2017 USD Fact Book

Academic Excellence An education at the University of San Diego is founded on an unwavering principle: the pursuit of academic excellence. A liberal arts education encourages students to develop critical-thinking skills, engage in collaborative inquiry and participate in a free exchange of complex ideas.

Admission to the University of San Diego is highly selective. The university received more than 14,400 applications that resulted in 1,133 new first-year students in Fall 2016. The Class of 2020 entered with an average GPA of 3.85 and an average SAT score of 1,203. 2016 marks the 26th anniversary of USD’s Creative Collaborations Undergraduate Research Conference as well as the fifth anniversary for the Office of Undergraduate Research, which was envisioned in the first phase of USD’s Strategic Plan/Direction in 2003. The mission of the Office of Undergraduate Research is to: 1. Enhance the educational experience of all undergraduates by supporting curricular, co- and extracurricular research opportunities; 2. Foster civic-minded leaders by supporting students and their mentors to engage in local and global community-based research opportunities; and 3. Equip students with the career skills that the 21st century workplace requires by supporting integrative, collaborative and interdisciplinary research. Underlying our mission is a commitment to equity and access to ensure that all students are able to participate in and benefit from research/ scholarly activities and scholarships/awards.

RANKINGS USD is a distinguished and distinctive university. Among our accomplishments: In 2016, U.S. News &World Report ranked USD as one of the top 100 universities in the nation and the youngest independent university among the top 100, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering No. 13 among undergraduate engineering programs, and the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science is ranked among the top 5 percent of graduate nursing schools. The Princeton Review ranked USD’s study-abroad program sixth most popular in the nation and among the best campus food (ranking at number 18). Forbes ranked USD among its top 50 most entrepreneurial research universities. Financial Times ranked USD No. 3 in Entrepreneurial MBA programs, while Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the School of Business at No. 17 in part-time MBA programs and No. 41 in undergraduate business programs. Best Choice Schools ranks USD as the number one most beautiful urban college campus in the nation.

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