A Place with a Mission
This is our mission, a work in progress:
Our purpose is to make a distinctive contribution of service and excellence, in the Catholic tradition, to higher education in Northern Ireland.
St Mary’s is an academic community committed to the search for meaning and value in the intellectual life, to academic excellence and to individual attention for students.
We work for the development of the whole person in a Christian, values-sensitive environment in preparation for a lifetime of learning, leadership and service.
We want the College to be a religious, educational, cultural and social resource for the local community and to show concern for the poor and powerless.
We provide degree programmes in teacher education – with the option to learn through Irish as well as English – and in Liberal Arts.
We offer our students high-quality teaching and extensive support to foster effective learning.
We aim to reduce traditional obstacles that prevent access to higher education, and to enable participation from a broad spectrum of society.
We support economic regeneration and social development initiatives which facilitate peace building and the resolution of conflict.
We are committed to a rich international dimension in College life.
To further our mission, we work with a wide range of partners and seek to build fruitful and enduring relationships.
Ethos
Education at St Mary’s takes place within an ethos that is nurturing for students, rewarding for staff and welcoming to visitors, where values-education is actively promoted and respect is intrinsic.
The main sources from which the ethos emerges are the guiding philosophy and principles of Catholic education, the relatively small size of the institution and its location in west Belfast, as well as the people who study and work at the College.
Our core values and educational focus make us distinctive in many ways
We have:
- a specialist approach to educating teachers that emphasises excellence, inclusion and pastoral care;
- an innovative Liberal Arts education that provides a range of communication, intellectual and professional skills;
- a mutually beneficial engagement with the local community;
collaborative academic provision with Queen’s University; - a high level of commitment to international student mobility.
What Makes Us Proud
Any local applicant to the College will almost certainly have been taught by a St Mary’s graduate.
