tolerance of each other. The first settlers were Protestants and Catholics during a time of persecution of the latter, and this mandate was unprecedented then as England had been wracked by religious conflict for centuries.
The college's name, "St. Mary's," commemorates Maryland's first colony, "St. Mary's City", which once stood where the college stands now. It has been coeducational since 1949.
== Academics ==
St. Mary's College offers 21 majors (with 5 additional in development), 29 minors, seven pre-professional programs and it has a master's program in education. It is a public honors college, one of only two such colleges in the United States. As such, it maintains a core honors-level curriculum that all of its students, regardless of major, must complete.
The college underwent its first ever large-scale program review or program prioritization process in February 2021, resulting in the discontinuation of several majors and minors.
It has an 81% overall graduation rate (including longer than four years). …
