A New Academic Year Begins at Saint Mary’s—with a Growing Number of New Gaels

The arcade is bustling again, along with familiar gathering spots and pathways across campus. Classrooms are full. Students are once again filling the tables at Oliver Hall. The rhythms of a Saint Mary’s semester have returned.

And this fall, considerably more new Gaels are making Saint Mary’s their home.

Saint Mary’s College of California begins the 2026–27 academic year with 693 new students, up from 588 last year—an increase of nearly 18 percent.

The new Gaels also bring a growing international presence to Moraga. International new-student enrollment has tripled, from 17 students last year to 51 this fall, with students representing 24 countries, up from 15 a year ago. Fifteen countries are newly represented among this year’s students: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, India, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, and Switzerland.

Saint Mary’s also saw significant growth from within its own Lasallian network, with enrollment of new students from Lasallian high schools growing more than 40 percent, from 33 students last year to 47 this fall. More Saint Mary’s families are continuing the Gael tradition as well: 50 new legacy students enrolled this fall, up from 38 last year, an increase of nearly one-third.

The growth follows a particularly lively opening to the academic year. New students and their families arrived in Moraga last week for Move-In and Weekend of Welcome, with students taking part in activities and traditions designed to introduce them to Saint Mary’s—and to one another.

“What matters is the experience these students will have here—the faculty who will challenge and mentor them, the friendships and sense of belonging they will develop, and the opportunities they will have to discover their talents and put them to work in service of others.” 

— President Roger J. Thompson

On Friday, the College also revived New Student Convocation, bringing together new students on Chapel Lawn for a formal welcome to the academic community. The ceremony, a Saint Mary’s tradition that had not been held since 2022, included faculty, College leaders, student representatives, and the De La Salle Christian Brothers.

For President Roger J. Thompson, the growth in new students offers an encouraging sign of momentum—but the more important story, he says, is what happens after students arrive.

“Seeing more students choose Saint Mary’s—from across the country, around the world, and from within our own Lasallian community—is tremendously encouraging,” he said. “But numbers alone are not our measure of success. 

“What matters is the experience these students will have here: the faculty who will challenge and mentor them, the friendships and sense of belonging they will develop, and the opportunities they will have to discover their talents and put them to work in service of others. Each of these students saw something distinctive in Saint Mary’s and chose to become part of this community. Now it is our responsibility to deliver on that promise.”

New Students, New Opportunities

Students arriving this fall also find a Saint Mary’s that continues to evolve to meet students’ interests and needs.

The academic year marks the first for the College’s newly unified School of Arts & Sciences, bringing together disciplines across the liberal arts and sciences and creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. Saint Mary’s continues to expand its health-related academic offerings, building on its established Health Science major with newer programs in Nursing and Public Health, both of which welcomed their inaugural cohorts last academic year. 

The new academic year also brings new leadership to two of the College’s schools, with Gesine Gerhard, PhD, beginning her tenure as inaugural dean of the School of Arts & Sciences and Kimberly Mayfield Lynch, EdD, taking the helm as dean of the Kalmanovitz School of Education.

This fall also brings the launch of four new NCAA Division I programs—Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Men’s and Women’s Water Polo. The College’s new aquatics programs are bringing a distinctly international presence to Moraga, with the inaugural swimming and men’s water polo rosters featuring student-athletes from 14 countries outside the United States—and even more international Gaels set to join the pool when women’s water polo begins competition in 2027.

And even as this year’s students begin their Saint Mary’s journey, the College is creating new pathways for those who will follow. Earlier this month, Saint Mary’s announced the Lasallian Guaranteed Admission Program, which guarantees admission to eligible graduates of accredited Lasallian high schools across the United States—the first nationwide program of its kind offered by a US Lasallian college or university.

The new academic year also begins with fresh national recognition for Saint Mary’s. In The Best 392 Colleges: 2027 Edition, released this month, The Princeton Review once again names SMC among the nation’s best undergraduate institutions and recommends it for students seeking a “best fit.” Saint Mary’s is also included among the publication’s “Best West” colleges and in its 2027 Guide to Green Schools.

The Semester Begins

For the newest Gaels, the larger institutional milestones quickly give way to something much more immediate: finding the right classroom, meeting professors, settling into residence halls, reconnecting with people they met during Weekend of Welcome, and figuring out what college life looks like once the semester actually begins.

This week, they join returning students on campus as classes for the 2026–27 academic year officially get underway.

The fall semester has begun. And for Saint Mary’s newest Gaels, the journey is just beginning.

2026 Weekend of Welcome in Pictures

Photos by Francis Tatem and Bryan Navarro

Note that enrollment numbers are finalized in October.