Santa Clara University

Airport Information and Receiving your Access Card

Airports

The preferred airport for arrival for exchange students is the Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) which is located only about a 5-minute drive away from the Santa Clara University campus.  There is a free bus, The Airport Flyer – VTA Route #10, from the San Jose Airport to the the Santa Clara Caltrain Station. The bus departs each designated stopping point approximately every 15-30 minutes from 5:00 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. The Airport Flyer is free and the Santa Clara Caltrain Station is located across the street from the SCU campus. You may also take a taxi from the airport to your destination. 

Another airport option, San Francisco International Airport (SFO), is about 45 minutes away from Santa Clara.  Taking public transportation from SFO to Santa Clara is easy.  You can take the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) located at the San Francisco airport, south to the Milbrae Station.  At Milbrae, you need to transfer to CalTrain and take CalTrain south to the Santa Clara station.This should cost around $15.00.  The Santa Clara CalTrain station is across the street from the SCU campus. You may also take a shuttle bus from the San Francisco airport to Santa Clara with should cost about $30.00. Or you may choose to take a taxi for about $80.00. It is about an hour drive from the San Francisco airport to campus and about 1.5 hours by CalTrain.

Please fill out the Exchange Student Arrival Form once your travel arrangements have been made.

Exchange Student Arrival Form

Receiving Your Access Card


All students, once they are enrolled, are eligible for a student identification card. At Santa Clara, this is called an ACCESS card. This card will have your name, picture, and ID number on it and acts like a debit card. This card gets you into your residence hall (if you are living on campus), into computer labs, and a variety of other places on campus. You can also deposit money on the card and use it to pay for copies, doing your wash, eating at various on and off campus restaurants, etc. Upon arrival, you are required to pick up your card from the Access Card Office on the first floor of Benson Center. You will have to present to them your passport and student ID number provided in your acceptance packet. However, you will not be issued an access card unless you have registered for at least one class.
Click here to visit the Access Card Office website.