University of San Francisco

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Jesuit tradition defines USF's approach to learning and our commitment to welcoming students of every faith and no faith. Our vision and mission are the foundations of our university and reflect the shared views of our institution.
The University of San Francisco will be internationally recognized as a premier Jesuit Catholic, urban university with a global perspective that educates leaders who will fashion a more humane and just world.
The core mission of the university is to promote learning in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. The university offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional students the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as persons and professionals and the values and sensitivity necessary to be men and women for others.
The university will distinguish itself as a diverse, socially responsible learning community of high-quality scholarship and academic rigor sustained by a faith that does justice. The university will draw from the San Francisco Bay Area's cultural, intellectual, and economic resources and its location on the Pacific Rim to enrich and strengthen its educational programs.
The Honors College, the first of its kind at a Jesuit university, will gather undergraduates in a diverse academic community that cuts across disciplines, providing rich learning opportunities and personalized mentoring with distinguished scholars and artists.
In anatomy, electricity, arguments, and apples, the core is the principal strength and stability source. Our core curriculum is built on that same essential principle, providing students with a common foundation for thinking critically with an eye toward a greater good.
Through USF, studying abroad is an opportunity to earn academic credit abroad, learn a new language, gain work experience abroad, or be immersed in a new country. The Center for Global Education offers USF students semester, academic year, and short-term programs worldwide. Whether you want to spend a month abroad learning about a new country or spend an entire academic year taking classes abroad, we have a program for you!
Students are encouraged to pursue in-depth research at the University of San Francisco at the highest level by taking advantage of USF's extensive resources. Small class sizes offer students the opportunity for hands-on involvement and collaborative relationships with faculty in ways not possible at other institutions. Here are some of our unique resources and ways our students are actively putting them to work.
Undergraduate financial aid includes grants, merit scholarships, loans, and Federal Work-Study. According to the student and family (need-based financial aid) or merit scholarships (non-need-based on student's academic profile), these aid programs can be awarded.
Say hello to the future you at the Priscilla A. Scotlan Career Services Center. Whether you are a freshman figuring out your career path or a senior looking for your first full-time opportunity, our team is here to ensure your success every step of the way.
Student Disability Services (SDS) 's mission is to help USF students with disabilities serve as fully contributing and actively participating members of the university community while acquiring and developing the knowledge, skills, values, and sensitivity to become women and men for others. Toward that end, SDS promotes a fully integrated university experience for students with disabilities by ensuring that students have equal access to all areas of student life and receive appropriate educational support and services to foster their academic and personal success. We provide a wealth of accommodations for students to feel at home from orientation to graduation. The University of San Francisco hosts students from all over the world. Many international students have found USF to be ideal for studying, learning, and living.
The University of San Francisco, the city's first university, was established by the Jesuits in October 1855. USF's founding president, Anthony Maraschi, S.J., arrived in San Francisco as an Italian immigrant in 1854. The next year, he borrowed $11,500 to build a Jesuit church and school on a few dunes on the south side of Market Street and proclaimed, "Here, in time, will be the heart of a great city." Father Maraschi was right. Around the original site of USF, a dynamic, diverse, distinctive city has grown and thrived. And at each step of that city's development, USF has provided leadership and service.
When the original college, known as St. Ignatius Academy, opened its doors to its first class, three students showed up—that number grew to 65 by 1858. The State of California granted the college a charter in 1859. By 1927, to accommodate the growing student population, a liberal arts building was built just to the east of the church, and the college moved to its present location.
In 1930, on the occasion of its Diamond Jubilee, and at the alumni groups' request, St. Ignatius College had renamed the University of San Francisco. In 1964, the university became fully co-educational, welcoming women to all programs. Lone Mountain was purchased by USF in 1978, extending the campus to 55 acres.

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