Santa Clara University

What is the history of Santa Clara University?

Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university founded in 1851 in Santa Clara, California. Jesuits established the original Santa Clara College on the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asís, giving the institution a history closely tied to California's mission era.

The college later expanded its academic offerings and became Santa Clara University in 1912. It began admitting women to its undergraduate programs in the 1960s. Today, its combination of liberal arts, professional schools and Jesuit educational traditions helps explain why applicants encounter both career-oriented programs and coursework concerned with ethics, society and service.

What are the faculties and departments at Santa Clara University?

Santa Clara University organizes its undergraduate education primarily through the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leavey School of Business and the School of Engineering. It also has graduate and professional education in fields including business, engineering, law, education and counseling psychology, and theology.

Undergraduates can pursue subjects ranging from biology, communication and psychology to accounting, finance, computer engineering and mechanical engineering. The School of Law offers professional legal education; the Jesuit School of Theology is part of the university's graduate academic structure. Applicants should check the catalog for their intended degree rather than assume that a subject offered at the graduate level is available as an undergraduate major.

SCU uses the quarter system for much of its academic calendar. That can give students opportunities to explore different courses, but it also makes course sequencing important, particularly in majors with prerequisites or for students bringing in semester-based transfer credits.

What is the location of Santa Clara University?

Santa Clara University's main campus is in Santa Clara, in the southern San Francisco Bay Area. It sits in an urbanized Silicon Valley setting rather than an isolated college town.

The Santa Clara Transit Center is near campus and provides regional rail and bus connections. San José Mineta International Airport is also nearby. Those options may be useful to students without cars, although travel times depend on the destination and service schedule. The surrounding area offers access to employers and cultural activities, while Bay Area housing and transportation costs are important considerations for anyone planning to live off campus.

What is the mission and vision of Santa Clara University?

Santa Clara University describes its purpose in terms of Jesuit education: developing students' intellectual abilities while encouraging ethical reflection, service and concern for others. Its religious affiliation shapes aspects of the curriculum and campus programming, but the university enrolls students from different religious backgrounds.

For a prospective student, the practical question is how that philosophy appears in a particular program. Core requirements and opportunities for community engagement may bring questions about ethics and social responsibility into an education in business, engineering or the liberal arts. These are institutional aims, not evidence that every student will have the same experience.