Gonzaga University

Gonzaga University is not all basketball. Yes, the Zags have appeared in the last 11 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournaments, but it is Gonzaga’s strong academic offerings that have distinguished this 120-year-old university. Gonzaga offers 92 fields of undergraduate study in arts and sciences, business, engineering, education and professional studies. Student to faculty ratio is 11:1, and faculty office hours are plentiful. Cura personalis, or care for the individual, is a hallmark of Jesuit education. Twenty six master’s programs, a doctoral program in leadership studies and a juris doctorate through the School of Law complement the undergraduate programs. Gonzaga’s freshman class averaged an 1192 SAT score and a 3.66 high school grade point average in fall 2008. But perhaps even more impressive than the academic credentials of Gonzaga’s students is their penchant to serve others, another pillar of Jesuit education. Over the past five years Gonzaga students have averaged 100,000 hours of community service annually. Special programs like Campus Kids (mentoring at-risk grade school children), Mission:Possible (spring break trips to low-income parts of the country to help with revitalization), and April’s Angels (an April renovation of an area school or camp) are just a few of the efforts made by Gonzaga students for their neighbors and those in need.