History & Heritage

Just over a century ago, the Marist Brothers came to New York's Hudson River Valley to train young men to continue the Brothers' vocation as great educators. What started as a seminary for the training of future Marist Brothers has developed into one of the leading colleges of the arts and sciences in the country.

Now nonsectarian in nature, Marist College is home to approximately 4,900 traditional undergraduate men and women, 1,000 graduate students, and 400 adult students. In 1947, the first graduating class of modern-day Marist College consisted of four Marist Brothers. Today, more than 48,000 alumni and alumnae call Marist alma mater. Marist has a proud tradition that laid the foundation for a state-of-the-art campus for students preparing to enter the work force of the 21st century.

Marist College follows in the tradition of many great institutions that were founded as seminaries and developed into independent academies of higher learning.

Select an era from the menu to learn more about the history of Marist College.