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Summary
Santa Clara University is a private institution that was founded in 1851. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,229, its setting is city, and the campus size is 106 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. Santa Clara University's ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Universities (West), 2. Its tuition and fees are $40,572 (2012-13).
Santa Clara University is located in the Silicon Valley town of Santa Clara, Calif., about an hour from San Francisco. The university offers arts and entertainment programs at the Center of Performing Arts and the de Saisset Museum of art and history. There are more than 100 student organizations on campus including the Santa Clara Community Action Program, a volunteer service organization, and the Santa Clara Review, a biannual literary magazine. Santa Clara offers housing in its residence halls, and students can also join a Residential Learning Community. The Santa Clara Broncos field nearly 20 Division I athletic teams and are known for their successful soccer and volleyball programs. The Ruff Riders—the official student booster club of SCU athletics—is the largest organization on campus.
Santa Clara’s graduate programs include the Leavey School of Business, School of Law, and Jesuit School of Theology. Approximately one third of students study abroad during their time at Santa Clara. Undergraduates can study in either the College of Arts and Sciences, Leavey School of Business, or School of Engineering. Santa Clara’s annual President’s Speaker Series has featured Santa Clara alumna and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, primatologist and U.N. Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall, and Santa Clara alumnus and author of the best-selling novel The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini.
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Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university, offers its students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees and a doctorate in engineering. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master's universities, California's oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. Founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College, SCU was established on the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asis, the eighth of 21 California missions. The university draws upon more than 450 years of the Jesuit tradition to educate students and citizens prepared to contribute to a more just, humane, and sustainable world. Located 45 miles south of San Francisco, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara University offers abundant career opportunities and access to a variety of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. The 106-acre campus features beautiful gardens and landscaping, and contains more than 50 buildings, the newest being the Locatelli Student Activities Center-- a two-story, U.S. Green Building Council LEED Gold certified facility featuring space for student clubs and organizations and a flexible place for students to schedule events. At Santa Clara, the notion of sustainability informs many of the classes and campus activities. University leaders have committed to reducing carbon dioxide emissions to a level 20 percent below 1990 emission levels. High student satisfaction and achievement are reflected in the fact that 94 percent of freshman students advance to the sophomore year and 85 percent graduate within six years, among the highest percentages in the country. One example of high student achievement is 2009 SCU graduate Beth Tellman, who double majored in sustainable globalization and environmental studies, received the Fulbright U.S. Student Award, and researches food security for coffee farmers in El Salvador. Santa Clara's emphasis on a community of scholars and integrated education attracts faculty members who are as committed to their students' intellectual and moral development as they are to pursuing their own scholarship. Santa Clara University's 495 full-time faculty members include Fulbright professors, nationally recognized authors and poets, groundbreaking scientists, and highly regarded economic forecasters. The integration of Santa Clara University and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (JST) in 2009 resulted in the new Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Santa Clara University's 89,546 alumni live in all 50 states and in 105 foreign countries. President Barack Obama has selected SCU alumni to hold significant government posts, including Janet Napolitano as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and Leon Panetta as Secretary of Defense. In 2011, Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine named Santa Clara University among the top 50 best values among private universities nationwide, and Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the undergraduate business program 35th in the nation. For nearly a decade, the School of Law's intellectual property program has been recognized among the top 10 in the country. The University also was named to the 2012 U.S. President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for community service programs and student involvement. |
General Information
| School type | private, coed college |
| Year founded | 1851 |
| Religious affiliation | Catholic |
| Academic calendar | quarter |
| Setting | city |
| 2011 Endowment | $716,821,000 |
Applying
When applying to Santa Clara University, it's important to note the application deadline is January 7, and the early action deadline and the early decision deadline are November 1 and November 1, respectively. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 7. The application fee at Santa Clara University is $55. It is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 54.4 percent and an early acceptance rate of 65.2 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | more selective |
| Fall 2011 acceptance rate | 54.4% |
| Application deadline | January 7 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | January 7 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at Santa Clara University is 13:1, and the school has 37.1 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at Santa Clara University include: Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services; Social Sciences; Engineering; Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs; and Psychology. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 93.0 percent.
Student Life
Santa Clara University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,229, with a gender distribution of 48.7 percent male students and 51.3 percent female students. At this school, 50.0 percent of the students live in college-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing and 50.0 percent of students live off campus. Santa Clara University is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.
| Total enrollment | 8,800 |
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| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA I |
Campus Info & Services
Santa Clara University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, day care, health service, and health insurance. Santa Clara University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Of the students at Santa Clara University, 34 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Santa Clara University.
| Students who have cars on campus | 34% |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | No |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
At Santa Clara University, 45.4 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $19,975.
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| Tuition and fees | $40,572 (2012-13) |
| Room and board | $12,276 (2012-13) |
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* Overview details based on 2011 data
