 

Apply to the University of Mary

Start by applying and securing your acceptance to the University of Mary. We are an SEVP-certified institution, and our SEVIS code is SPM214F00356000.

Once you are accepted, you will receive a Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status.”

A student’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) record is created, and the student is then issued a Form I-20 by the designated school official (DSO) and SEVP-certified school they have chosen to attend.

Students must now pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee at FMJFee.com.

The student brings their Form I-20 and other required documents to apply for a student visa from the U.S. Department of State.

A student arrives no more than 30 days before their program start date and presents their Form I-20 and valid student visa to U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the port of entry.

Student must take a full course of study, not work without prior authorization, and speak with their DSO if they cannot finish classes before their program end date, or have any other concerns about maintaining lawful status.

A student has the option to transfer schools, change education levels (e.g., undergraduate to graduate), or, if eligible, apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) opportunities.

An F-1 student has 60 days to depart the United States after completion of their program of study or OPT. An M-1 student has 30 days after completion of their program of study to depart.