Student Body

Santa Clara University has a student population of 9,178, with 6,115 undergraduate students and 3,063 graduate students. The undergraduate population has a male-to-female ratio of 52-to-48, and about 57 percent of undergraduate students identify themselves as persons of color. About 55 percent of undergraduates are from California, with the others coming from throughout the United States and 43 countries. Eighty percent of undergraduate students receive financial aid–based scholarships, grants, or loans. More than half (53 percent) of the undergraduate population live in University housing, with 92 percent of first-year students and 86 percent of sophomores living on campus. Students experience an average class size of 22, with 42 percent of classes having fewer than 20 students, and only 0.6 percent of classes having 50 or more students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 11.56-to-1.

The University’s commitment to learning is expressed in the fact that 91.89 percent of first-year students advance to sophomore year, and the percentage of Santa Clara students who graduate is among the highest in the country. The four-year graduation rate for entering first-year students is 85 percent, with a five-year graduation rate of 88 percent and a six-year graduation rate of 89 percent.