Santa Clara University

The Santa Clara Undergraduate Program

Santa Clara University is committed to the education of the whole person in the Jesuit and Catholic tradition with a vision of developing men and women to be leaders of competence, conscience, and compassion. The Santa Clara undergraduate program is designed for students who seek an integrated education with a strong humanistic orientation in a primarily residential setting. An integrated education is one that encourages students to seek connections between differing ways of knowing and being in the world, between different forms of knowledge within established disciplines, and between new knowledge and that which preceded it.

Santa Clara’s concept of the “whole person” inevitably embraces our social nature. When he inaugurated Santa Clara’s sesquicentennial year, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, superior general of the Society of Jesus, noted that “Tomorrow’s ‘whole person’ cannot be whole without an educated awareness of society and culture with which to contribute socially, generously, in the real world.” Calling for a new Jesuit educational standard, “to educate the whole person of solidarity in the real world,” he explained: “Students, in the course of their formation, must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering, and engage in it constructively. They should learn to perceive, think, judge, choose, and act for the rights of others, especially the disadvantaged and the oppressed.”

The Santa Clara undergraduate program offers a curriculum and other learning experiences whose content and pattern combine the acquisition and creation of knowledge with the quest for meaning and purpose. The learning environment encourages students to make connections across the Core Curriculum, the academic major, and elective courses. It helps students relate their classroom learning with out-of-classroom learning through community-based education, Residential Learning Communities, student organizations, athletics and recreation, and other experiences. In a more general way, the undergraduate program nurtures students’ ability to knit the intellectual, social, moral, spiritual, creative, and behavioral aspects of life into a coherent and meaningful whole.

Santa Clara University offers undergraduate degrees leading to the Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Bachelor of Science in Commerce with majors in 46 fields. The College of Arts and Sciences offers majors in ancient studies, anthropology, art history, biology, chemistry, classical studies, combined sciences, communication, computer science, economics, engineering physics, English, environmental science, environmental studies, French and Francophone studies, German studies, Greek, history, individual studies, Italian studies, Latin, Latin and Greek, liberal studies, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, religious studies, sociology, Spanish studies, studio art, theatre arts, and women’s and gender studies. The Leavey School of Business offers majors in accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing, and operations and management information systems. The School of Engineering offers majors in civil engineering, computer engineering, electrical engineering, engineering, and mechanical engineering. A wide range of departmental and school minors, emphases in majors, and concentrations in degree programs are available to enhance the major field of study for students. Consistent with the commitment to an integrated educational experience, interdisciplinary minors are offered in Asian studies, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, Catholic studies, ethnic studies, information technology and society, medieval and Renaissance studies, retail studies, urban education, international business, and international studies.

The Santa Clara Core Curriculum is the anchor of the undergraduate program for developing the knowledge, skills, and sensitivities intended for every student educated in Santa Clara’s distinctive tradition. Theme-based Residential Learning Communities foster an integrated educational experience by bringing together students with a wide range of talents and gifts from a variety of disciplines. The University Honors Program provides opportunities to enhance the learning experience for students of exceptional academic talent and imagination. The International Programs Office coordinates a wide range of study abroad opportunities designed to provide first-hand experience with education in the era of globalization.