Saint Mary's College is a private Catholic liberal arts college founded in 1844 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross. It is located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community northeast of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States — as are the University of Notre Dame and Holy Cross College. The name of the school refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Saint Mary's has been educating women for more than 165 years and is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women. It was the first school to offer graduate degrees in Theology for women. Known as The Nation's Premier Catholic Women's College, Saint Mary’s College consistently ranks among the best Liberal Arts schools in the U.S. News and World Report annual survey of American colleges and universities, ranking 93rd in 2011.. The college combines a strong liberal arts program with a spiritual foundation and a dedicated alumnae family. In 1843, four Sisters of the Holy Cross came from Le Mans, France, to share in the apostolate of education with the priests and brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross, who had been sent by the bishop of Vincennes to open a college in northern Indiana.