University of San Francisco

USF’s Jesuit Catholic tradition provides academic excellence with a global perspective in a diverse educational community and offers the advantages of internships, connections, and community engagement associated with San Francisco and the Bay Area. USF was founded in 1855 as the first higher education institution in San Francisco and today is one of the city’s most important educational resources, enrolling more than 10,000 students. The breadth, depth, and variety of the University’s 80+ academic programs in arts, sciences, business, and nursing, combined with its commitment to social justice, results in an active learning, career-building academic community for its students. USF is diverse—geographically and culturally—with students enrolling from 49 states as well as 87 foreign countries. U.S.News & World Report ranks USF among the top national universities for student ethnic diversity. Our talented and committed faculty challenge students to exceed their limits and pursue their passions. 

USF’s commitment to excellence and service, along with its location in one of the world’s great cities, draws faculty from across the country and around the world. Our diverse, multicultural, and international community of scholars challenges our students to develop the knowledge, skills, and sensitivities they will need to succeed personally and professionally. 

San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area are an integral part of the USF experience, with all of the resources that one of the nation’s leading educational, sports, arts, cultural, entertainment, and financial communities can offer, including volunteer, internship, and career opportunities.

At USF, you will become an active participant in our learning community—not a passive listener in a big lecture hall. Professors challenge our students to develop sound judgment, critical-thinking skills, and creative solutions through small group experiences and hands-on activities—and by taking advantage of all that San Francisco has to offer.

Academic programs
USF offers academic majors and special programs within a learning environment with small classes and direct interaction with faculty. Whatever your interests, you will find programs to meet your needs:

• More than 80 different undergraduate majors and concentrations

• Minors and interdisciplinary studies

• St. Ignatius Institute, a four-year Great Books program 

• Honors Program in the Humanities

• Challenging liberal arts Core Curriculum

• Martín-Baró Scholars Program, a learning community for freshmen focused on diversity in San Francisco’s multicultural urban environment

• Study abroad programs in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and Europe

Faculty
Of all the resources available to USF students, our faculty are the strongest. Professors are dedicated to the application of active learning and providing the skills, knowledge, and motivation that inspire our students to become future leaders of a more humane and just world. Ninety-one percent of our faculty have earned a Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree.

Our professors win national recognition in their fields of study. Professors are available to students both inside and outside the classroom. Faculty members take an active interest in students’ needs and aspirations and help them find the right career and personal paths.

Internships
Internship opportunities are available in every major:

• Business opportunities with downtown financial and banking institutions

• Hospitality industry

• Environmental agencies

• Computer-related opportunities in Silicon Valley and San Francisco

• Media opportunities in one of the largest TV/radio/print markets in the nation

• Multimedia opportunities with design firms

• Primary, secondary, and university education

• Historical, archival, and cultural organizations and museums

• Psychology internships with the UCSF medical center

• Community and social service organizations

• Corporate and retail positions in the apparel industry

Student life
At USF, students making the leap
to a new home and new friends will find their lives grounded in a strong sense of community. Many of our residence halls offer spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean, the city skyline, and San Francisco Bay. Loyola Village is a student residential community that features apartment-style living for students who are over 21 or who have reached their junior year at USF.

Cultural clubs and campus activities enrich student life and make it easy to make friends and have an impact on the University. More than 100 student clubs and organizations represent the many cultures, interests, and giving spirits of our students. USF maintains a rich sports tradition with the Dons and Lady Dons competing in NCAA Division I sports, including women’s basketball, cross-country, golf, sand volleyball, soccer, tennis, track, and volleyball and men’s baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, tennis, and track.

Off campus, the one-of-a-kind neighborhoods of San Francisco have extraordinary dining, shopping, cafés, and clubs to give well-deserved breaks from school and studies.