Catholic Tradition
As a Roman Catholic institution, the University of San Diego believes that faith and reason are compatible in education, and that true knowledge can only be discerned from a breadth of sources. The university provides an expansive curriculum in the arts and sciences, and fosters the students' steps in their search for knowledge. Curiosity and free inquiry, discovery and debate become the four corners of wisdom.
This convention is rooted in the first universities, founded in medieval Europe by Roman Catholic scholars. Because these early academics believed that God is truth, they had no fear in consulting all sources – including Islamic and Jewish scholars – in their search for truth. They believed the learning experience was enriched through diversity.
This legacy enhances the vigorous intellectual life on USD's campus. Such free inquiry is essential to a liberal education.
USD's Catholic heritage is declared spiritually through a commitment to the belief in God, to serving others and to developing an active faith community. University Ministry provides daily Masses in Founders Chapel , sponsors spiritual study groups, retreats, service outreach programs and sacramental preparation. Additionally, the university sponsors many service-learning programs with numerous student volunteers.
A student has the option in any one week to serve as a Eucharistic minister, take a class on world religions, serve meals to the homeless, participate in a Bible study group and a search retreat, and come home to a University Ministry-centered residence wing.
In the spirit of ecumenism, USD has always welcomed students of all faiths, believing Catholics develop a better understanding of their own roots by examining and learning from other traditions. These traditions are celebrated at an annual All-Faith Service held in the Immaculata, a parish church located on campus.
USD's Catholic identity is evident in campus wide efforts to deliberate and address issues of ethics and justice. Most notably, USD's Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice and new School of Peace Studies , with a mandate to “not only teach peace, but make peace,” serve as national models.
Students develop their own moral and ethical values in the classroom, thanks in part to a 1997 initiative to incorporate ethics across the curriculum. In every discipline, students search for the why and how of issues in addition to the who, what and where. They tackle social justice issues directly by participating on USD's Social Issues Committee, in a student-centered group, or in events sponsored through the Catholic Social Thought initiative.
The benefit of this Catholic tradition is first to the students, but ultimately to society at large. USD students are trained to look closely at the world around them and carve out a role that brings meaning not only to themselves but to others as well. That is the true purpose of a Catholic education.
