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Fordham University, the Jesuit University of New York, is committed to the discovery of Wisdom and the transmission of Learning through research and undergraduate, graduate, and professional education of the highest quality. Guided by its Catholic and Jesuit traditions, Fordham fosters the intellectual, moral, and religious development of its students and prepares them for leadership in a global society. Fordham strives for excellence in research and teaching and guarantees the freedom of inquiry required by rigorous thinking and the quest for truth. Fordham affirms the value of a core curriculum rooted in the liberal arts and sciences. The University seeks to foster in all its students' life-long habits of careful observation, critical thinking, creativity, moral reflection, and articulate expression. To prepare citizens for an increasingly multicultural and multinational society, Fordham seeks to develop in its students an understanding of and reverence for cultures and ways of life other than their own. Fordham affirms the complementary roles of faith and reason in the pursuit of Wisdom and Learning. The University encourages the growth of a life of faith, consonant with moral and intellectual development. Fordham encourages faculty to discuss and promote an understanding of the ethical dimension of what is being studied and what is being taught. Fordham gives special attention to the study of Catholicism's living tradition, and it provides a place where religious traditions may interact with each other and with contemporary cultures. Fordham welcomes students, faculty, and staff of all religious traditions and no religious tradition as valued members of this community of study and dialogue. Fordham draws its inspiration from the dual heritage of Christian Humanism and Ignatian Spirituality and consequently sees all disciplines as potential paths to God. Fordham recognizes the dignity and uniqueness of each person. A Fordham education at all levels is student-centered and attentive to the development of the whole person. Such education is based on close collaboration among students, faculty, and staff. Fordham is committed to research and education that assists in alleviating poverty, the promotion of justice, the protection of human rights, and respect for the environment. Jesuit education is a cosmopolitan education. Therefore, education at Fordham is international in its scope and its aspirations. The worldwide network of Jesuit universities offers Fordham faculty and students unparalleled opportunities for exchange and collaboration. Fordham is a place where our core curriculum helps you develop a critical thought capacity before you ever choose a major. Fordham is a stepping stone to the world, which you will find endless opportunities in New York City. A Fordham education's real strength comes from a much deeper place—the five-century-old tradition of Jesuit education that infuses every part of the Fordham experience. It is a tradition that encourages curiosity, introspection, and, most importantly, action—to reach out, to settle injustice, to leave a healing mark. This is not about reading books and memorizing facts: Your education is dynamic, challenging you to understand contexts as much as concepts. As home to people from all over the globe, as a center of international business, communication, diplomacy, the arts, and the sciences, New York City provides Fordham with a special kind of classroom. Its unparalleled resources shape and enhance Fordham's professional and undergraduate programs. Fordham is privileged to share a history and a destiny with New York City. The University recognizes its debt of gratitude to the City and its responsibility to share its gifts to enrich our City, nation, and world. We are a Jesuit Catholic university. Our spirit comes from the nearly 500-year history of the Jesuits. It is the spirit of full-hearted engagement—with profound ideas, with communities around the world, with injustice, with beauty, with the entirety of the human experience. Wisdom, experience, morality, critical thinking, creative problem-solving. This is what Fordham students take into the world. When John Hughes, coadjutor bishop (later archbishop) of New York, established Fordham as St. John’s College on June 24, 1841, he considered it a “daring and dangerous undertaking”—not least because he initially lacked the funds to purchase the land where he saw a great university taking root. But he persevered. He understood instinctively that education is the key to first-class citizenship for immigrants and to success for all. Moreover, he was determined to establish the first Catholic institution of higher education in the Northeastern United States. Thus, a small college in a farming village was transformed into the Jesuit University of New York. Inspired by the archbishop’s spirit, thousands upon thousands of students, faculty, and alumni have come together through the years—all in the shared pursuit of Wisdom and Learning in the service of others. The origins of Fordham University can be traced to 1839 when John Hughes, the Bishop of New York, bought 100 acres at Rose Hill in the Fordham section of Westchester County for $29,750. However, he said, "I had not when I purchased the site of this new college...so much as a penny to commence the payment for it." After a nine-month campaign, the most money he could raise locally was $10,000, and so he went to Europe on a begging trip to get the funds that he could not raise at home. The financial difficulties that John Hughes faced in starting St. John's College indicate the poverty of the New York Catholic community in 1841. It took a brave man to start a college under such circumstances. However, Hughes, an Irish immigrant himself, saw education as the indispensable means for his immigrant flock to break out of the cycle of poverty and better themselves economically and socially in their adopted homeland. "The subject that of all others that he had nearest his heart was education," said John Hassard, an early graduate of St. John's College and Hughes's first biographer. View full university

Founded in 1841, Fordham Prep is a Catholic, Jesuit, college preparatory high school for boys. Our curriculum is designed to help students discover and hone their abilities. Ultimately, our graduates learn to question to pray, love, serve and lead both in college and beyond. Fordham Preparatory School is a Catholic, all-male, Jesuit, college preparatory school. Our commitment to education is shaped by the spirituality and pedagogical tradition of the Society of Jesus, founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius Loyola. Fordham Prep stresses the development of excellence in the whole person: intellectual, religious, social, emotional, and physical. Today, our educational apostolate is strengthened by our affiliation with the local, national, and international Jesuit secondary schools' networks. At the heart of Jesuit education are the rigorous study of the humanities and the sciences, reflecting the conviction that the study of great ideas is inextricably linked to character formation. Our program of studies encompasses more than the acquisition of knowledge. It fosters academic discipline and encourages reflection in the pursuit of excellence. Fordham Prep's curriculum is designed to help students discover and hone individual talents and abilities. It encompasses more than the acquisition of knowledge. However, it demands the training of the intellect. It exposes students to their strengths and those courses and areas that will challenge them and provides students with time for extra help and consultation with the faculty: every teacher. Our honors program allows each student to craft a personal curriculum. As a Catholic, all-male, Jesuit, college preparatory school, Fordham Prep's mission is to inspire young men to reflect, question, learn, pray, love, serve, and lead. Since 1841, we have based our challenging curriculum and pursuit of human and academic excellence on a foundation of Catholic faith and principles. We seek to be one community created from a broad spectrum of ethnic, racial, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We strive to include qualified students with limited financial resources by providing substantial financial assistance. Our faculty and staff dedicate themselves to a caring and dynamic interaction with students both inside and outside the classroom, a characteristic of Jesuit education for over 450 years. We educate our students to be men for others: spiritually motivated, intellectually accomplished, and committed to promoting justice. Fordham Prep admits students of any religion, race, color, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students. It does not discriminate based on religion, race, color, national or ethnic origin in administering its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship or financial aid policies, or athletic or other school-administered programs. The Fordham Prep experience focuses on Faith, Scholarship, and Service. Outside of the classroom, our students have the opportunity to take advantage of unique clubs and activities, one of the most successful athletic programs in New York State, and travel the world. Because of our rigorous academic coursework and challenging and engaging co-curricular programs, Fordham Prep graduates are prepared to attend the best colleges in the country and the world. On average, 60% of Fordham Prep graduates matriculate to colleges rated as "Most Competitive" or "Highly Competitive" as rated by Barron's Profile in American Colleges. At the heart of Jesuit education are the rigorous study of the humanities and the sciences, reflecting the conviction that the study of great ideas is inextricably linked to character formation. Our program of studies encompasses more than the acquisition of knowledge. It fosters academic discipline and encourages reflection in the pursuit of excellence. Fordham Prep's curriculum is designed to discover and hone individual talents and abilities, encompass more than the acquisition of knowledge, but demand the training of the intellect, expose students not only to their strengths but also to those courses and areas that will challenge them, and provide faculty for extra help and consultation: every teacher, every day. View full school