Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, founded in 1851 on the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asis. It is the oldest operating institution of higher education in California. The campus of about 100 acres sits in Silicon Valley, adjacent to San Jose. Its character is that of a mid-size Catholic university with professional schools of business, engineering and law beside a college of arts and sciences.

Academic units include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leavey School of Business, the School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Education and Counseling Psychology and the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is a campus research and teaching center used across programs. Strengths for graduate students are engineering, information systems, business analytics, law and counseling.

Enrollment is about 9,000 students, of whom roughly one third are in graduate and professional programs. International enrollment is modest relative to large public neighbors but visible in engineering and business master's cohorts. Alumni include California governor Gavin Newsom, basketball player Steve Nash and graduates who work in Bay Area technology and law firms. Faculty number several hundred full-time, with practitioner adjuncts in law and business.

Graduate degrees include MS programs in engineering and business, the MBA, the JD and education specialist degrees; doctoral study is limited, with a few professional doctorates rather than a large PhD portfolio. Teaching follows a quarter calendar on the home campus. Funding is a mix of assistantships in engineering, law scholarships and employer sponsorship typical of Silicon Valley. Students live in Santa Clara and San Jose, near campus employers.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Santa Clara University lists 11 graduate programs across 10 subjects: 9 master's programs and 1 doctoral program, with the widest choice in electrical & computer engineering, biological engineering and business & management.