Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university in Silicon Valley, offers its students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus masters and law degrees and a doctorate in engineering. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. masters universities, Californias oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. Founded in 1851 by the Society of Jesus as Santa Clara College, SCU was established on the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asis, the eighth of 21 California missions. The university draws upon more than 450 years of the Jesuit tradition to educate students and citizens prepared to contribute to a more just, humane, and sustainable world. High student satisfaction and achievement are reflected in the fact that 96 percent of freshman students advance to the sophomore year and 89 percent graduate within six years, among the highest percentages in the country. In addition, in 2016 Kiplingers Personal Finance Magazine named Santa Clara University among the top 30th of best values among private universities nationwide, and PayScale ranked SCU in the top 10 percent of schools in Return on Investment in 2016. Santa Clara University was also listed among the top 200 best value colleges by Princeton Review. The School of Laws intellectual property program has been recognized among the top 6 in the country. Santa Claras emphasis on a community of scholars and integrated education attracts faculty members who are as committed to their students intellectual and moral development as they are to pursuing their own scholarship. SCU's 544 full-time faculty members include Fulbright professors, nationally recognized authors and poets, groundbreaking scientists, and highly regarded economic forecasters. The integration of Santa Clara University and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (JST) in 2009 resulted in the new Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. Located 40 miles south of San Francisco, in the heart of Silicon Valley, Santa Clara University offers abundant career opportunities and access to a variety of educational, cultural, and recreational activities. The 106-acre campus features beautiful gardens and landscaping, and contains more than 50 buildings, the newest being the Schott Admission & Enrollment Services Building, which combines the offices of Admission, Financial Aid, the Bursar, and Registrar under one roof and features an interactive exhibit about the university. At Santa Clara, the notion of sustainability informs many of the classes and campus activities. SCU received a Gold rating in the nations second comprehensive sustainability rating system for colleges and universities and was also named by the Princeton Review as one of the top "50 Green Colleges" in the nation (19th). Santa Clara University has over 90,000 alumni who live in all 50 states and in 130 foreign countries. SCU alumni have held significant government posts, including Janet Napolitano, former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and current president of the University of California system, and Leon Panetta as former Secretary of Defense and former Director of the CIA.

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