Marian University (Indiana)

Marian University is a Roman Catholic liberal arts institution in Indianapolis, Indiana’s capital and largest city. Teaching at Marian is in the Franciscan tradition.

Though its roots lie in the school in Oldenburg built in 1851, 65 miles towards the Ohio border, the university has been in Indianapolis since 1937. A four-year college from 1936, it started to admit female students in 1954 and initiated adult degree programmes in 2000. It acquired university status and gained its current name in 2009.

In 2011, Marian opened a College of Osteopathic Medicine, the first medical school in the state for more than a century. In total, there are more than 100 courses spanning six schools and colleges. Others include the Clark H. Byrum School of Business and the School of Education and Exercise Science. Nursing, biology, business management, marketing and elementary education are the most commonly-taken programmes at Marian.

Indianapolis is widely considered the home of motor racing, having hosted editions of Formula 1’s American Grand Prix and, more famously, the Indy 500, an endurance race that has long been one of the largest sporting events in the US. The city of Kurt Vonnegut, Indianapolis is also home to several museums, parks and galleries.

Marian’s 200-acre campus is five miles north west of the city centre, surrounded by parks, golf courses and the White River. Its students enjoy a serene university setting in a sprawling metropolis which is one of the most diverse in the Midwest.