St. Olaf College

Home
United States
Northfield, MN
St. Olaf College

St. Olaf is a nationally ranked liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. One of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, St. Olaf experience.

Olaf College offers a distinctive education grounded in academic rigor, residential learning, global engagement, and a vibrant Lutheran faith tradition. Many excellent colleges provide one, two, or even three elements of the St. What makes St. Olaf unique is the combination of so many distinguishing features working together at the highest level: an intense academic program that sharpens minds and

an emphasis on a global perspective that broadens them; the vitality of a residential community that engages thoughtful people across the full range of human experiences; and a faith tradition that encourages reflection and honors different perspectives. By cultivating the habits of mind and heart that enable graduates to lead lives of financial independence, professional accomplishment, personal fulfillment, and community engagement, St. Olaf College provides an uncommon educational experience that fully prepares students to make a meaningful difference in a changing world.

06/02/2026

Um! Yah! Yah! Thank you to all the alumni and friends of the college who returned to the Hill for Reunion Weekend 2026 💛

📸 Evan Pak '19

05/30/2026

St. Olaf students selected for Smaby Peace Scholars program!

Otelia Lighthill ’27 and Jacob Rozell ’27 have been named Smaby Peace Scholars. The Peace Scholars Program is designed to expand students’ awareness of current issues relating to peace, justice, democracy, and human rights through a series of educational experiences in Oslo, Norway.

“I hope that this program puts into perspective how I operate as a student within a global network,” Lighthill says.

Read more about these year's scholars at St. Olaf News: https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/st-olaf-students-selected-for-smaby-peace-scholars-program

05/28/2026

We are missing the Class of 2026 already 🥺

In addition to the commencement ceremony, the graduating class celebrated with several other events throughout the weekend — from the Campus Illumination Ceremony and Lighting to the Commencement Weekend Concert featuring the musical talents of the St. Olaf Band, St. Olaf Choir, and St. Olaf Orchestra.

Catch the Class of 2026 recap and streaming links at St. Olaf News: https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/st-olaf-commencement-ceremony-celebrates-the-class-of-2026

📷 Samuel Gwin '25

05/25/2026

On Memorial Day, our campus community reflects on the lives lost protecting our country as well as the loved ones we’ve lost over the years at St. Olaf. As part of a decades-old tradition at the college, each year members of our community gather at local cemeteries to place Memorial Day mums in memory of our friends who have passed. This year President Susan Rundell Singer invited volunteers to the St. Olaf House after the annual tradition for pastries and coffee.

📸 Evan Pak '19

05/24/2026

Congratulations to the Class of 2026!

📸 Evan Pak '19 and Samuel Gwin '25

05/20/2026

Experts at St. Olaf: World Bee Day 🐝

May 20 is World Bee Day! It's a moment to celebrate the vital role that pollinators play in ecosystems and biodiversity across the globe. St. Olaf College Associate Professor of Practice in Biology Diane Angell provides further insight on the importance of bees — and why we should pay attention to their alarming decline.

👉 Read more at St. Olaf News!
https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/experts-at-st-olaf-world-bee-day

05/19/2026

Oles in the News: St. Olaf professor assisted in a Pulitzer Prize-winning article

The staff of the Minnesota Star Tribune won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in the Breaking News Reporting category for their thorough and compassionate coverage on the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting. St. Olaf Visiting Assistant Professor of Russian Language and Area Studies Guilia Dossi assisted the Star Tribune reporters in translating the encoded messages from the perpetrator.

Dossi says it was a privilege to contribute to the Star Tribune’s reporting. “While emotionally taxing, I am honored to have been the human intelligence that was able to help produce timely and accurate reporting,” she says.

👉 Read more at St. Olaf News: https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/oles-in-the-news-st-olaf-professor-assisted-in-a-pulitzer-prize-winning-article

05/17/2026

St. Olaf student entrepreneurs compete in the 12th annual Ole Cup!

The Ole Cup, St. Olaf’s annual entrepreneurship competition hosted by the Piper Center for Vocation and Career, brings students to the stage to pitch ventures ranging from health care devices to travel platforms. The winners receive funding to support their entrepreneurial idea.

🏆 The 12th Annual Ole Cup Winners:
First Place ($10,000): VCD-Zero
Second Place ($7,500): ApexStride
Third Place ($5,000): BANARA
Social Impact Award ($7,500): RicarGie
People's Choice Award ($3,000): Algaecore

👉 Read more about this year's Ole Cup and the participants' ventures and products at St. Olaf News: https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/st-olaf-student-entrepreneurs-compete-in-12th-annual-ole-cup

05/11/2026

From springs and bolts, St. Olaf researchers built a computer that doesn’t require electricity!

Researchers from St. Olaf College and Syracuse University built a computer made entirely of mechanical components that can perform simple computations without electricity or batteries, and their work was published in "Nature Communications."

“Our results are one step toward designing materials that can sense their environment, make a decision, and then respond,” says Associate Professor of Physics Joey Paulsen '07.

“Frequently called smart materials, what we learned could help improve people’s lives by having more responsive artificial limbs or tactile rooms.”

The St. Olaf student research team that worked on the project included Faten Abu Al Ardat ’27, Harry Maakestad ’26, Alex Walk ’28, and Jack Feider ’26.

👉 Read more about the project at St. Olaf News!
https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/from-springs-and-bolts-st-olaf-researchers-built-a-computer-that-doesnt-require-electricity

05/08/2026

Urban Bush Women residency: Cultivating care, creativity, and community

This past February, the highly acclaimed New York City dance company Urban Bush Women facilitated several events at the college that challenged students and faculty to create movements reflecting their emotions, experiences, and environments, while creating welcoming spaces for participants to experiment, meditate, and have fun dancing together.

Margaret Black ‘28 described her experience as “full of joy, acceptance, and appreciation for the way our bodies move through a space and how we can connect with our peers."

Sam Suro '28 reflected, “With UBW, I felt included, wanted, and like an asset. Regardless of our skill or where we came from, they genuinely seemed interested in our stories and helping us progress not just as a dancer, but as a peer in society.”

👉 Read more about the student's experiences at St. Olaf News: https://wp.stolaf.edu/news/urban-bush-women-residency-cultivating-care-creativity-and-community

📸 Kari Mosel
📸 Jenn Lin '27
📸 Olivia Schmidt

Address

1520 St. Olaf Avenue
Northfield, MN
55057

Telephone

+15077862222

Website

http://stolaf.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when St. Olaf College posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your university to be the top-listed University in Northfield?