Founded in 1855, the University of San Francisco is in the heart of one of the most innovative and diverse cities and features a vibrant community of students and faculty who achieve excellence in their fields while building a more humane and just world. USF students, faculty, and alumni are involved in the entrepreneurial city of San Francisco and work in all industries, from technology to nonprofits.
University of San Francisco
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
2130 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
University of San Francisco
Founded in 1855, the University of San Francisco (USF) has as its core mission to promote learning in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. The University offers undergraduate, graduate and professional students the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as persons and professionals, and the values and sensitivity necessary to be men and women for others.
USF sets itself apart as a diverse, socially responsible learning community of high quality scholarship and academic rigor sustained by a faith that does justice. The University draws from the cultural, intellectual and economic resources of the San Francisco Bay Area and its location on the Pacific Rim to enrich and strengthen its educational programs.
The University’s core values include a belief in and a commitment to advancing:
USF sets itself apart as a diverse, socially responsible learning community of high quality scholarship and academic rigor sustained by a faith that does justice. The University draws from the cultural, intellectual and economic resources of the San Francisco Bay Area and its location on the Pacific Rim to enrich and strengthen its educational programs.
The University’s core values include a belief in and a commitment to advancing:
- The Jesuit Catholic tradition that views faith and reason as complementary resources in the search for truth and authentic human development, and that welcomes persons of all faiths or no religious beliefs as fully contributing partners to the University.
- The freedom and the responsibility to pursue truth and follow evidence to its conclusion.
- Learning as a humanizing, social activity rather than a competitive exercise.
- A common good that transcends the interests of particular individuals or groups; and reasoned discourse rather than coercion as the norm for decision making.
- Diversity of perspectives, experiences and traditions as essential components of a quality education in our global context.
- Excellence as the standard for teaching, scholarship, creative expression and service to the University community.
- Social responsibility in fulfilling the University’s mission to create, communicate and apply knowledge to a world shared by all people and held in trust for future generations.
- The moral dimension of every significant human choice: taking seriously how and who we choose to be in the world.
- The full, integral development of each person and all persons, with the belief that no individual or group may rightfully prosper at the expense of others.
- A culture of service that respects and promotes the dignity of every person.
"USF's goal is to cultivate a 'we' perspective in the midst of a 'me' culture. In that regard, we are truly a counterculture enterprise. Every university strives for academic excellence. Our goal is bigger: to deliver a humanizing education that cultivates both the knowledge and the compassion our graduates will need to be agents of positive change."
Rev. Stephen A. Privett, S.J.
President, University of San Francisco
