Which courses can PSEO students take at Saint Mary's?

All 100- and 200-level courses in the university catalog are open to PSEO students. That is broader access than most colleges give, where PSEO students pick from a restricted list. Upper-division 300- and 400-level courses are outside the program.

Does St. Mary's have a PSEO application deadline?

The university does not post fixed term deadlines on its PSEO page, so contact the admissions office to confirm timing for the term you want. The state deadlines still apply regardless: notify your district by May 30 for fall enrollment or October 30 for spring.

Can 10th graders do PSEO at Saint Mary's?

No. State law limits sophomores to career and technical education courses, and Saint Mary's, as a liberal arts university, does not offer CTE coursework. The program here is for juniors and seniors with a 3.0 GPA.

Will Saint Mary's credits transfer to a public university?

Usually yes for standard lower-division courses, but not automatically. As a private university, Saint Mary's sits outside the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum, so public universities evaluate its courses individually. Check equivalencies with your likely transfer destination before registering, especially for less common courses.

Private College

St. Mary's University of Minnesota

Q: What is the Saint Mary's scholarship for former PSEO students?

If you take PSEO courses at Saint Mary's and later enroll there to finish your degree, the university awards a $1,000 annual scholarship renewable for up to four years. It is a concrete reason to consider Saint Mary's for PSEO if the university is on your college list anyway.

Winona, Minnesota

Some colleges wall off most of their catalog from PSEO students. St. Mary's University of Minnesota does the opposite: every 100- and 200-level course in the catalog is open to PSEO students, giving juniors and seniors with a 3.0 GPA the run of a private university's lower-division offerings in Winona, tuition-free.

Start NOSR Application

GPA Requirements

Juniors (11th Grade)

3.0 GPA

Seniors (12th Grade)

3.0 GPA

Program Details

Accepts 10th GradersNo

CTE Courses AvailableNo

Term Systemsemester

About the PSEO program

There is also a payoff few schools match. Saint Mary's offers a $1,000 annual scholarship, renewable for up to four years, to former PSEO students who return to finish their degree there. Free college classes in high school that convert into real scholarship money later is a combination worth knowing about before you pick where to send your NOSR.

As a Lasallian Catholic university, Saint Mary's brings small classes and a values-centered campus culture to the dual enrollment experience. The bluffside Winona campus sits in a college town that also hosts Winona State, so students in southeast Minnesota can weigh a private and a public PSEO option without changing zip codes.

Why choose St. Mary's University of Minnesota for PSEO

The whole lower-division catalog is open

All 100- and 200-level courses at Saint Mary's are available to PSEO students, so you choose from the university's actual offerings rather than a short pre-approved list.

A scholarship for coming back

Former PSEO students who return to complete their degree at Saint Mary's receive a $1,000 annual scholarship renewable up to four years, turning your high school credits into up to $4,000 of future aid.

One clean requirement

Juniors and seniors both qualify with a 3.0 GPA. No class-rank tiers, no test-score matrix, just a straightforward bar that many college-bound students already clear.

Private-college class sizes for free

PSEO covers tuition, so you get the small discussion-based classes of a private university, the kind of setting where professors learn your name, at no cost.

A second option in a college town

Winona hosts both Saint Mary's and Winona State, so local students can compare course schedules and campus fit between two PSEO programs within one short drive.

Programs & courses

Liberal arts core courses
Writing, literature, philosophy, and theology courses at the 100 and 200 level, all open to PSEO students under the university's full-catalog policy.
Business foundations
Introductory business and economics coursework from one of Saint Mary's larger undergraduate departments.
Sciences and mathematics
Lower-division biology, chemistry, and math sequences useful for students heading toward health or STEM majors.
Psychology and social sciences
Popular transfer-friendly courses that let students explore fields most high schools only touch in a single elective.
Fine and performing arts
Music, art, and theatre coursework at a university known for its arts programming, accessible at the introductory levels PSEO students can register for.

Campus & getting there

Saint Mary's Winona campus spreads along the base of the wooded bluffs on the west edge of Winona, a Mississippi River town in the southeast corner of the state, roughly 45 minutes from Rochester and 2.5 hours from the Twin Cities. Most PSEO students commute by car from Winona-area and river-valley districts on both sides of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. The university also lists online course options, which extends access for students whose schedules or distance make daily campus trips impractical.

Will my credits transfer?

Saint Mary's is a private university, so it is not part of the Minnesota Transfer Curriculum system, and its credits transfer by course-by-course evaluation instead of automatic goal-area matching. In practice, standard lower-division courses in writing, math, science, and social science from an accredited university like Saint Mary's transfer widely, including to Minnesota State schools and the University of Minnesota, but the receiving school decides. If you already know where you want to finish your degree, run your planned Saint Mary's courses past that school's transfer office first, and keep syllabi.

St. Mary's University of Minnesota PSEO FAQ

A 3.0 GPA, whether you apply as a junior or a senior. That single requirement covers both grade levels, making Saint Mary's one of the simpler private-college PSEO applications in Minnesota to assess your chances for.