Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

contains many educational institutions from grade school to high school, college and beyond. A number of educational "firsts" have happened in Saint Paul.

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

, the first and oldest college in Minnesota, was founded in Saint Paul in 1854. In 1991, Minnesota became the first state in the United States to pass legislation allowing the existence of

charter school A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of autono ...

s. The following year, the first charter school in the nation, City Academy High School, was established in Saint Paul. The oldest library in Minnesota, the Minnesota State Law Library, was opened in 1849.

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

Saint Paul Public Schools Saint Paul Public Schools 625 (SPPS) is a school district that operates in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Saint Paul Public Schools is Minnesota's second largest school district, after Anoka-Hennepin School District 11, and serves approximately 33,000 ...

is the school district that serves the entire city. It is the state's second largest school district with approximately 38,000 students. The district is also one of the most diverse in Minnesota. There are also many

s that are run separately from the Saint Paul Public Schools, but are administered by the Minnesota Department of Education. 21 charter schools currently operate in Saint Paul.

Private schools

Saint Paul has numerous

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

, including non-sectarian,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. The Minnesota Department of Education has no authority over private school operations; private schools may or may not be accredited, and achievement tests are not required for private school graduating seniors. Many private schools will obtain accreditation and perform achievement tests as a means of demonstrating that the school is genuinely interested in educational performance. Saint Paul is currently home to 38 private schools. In addition,

Catholic school Catholic schools are Parochial school, parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest parochial schools, religious, no ...

s in Saint Paul are operated by the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers the archdiocese from the cities of Minneapolis–S ...

. Three high schools and fourteen elementary schools are overseen by the archdiocese.

List of elementary and secondary schools

Primary

* Adams Spanish Immersion * Ames Elementary * Battle Creek Elementary * Capitol Hill Gifted/Talented Magnet * Community of Peace Academy * Eastern Heights Elementary * EXPO for Excellence Magnet Elementary School * Four Seasons A+ Elementary * Friends School of Minnesota * Groveland Park Elementary * Harambee Elementary * Hayden Heights Elementary * Horace Mann Elementary * Jackson Preparatory Magnet * Jie Ming Mandarin Immersion Academy * L'Etoile du Nord French Immersion School * Longfellow Humanities Elementary and Magnet School * Nativity of Our Lord * Nokomis Montessori Magnet * North End Elementary * Saint Anthony Park Elementary School * St. John Lutheran School * St. Pascal Baylon * Webster Magnet Elementary * (and more not listed)

Public Secondary

* Central High School * Como Park Senior High School * Harding High School * Johnson Senior High School * Arlington Senior High School *Battle Creek Middle School *Cleveland Junior High School *Creative Arts Senior High School *Hazel Park Academy Middle School *Highland Park Junior High School * Highland Park Senior High School *Humboldt Junior High School *Humboldt Senior High School * Murray Junior High School *Open School *Ramsey Junior High School *Saint Paul Conservatory for the Performing Artists *Twin Cities Academy *Washington Technology Middle School

Private Secondary

Cretin-Derham Hall High School Cretin-Derham Hall High School (CDH) is a private, co-educational Catholic high school in Saint Paul, Minnesota operated by the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. It is co-sponsored by the Brothers of the Christian Schools and the Sis ...

St. Paul Academy and Summit School St. Paul Academy and Summit School is a private college preparatory day school in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, for students in grades K–12. The school was established through a merger in 1969 of St. Paul Academy, a school for boys, ...

* Saint Bernard's High School * Saint Agnes High School * Hill-Murray High School *(and more not listed)

List of Post-Secondary schools

Saint Paul is second in the United States in the number of higher education institutions per capita.

Public Post-Secondary

Metropolitan State University Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

Saint Paul College Saint Paul College is a open access public community college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The college enrolls about 11,000 students in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan ar ...

- A community and technical college * University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Private Post-Secondary

* Bethel University (Currently located in Arden Hills although historically in St. Paul) * College of Saint Catherine * College of St. Scholastica *

College of Visual Arts The College of Visual Arts (CVA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, was a private, accredited, four-year college of art and design offering a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fine arts, graphic design, illustration, and photography. The fin ...

(Closed) *

Concordia University, Saint Paul Concordia University, St. Paul is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1893 and enrolls nearly 5,900 students. It is a member of the Concordia University System, which is operated by the second-large ...

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

McNally Smith College of Music McNally Smith College of Music was a private for-profit music school in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Initially founded in 1984 as the Guitar Center of Minneapolis, it was renamed Musictech College and moved to St. Paul in 2001. The school was renamed a ...

* University of St. ThomasUniversity of St. Thomas – A private, Catholic liberal arts university in Minnesota — University of St. Thomas : Home
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Post-Graduate

William Mitchell College of Law William Mitchell College of Law was a private law school from 1956 to 2015 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA), it offered full- and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor (J. ...

Luther Seminary Luther Seminary is a seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the largest seminary of the ELCA. It also accepts and educates students of 41 other denominations and traditions. It is accredited ...

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

- various Master's, Doctoral, and Professional programs, including Veterinary Medicine *

- Law School, Business School, and School of Education *

Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity The Saint Paul Seminary (SPS) is a Catholic major seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. A part of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, SPS prepares men to enter the priesthood and permanent diaconate, and educates lay men and women on Ca ...

References

{{City of Saint Paul