Christina Alvey, associate professor of Mathematics and Chair of the Division of Math and IT, teaches a Math class at Mount Saint Mary College.
Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, N.Y. was recently named the best college in the nation for women in STEM by Washington Monthly College Guide, in the category of undergraduate Mathematics.
In the Washington Monthly article “America’s Best and Worst Colleges for Women in STEM,” the publication compared the gender distribution of every STEM program in more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the United States. This was done using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
The Mount was ranked number one in the nation for undergraduate Mathematics, with women accounting for 73.1 percent of the college’s recent Mathematics graduates.
The college’s rigorous Mathematics major imparts the skills necessary for success, while also teaching students how to communicate analytical data to others both inside and outside the field. At the Mount, Math students apply their classroom knowledge to practical, real-world situations, from volunteering at local elementary schools to hosting Family Math Nights in the community.
The college’s success is not limited to Mathematics: With all Mount academic programs considered, 91 percent of recent grads were employed or in graduate school and the average salary of last year’s grads was more than $80,000.
On U.S. News and World Report’s comprehensive lists of top-tier regional universities for 2024-2025, the Mount was ranked in the best 100 colleges in the category of Regional Universities (North), coming in at number 84. These rankings assess academic quality, including first-year student retention, student excellence, graduation rate, and more.
U.S. News and World Report also ranked the Mount as one of its top 2024-2025 colleges in the category of Social Mobility: Regional Universities North, where the college was in the top 70. This category measures how well schools graduated students who received federal Pell Grants. Students receiving these grants typically come from economically disadvantaged households.
Recently, the Mount was named a 2025 Hidden Gem in Nursing by College Raptor, a popular college planning platform. The honor recognizes the Mount as one of the best colleges in the country based on a combination of factors, including retention rates, graduation rates, student-to-faculty ratio, endowment per student, selectivity, and other key metrics as reported via the NCES.
The Mount is offering three Open House events for all interested students this semester, with the first on Sunday, October 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be additional Mount Open House events on Sunday, November 10 and Sunday, December 8. Students can register for any of these events at www.msmc.edu/OpenHouse