2004 USD Fact Book

WELCOME TO USO

Welcome to USD

The University of San Diego has for more than 50 years been dedicated to providing a values-based education that recognizes men and women as creatures of God, and to the continuing examination of Catholic tradition in contemporary life. USD's 180-acre campus, Alcala Park, overlooks San Diego's Mission Bay and the spot where Father Junipero Serra celebrated the first Catholic Mass in Alta California more than 230 years ago. Like California's oldest city, the university took its name from San Diego de Alcala, a Franciscan brother from Alcala de Henares , a monastery near Madrid, Spain. The Spanish Renaissance architecture that characterizes Spain's five-century old University ofAlcala serves as the inspiration for all buildings on the USD campus. Led by Mother Rosalie Hill and Bishop Charles Francis Buddy, the University ofSan Diego began as separate colleges for men and women. The first classes met in 1952; the School of Law opened its doors in 1954. By the late r96os it became dear that both colleges would benefit from combining academic resources , and in 1972 the University of San Diego became a single coeducational Catholic university. Now governed by an independent board of trustees, USD is a Roman Catholic institution that welcomes students, faculty and staff of diverse religious traditions and remains dedicated to the values originally articulated by Mother Hill and Bishop Buddy. Students choose from more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in academic divisions including the College ofArts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Education, Law, and Nursing and Health Science. Men aspiring to the Roman Catholic priesthood prepare for their callings at the St. Francis House of Priestly Formation on the east end of campus.

Mary E. Lyons President

Visitin USO We encourage prospective students to visit USO. Student- guided walking tours of the campus and an information session with a USD admissions counselor are offered every weekday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tours also are available on select Saturdays between November and April. Contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at (619) 26o,4506 o, (8oo) 248,4873 o, e-mail: admissions @sandiego.edu.