Best universities in San Francisco 2022

According to the US College Rankings Rankings 2022, San Francisco and the Bay Area is known to be the home of some great 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.

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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.

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. 

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”.

It 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.

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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 an array of extracurricular activities and societies for students to take part in, from acting for animators, CalArts comedy, hardware hacking club, queer arts collective, tap club and many more.

=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.

The main university campus is located on a 144-acre site near Lake Merced. 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.

Best universities in San Francisco 2022

Click each institution to view its full World University Rankings 2022 profile