Villanova University

Villanova University is a private Catholic university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, on Philadelphia's Main Line. It was founded in 1842 by the Order of Saint Augustine and remains an Augustinian institution. The campus is a single suburban site about 12 miles west of Center City Philadelphia rather than a multi-campus public system.

Undergraduate and graduate work is organized through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, and the Charles Widger School of Law. Graduate students in business, engineering, nursing, and law use those schools' laboratories, clinics, and Philadelphia-area clinical and corporate partners. Business, engineering, nursing, and law are the fields most associated with advanced study.

Enrollment is about 10,500 students, including roughly 4,000 in graduate and professional programs. International students are a minority of the total but a visible share of some master's cohorts. The faculty numbers about 1,000, including part-time instructors. Alumni include sportscaster Howie Long and singer Jim Croce.

Graduate study includes J.D. and LL.M. work at the law school, M.B.A. and specialized master's degrees in business, M.S. and Ph.D. work in engineering, and professional doctorates in nursing. Supervision is coursework-heavy in professional programs and thesis-based in research degrees. The calendar is the semester system. Assistantships exist in some departments; professional programs more often rely on other funding. Graduate students live on or near the Main Line and commute into Philadelphia for internships and placements.

In the Grad School Navigator directory, Villanova University lists 55 graduate programs across 30 subjects: 43 master's programs and 12 doctoral programs, with the widest choice in health & medical sciences, chemical engineering and computer science.