Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asís which traces its founding to 1776. The campus mirrors the Mission's architectural style and is one of the finest groupings of Mission Revival architecture and other Spanish Colonial Revival styles. The university is classified as a "Doctoral/Professional" university by Carnegie Classification.
The university offers bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees through its six colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education and Counseling Psychology, Leavey School of Business, School of Engineering, Jesuit School of Theology, and School of Law. It enrolls about 5,400 undergraduate students and about 3,300 postgraduate students.
Among Santa Clara's alumni are governors, congressmen, mayors, senators, and presidential cabinet members. Santa Clara alumni founded Nvidia and Farmer's Insurance, and created JavaScript.