Rights Reserved
The President and officers of The University of Scranton reserve the right to change the information, regulations, requirements and procedures announced in this catalog; to change the requirements for admission, graduation or degrees; to change the arrangement, course delivery method, scheduling, credit, or content of courses; and to change the fees listed in this catalog.
The University reserves the right to refuse to admit or readmit any student at any time should it be deemed necessary in the interest of the student or of the University to do so and to require the withdrawal of any student at any time who fails to give satisfactory evidence of academic ability, earnestness of purpose, or active cooperation in all requirements for acceptable scholarship.
Notice of Nondiscrimination Policy as to Students
The University is committed to providing an educational, residential, and working environment that is free from harassment and discrimination. Members of the University community, applicants for employment or admissions, guests and visitors have the right to be free from harassment or discrimination based on race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, gender, sex, pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, genetic information, national origin, ethnicity, family responsibilities, marital status, veteran or military status, citizenship status, or any other status protected by applicable law.
Sexual harassment, including sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in its educational, extracurricular, athletic, or other programs or in the context of employment.
The University will promptly address reports of discrimination under the University Non-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment Policy (NDAH Policy) or the Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Policy (SHSM Policy), Anyone who has questions about the above referenced policies, or wishes to report a possible violation of one of the policies should contact:
Elizabeth M. Garcia, Esq.
Associate Vice President for the
Office of Institutional Compliance and Title IX
The University of Scranton
IMBM 315
elizabeth.garcia2@scranton.edu
(570) 941-6645
Characteristics
As a Catholic and Jesuit university, The University of Scranton shares with all the fullness of the Catholic intellectual tradition, the distinctive worldview of the Christian Gospels, and the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola. The University educates men and women for others who are committed to the service of faith and promotion of justice. At the same time, the institution invites persons from other religious traditions and diverse backgrounds to share in our work and contribute to our mission.
The University of Scranton is a comprehensive university, offering degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels in the traditional disciplines of the liberal arts as well as in pre-professional and professional areas. The University provides educational opportunities and support programs that promote its mission, meet the needs and interests of traditional and non-traditional students, and serve the needs of the local region.
By offering undergraduate students a core curriculum in the Jesuit tradition based on the arts and sciences, the University adheres to its liberal arts tradition and a commitment to the education of the whole student. The University communicates to students the importance of gathering, evaluating, disseminating and applying information using traditional and contemporary methods. The University provides learning experiences that reach beyond the fundamental acquisition of knowledge to include understanding interactions and syntheses through discussion, critical thinking and application. This dedication to the holistic educational process promotes a respect for knowledge and a lifelong commitment to learning, discernment and ethical decision making. Our graduates will demonstrate that they are persons of character and women and men for and with others, through their devotion to the spiritual and corporal welfare of other human beings and by their special commitment to the pursuit of social justice and the common good of the entire human community.
The University of Scranton is more than a highly respected institution of higher learning, but also a caring, inclusive and nurturing community. Students, faculty and staff foster this spirit – grounded in Jesuit tradition of cura personalis – in ways that enable all members of our community to engage fully in our mission, according to their needs and interests. Our institution facilitates the personal growth and transformation of all members of the University community through a spirit of caring, one that is extended to the wider community through acts of civic engagement and service. The University further enhances its sense of community by demonstrating high standards and care for our common home via the stewardship of our physical environment and campus resources.
The University of Scranton is a dynamic institution, developing goals and aspirations by systematically reflecting on opportunities for and challenges to fulfilling our mission. We fulfill our institutional objectives through careful planning and management of resources in order to achieve our aspirations while remaining accessible and affordable to our students. The University engages our community in purposefully monitoring the accomplishment of our mission and goals, with particular attention to those outlined in our Strategic Plan and Institutional Learning Outcomes.
History of the University
The University of Scranton was founded as Saint Thomas College by Most Reverend Bishop William G. O’Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, who had always hoped to provide an opportunity for higher education in the Lackawanna Valley. In August 1888, with few resources at hand, he blessed a single block of granite as a cornerstone for his new college, which would admit its first students four years later.
The college was staffed by diocesan priests and seminarians until 1896 and then, for one year, by the Xaverian Brothers. From 1897 until 1942 the school, which was renamed The University of Scranton in 1938, was administered for the Diocese by the Christian Brothers.
In the late summer of 1942, at the invitation of Bishop William Hafey, 19 Jesuits, including the University’s first Jesuit president, Rev. Coleman Nevils, S.J., arrived on campus to administer the University.
The Jesuits restructured and strengthened Scranton’s traditional and pre-professional programs with an emphasis on the liberal arts, which are the foundation for every program at a Jesuit university. This emphasis is intended to give students an appreciation for all disciplines as they develop specific subject knowledge.
The University has flourished as a Catholic and Jesuit institution, growing from what was primarily a commuter college with fewer than 1,000 students to a broadly regional, comprehensive university with a total enrollment of approximately 4,800 students in undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and nontraditional programs.
In September 2021, Rev. Joseph G. Marina, S.J., was inaugurated as the University’s 29th president. The University remains committed to enriching the quality and variety of its academic offerings for the success of its students.
The University Seal
The principal colors of the shield are the traditional colors of the University, royal purple and white. On the purple field there is a horizontal silver bar containing, in purple, a star taken from the seal of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and from the seal of Saint Thomas College, predecessor of the University, and two stacks of wheat from the obverse of the coat of arms of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The upper half of the shield contains, in gold, two wolves grasping a cauldron suspended from a chain; they are taken from the coat of arms of the family of Saint Ignatius Loyola, and they identify the University as a Jesuit institution. Below the silver bar is a golden rising sun, symbolic of Saint Thomas Aquinas, the shining light of the Church and the Patron of the University.
Indicating the Diocese of Scranton and William Penn, founder of the Commonwealth, the black border of the shield reproduces the border of the shield of the Diocese and the silver hemispheres are taken from William Penn’s coat of arms.
The crest is a golden cross of Patonce. It symbolizes Christ, the goal and the norm of the University’s educational efforts, and it complements the motto, which the University has had since it was entrusted to the care of the Christian Brothers in 1899: Religio, Mores, Cultura.
The outer ring surrounding the seal includes the name and founding date of the University and reference to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Faculty
Over 300 faculty and administrators participate in the University’s educational enterprise. They hold degrees from 306 different universities in 29 countries on five continents.
The Jesuit tradition is carried on at the University not only by Jesuits engaged in teaching or administration, but also by the numerous of faculty members who hold at least one degree from a Jesuit college or university. Hindu and Muslim, Christian and Jew, ministers and rabbis – scholars and teachers all – are found on the University’s faculty.
Mission and Ministry
The Center for Service and Social Justice is committed to advancing the Jesuit tradition of forming men and women for others. The programs sponsored by this office include food and clothing drives, domestic and international service trips, on-campus activities and local community service. Each element enables the students to express their faith in reflective service while responding to local and national needs. The Center coordinates the Arrupe House, which stewards the Royal Restore, a student/staff/faculty food pantry; the We Care program, which prepares and delivers 50 to 100 grab-and-go meals to local low-income housing developments, and Crafts for a Cause craft room. The Center offers social justice initiatives, such as community-building programs including Viewing Inequalities Through Another Lens (VITAL); outreach to the community including Hooked on Justice: Outreach to the Unhoused; and national conferences including the Ignatian Family Teach-in for Justice.
The University of Scranton’s Center for Service and Social Justice has a roster of approximately 2,800 students who perform tens of thousands of service hours each year. Additional information about The Center for Service and Social Justice can be found in the Life on Campus section of this catalog or at scranton.edu/volunteers.
Fulbrights
The prestigious Fulbright is the U.S. government’s premier graduate scholarship for study, research and teaching in another country. Since 1972, 165 Scranton students have accepted prestigious international grants in the competitions administered by the Institute of International Education (Fulbright) and International Rotary. Of these grants, 132 have been Fulbrights.
One University graduate has been named as the recipient of a Fulbright award for the 2025-26 academic year. Jenyah Cunningham is the recipient of a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Award to Taiwan. Jenyah graduated with a double major in English and Secondary Education (English) and a concentration in Asian Studies. She will spend the 2025-26 academic year teaching English in a Taiwanese middle school.
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