[3] It has study-abroad campuses in Rome and Arequipa, Peru, and also operates academic programs at satellite locations in North Dakota (Fargo, downtown Bismarck, Williston, Watford City, Grand Forks), Minnesota, Montana, Kansas, and Arizona.

The University of Mary has its origins in a boarding school founded in Bismarck, Dakota Territory, in 1878 by Benedictine sisters.

[6] In the early 1950s, the sisters requested that celebrated Bauhaus architect Marcel Breuer design a new priory building.

In 1955, he accepted the commission[7] only after visiting the site, meeting the sisters, and being "overwhelmed by the power and presence of the landscape setting and the mission.

"[4] Breuer's designs used native granite prairie stone, complex concrete shapes, and a juxtaposition of light and shadow.

[8] As the school grew, it endeavored to preserve the spirit of Breuer's modernist prairie architecture while implementing new programs and new buildings by lesser-known architects.

The university has expanded options to make education accessible to working adults and support lifelong learning in the region and beyond.

University of Mary Online offers accelerated undergraduate and graduate programs for the adult learner.

Named for Gary Tharaldson, a North Dakota hospitality entrepreneur and industry innovator, the school was designed to bridge the gap between academia and the business world.

In December 2008, the university announced that a 33-year-old Catholic priest, Father James Patrick Shea, had been named as its new president.

It is an interdisciplinary program designed to explore the Catholic Church's contributions to and influence on human thought and culture.

The program invites students of any faith who wish to deepen their knowledge of Catholicism's history and living tradition.

[13] The University of Mary is a rural campus located about four miles (6.4 km) south of Bismarck and was built on a high prairie bluff overlooking the "Capital City."

[16][17] The Benedictine Center for Servant Leadership is one of the oldest buildings on campus, since it previously served as the library and a priory for the Sisters.

It is also home to the Liffrig School of Education and Behavioral Sciences, three residence halls (below), and the Hauer Family Theater.

The library houses 61,000 print volumes, more than 340,000 eBooks, 3,600 multimedia items, and databases providing access to over 60,000 journals.

The Tschider Center for Health Sciences occupies one wing of this building, and provides both office and classroom space for the human performance programs.

The Lumen Vitae University Center (LVUC) serves as a community gathering space for students and faculty.

[21] The Harold J. Miller Center is one of the oldest buildings on campus and houses science, math, occupational therapy, and a computer lab.