| Location: | Southeast |
| Setting: | Large City Setting |
| Type: | Private |
| Affiliation: | Roman Catholic |
| Size: | Medium (2,000 to 5,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascot: | Knights |
Bellarmine University serves Kentucky and the region by providing an educational environment of academic excellence in the Catholic liberal arts tradition, where talented and diverse persons of all fiths and ages develop the intellectual, moral, and professional competencies to lead, to serve, and to make a living and life worth living.
Bellarmine University is an independent, Roman Catholic liberal-arts university in Louisville, Kentucky; it is the largest traditional, non-profit private university in the state. The institution opened in 1950 as Bellarmine College, established by the Archdiocese of Louisville and named after the Catholic Saint Robert Bellarmine. The name was changed by the Board of Trustees in 2000 to Bellarmine University. While offering one doctoral degree, it is currently classified as a Masters-I university. The president is Dr. Joseph J. McGowan. At its spring 2007 commencement on May 12, the school awarded 443 degrees (89 graduate, 353 undergraduate). This followed a fall 2006 ceremony at which 238 students graduated.
Bellarmine University has been led by three Presidents: Alfred Horrigan (1950-1972), Eugene Petrik (1973-1990) and Joseph McGowan (1990-present). Each president is said to have been the right president for the time in which he has served. Horrigan, elevated to Domestic Prelate by the pope in 1955, led the school during its formative years, laying the spiritual, moral, and intellectual backbone. Petrik strengthened Bellarmine's financial footing. McGowan has taken the foundations laid by his predecessors and has led the school in a massive building program, culminating thus far in his Vision 2020 plan. In addition, Raymond Treece served as interim President for the 1972-73 school year between Presidents Horrigan and Petrik and Dr. John Oppelt served as acting President during a sabbatical by President McGowan in 1999.
The first public announcement concerning the establishment of Bellarmine College was made in November 1949 by the Archbishop of Louisville, John A. Floersh. He selected Alfred F. Horrigan and Raymond J. Treece, associate editors of the Louisville Archdiocesan newspaper, The Record, to begin the school. These two men designed a curriculum and the school's core philosophy, taking cues from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, and seeking advice from a number of Catholic institutions, including the University of Notre Dame, the University of Scranton, and the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. As The Record reported November 19, 1949, following the announcement of the college's establishment:
|
Full-Time vs. Part-Time
|
Men vs. Women
|
||||
|
Race/Ethnicity
|
|
In State vs. Out-of-State
|
Top States for Incoming Freshman
|
| Percent of Students International: | 0% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 31% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | No |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Basketball (Great Lakes Valley Conference) Baseball (Great Lakes Valley Conference) Track (Great Lakes Valley Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | Expenses | ||
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 21,500 | ||
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 20,800 | ||
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 700 | ||
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,959 | 25% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 3,435 | 67% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 9,146 | 84% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,087 | 59% | |
Any Aid: |
100% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 71% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| SAT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting SAT Scores: | 31% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Verbal: 490, Math: 500 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Verbal: 600, Math: 600 |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 86% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 21, Verbal: 21, Math: 20 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 26, Verbal: 27, Math: 26 |
| Application Fee: | $ 25.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Recommended |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |