ADMISSIONS
If you are interested in becoming a seminarian, the first step is to contact your Vocation Director. Each diocese has a vocation director who is entrusted with the responsibility of walking with men as they discern and explore the possibility of a calling to the priesthood. Your vocation director will be able to assist you and explain to you the process of applying to be a seminarian for your particular diocese. If you do not know who your vocation director is, a call to the diocesan offices should be able to provide that information.
If you are accepted as a seminarian by your diocese, then you are ready for the next step: applying for admission to the seminary itself. If your diocese sends students to IHMS, your vocation director will share with you some information about how to apply for admission specifically to IHMS. All seminarians at IHMS are also students at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota (SMUMN), and hence it is important to note that you need to be accepted by SMUMN as a student in order to be a seminarian at IHMS. Thus, successful completion of the application process to SMUMN is a condition for acceptance as a seminarian at IHMS.
Once you have been accepted by both your diocese and SMUMN, then the seminary faculty will review your application materials and render a decision regarding your admission as a member of the IHMS community. It may seem like a lengthy and involved process, but it begins with a very simple step: contacting your vocation director. In addition, you may certainly feel free to contact the seminary directly with any questions you may have.