Best universities in San Francisco

According to the Times Higher Education/Wall Street Journal US College Rankings Rankings 2021, San Francisco and the Bay Area is known to be the home of some incredible universities.

San Francisco is home to tech’s Silicon Valley, where companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google as well as countless more start-ups have their base. The Bay Area is ideal for any aspiring engineer looking to get a foot in the electronic door of one of these tech companies.

San Francisco is great for art buffs as its inhabitants and the city itself have been inspiring the art world for decades. With its own identity and culture within California, San Francisco has drawn many artistic, musical and creative people. There are galleries such as SF MOMA, the Legion of Honor, the De Young Museum and many others, and the city itself is an open-air art gallery, with Clarion Alley a particular draw. It has more than 700 murals dating back to 1992.

There is also a huge amount of natural beauty, with Golden Gate Park, Twin Peaks, Ocean Beach and Baker Beach not too far away. The city is also an excellent base for exploring other notable towns such as Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Napa Valley, Los Gatos and quaintness of Palo Alto.

San Francisco is also known as the US’ capital for the LGBT community, having been at the nucleus of a multitude of events to progress the rights of the community – including the first gay bar, the first gay Pride parade and the first marriage licence issued for a same-sex couple.

The city is easily walkable; in fact, San Francisco is considered one of the best cities for walking in the US. The transport system is reliable with subways, buses, trains – and even the old-school tram.

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1. University of San Francisco

Founded by the Jesuits in 1855 as St Ignatius Academy, the University of San Francisco began life as a one-room schoolhouse along Market Street in what later became downtown San Francisco. It had a cohort of only three students and was the city’s first university. By 1858, that number had grown to 65.

It wasn’t until the college’s Diamond Jubilee in 1930 that the institution was renamed the University of San Francisco.

Its scenic 55-acre campus is situated on a hill next to the famous Golden Gate Park, in downtown San Francisco, overlooking the Pacific Ocean – earning its nickname “The Hilltop”.

Despite being a Catholic university, the institution welcomes all students. Its unique style of education is inspired by “Cura personalis”, which means “care of the whole person”, where intellect is only one element of a student’s development.

It currently offers more than 230 undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and certificate programmes, at the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Law, the School of Management, the School of Education and the School of Nursing and Health Professions.

USF students are encouraged to extend their education beyond the classroom via internships and “service learning”, where they participate in some of the city’s social and community projects.

USF’s athletic teams are known as the “Dons” and their mascot, Don Francisco (named after the city’s first mayor) appears around campus wearing a signature mask and cape.

Notable alumni include two Pulitzer prizewinners, a former president of Peru, one of the founders of Starbucks coffee and a multitude of athletics and arts and entertainment stars.

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=2. California College of the Arts

Established in 1907 by German designer Frederick Meyer, the California College of the Arts (CCA) began with the aim of integrating theory and practice in the arts to provide a leading education for artists.

Originally founded in Berkeley, today there are two CCA campuses. The Oakland campus hosts the CCA’s Center for Art and Public Life and is also the main undergraduate campus, home to the first-year programme and first-year halls of residence. About half an hour away is the San Francisco campus, which hosts the graduate programmes as well as some undergraduate subject fields.

With a primary focus on the practice and study of art, design, writing and architecture, this private institution offers 22 undergraduate and 13 graduate majors, often led by experts in their individual fields.

It offers a vibrant array of extracurricular activities and societies for students to take part in, from Acting for Animators, CalArts Comedy, Hardware Hacking Club, Queer Arts Collective and Tap Club and many more.

Some of the college faculty and alumni have become incredibly influential in recent art movements. Ceramicists Robert Arneson, Viola Frey and Peter Voulkos were all integral to the emergence of the 1960s ceramics movement; while Hong Kong-born film director Wayne Wang is responsible for many popular films including Maid in Manhattan, The Joy Luck Club and Last Holiday.

Nathan Oliveira, a Portuguese painter, is also among CCA’s most notable alumni, having been the subject of hundreds of solo and group exhibitions across the world.

=2. San Francisco State University

Founded in 1899 as San Francisco State Normal School, San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is one of the oldest institutions in the 23-member California State University system.

This public comprehensive university was the first “normal school” in the country to require a high school diploma for admission. In 1923, the first bachelor’s degree was awarded, and in 1953, the university moved to its current campus near Lake Merced.

The main university campus is located on a 144-acre site. The university’s academic colleges are: liberal and creative arts, business, education, ethnic studies, health and social sciences, and science and engineering. In addition, the university has a College of Extended Learning.

SFSU offers bachelor’s degree courses in 77 academic areas, as well as an array of master’s degree courses and two doctoral-level programmes.

The school’s intercollegiate athletics teams, nicknamed the “Gators”, compete in NCAA Division II and are a member of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, while the wrestling team competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. SF State fields 12 sports: men’s and women’s cross-country, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s baseball, wrestling, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field and softball.

Notable alumni include actors such as Dana Carvey (Wayne’s World), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) and Annette Bening (American Beauty).

Best universities in San Francisco 2021

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