Marks of Excellence

Pacific Firsts

University of the Pacific is the:

First chartered university in California (1851)
First independent co-educational campus in California (1871)
First conservatory of music in the West (1878)
First in the nation to offer cluster colleges (1960s)
First in the nation to offer a 4-year graduation guarantee
First in the nation to offer 3-year programs in Pharmacy and Dentistry
First independent university to match the state’s CalGrant scholarship dollar-for-dollar.

Pacific’s student to faculty ratio is 14 to 1.
External funding for research, scholarship and public service has grown from $7.9 million in 2000-01 to $47.8 million in 2004-05.

Students perform better and are more satisfied at colleges that are committed to their success and that encourage good relationships among different groups on campus. Pacific stands out in this regard.
The National Survey of Student Engagement found that, in sharp contrast to other universities, Pacific’s seniors find the campus climate to be highly supportive.

Pacific offers more than 125 clubs and organizations. Students here are almost 20 percent more likely to hold leadership positions in on- or off-campus groups than are students at comparison schools.
Seniors at Pacific are more likely than their peers at comparable universities to report that their education has enhanced their teamwork, leadership and communication students, according to a national study.

Within six months of graduating, 97 percent of Pacific undergraduates are either employed or in graduate school. More than half participate in internships and co-ops.
Ninety percent of recent graduates said the skills they gained from experiential learning made them stronger job candidates.
Nearly 2 in every 3 alumni surveyed said their Pacific education was directly related to their career.

According to national surveys, Pacific students are much more likely to:

Be engaged in collaborative learning – class projects, presentations, tutoring, study groups;
Gain in social development – understanding themselves, adapting to change, getting along with others, and developing values and ethical standards;
Report higher than average levels of academic challenge – more reading, more writing, more professors who require students to interpret and apply what they learn;
Gain more knowledge of the world’s diversity through meeting people from other backgrounds and countries;
Gain more intellectual skills, vocational preparation, personal development, and knowledge of science and technology.

Pacific stands out in the national rankings published by U.S. News and World Report: