Colorado's Only Jesuit University

Have you ever heard of Georgetown? How about Gonzaga? Fordham? Boston College? Creighton? Well, we're related.

There are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the US, located in 19 states across the country. The institutions range from major research universities to comprehensive universities, from smaller colleges and universities that combine the liberal arts and professional studies to one strictly liberal arts college. In addition to being among 221 Catholic institutions and 1600 independent colleges and universities in the United States, American Jesuit colleges and universities are part of a network of approximately 133 Jesuit institutions of higher learning throughout the world, thus having the distinction of being at once local, regional, national and international.

Regis University is proud to bring the Jesuit tradition of education to Colorado and the front-range. Since 1877, Regis University has been meeting the needs of students through innovative programs centered in academic excellence. Commitment to the individual student is fostered through the heritage of our values-centered Jesuit education. Today more than 16,000 students call Regis University home. The University is comprised of three colleges: Regis College, the Rueckert-Hartman College for Health Professions and the College for Professional Studies.

Other Jesuit Universities in the US

Learners Becoming Leaders

It's our Mission. It's what we're about. And it's needed now more than ever.

Regis University educates men and women of all ages to take leadership roles and to make a positive impact in a changing society. Standing within the Catholic and United States traditions, we are inspired by the particular Jesuit vision of Ignatius Loyola. This vision challenges us to attain the inner freedom to make intelligent choices. We seek to provide value-centered undergraduate and graduate education, as well as to strengthen commitment to community service. We nurture the life of the mind and the pursuit of truth within an environment conducive to effective teaching, learning and personal development. Consistent with Judeo-Christian principles, we apply knowledge to human needs and seek to preserve the best of the human heritage. We encourage the continual search for truth, values and a just existence. Throughout this process, we examine and attempt to answer the question: "How ought we to live?"

Change Lives, Including Your Own

We're all about change. But it's not change for change sake; it's about change for the better. We educate students to make the world a better place, and in doing so, lives are changed - including those of our students. Don't take our word for it, see what our students have to say:

"Before making the trip to Mexico, I did not have an accurate idea about what the Mexican culture was really like. I think I was expecting a much more depressing situation. Instead I fell in love with a culture and experienced many "firsts". Never in my life have I laughed as hard or as long or been so happy and at peace. Never in my life have I seen children so innocent and happy, or just enjoyed people as much. This trip opened my eyes to the beauty of the simplistic lifestyle of the Mexican people." Tara Kirkpatrick, (RC '08)

"We enjoyed teaching and working with patients. We were exposed to amazing medical cases that we would never see, nor be a part of, in the US. A lot of our time was spent cleaning and dressing wounds, testing for malaria, and teaching people about nutrition and health. God put us in unimaginable circumstances. We faced the Sudanese heat, frightening (and deadly) snakes and spiders, medical mysteries, and the challenge of working with a different culture." Meg Freedman, (RHCHP '08)

Whether it's in Mexico, Sudan, or in their own backyard, Regis students do more than just learn from books. They change lives, including their own.

Education With A Moral Compass

At Regis, we don't just educate to make decisions; we educate to make good decisions. In today's world, just learning how to make decisions doesn't cut it; more is needed. Questions of values are an integral component of our curriculum across all disciplines. We don't tell students what those values are, but help students discern them for themselves. We ask the hard questions. What impact do our decisions have on others? What are the long-term implications? What is the right thing to do?

Sometimes students come away with more questions than answers, but it is by asking the questions that we are ultimately able to make good decisions.

Learn With Your Mind, Serve With Your Heart

In all that we do at Regis, we must learn to put love into action. Captured by the love of God, we embrace our worth as individuals and acknowledge our responsibility to others. At Regis, we try to form the whole person: body, mind, and soul. Like other colleges, we offer countless opportunities for you to stretch your mind. But as a Catholic institution, we also care for what's on the inside: the spirit that gives your life special meaning and dignity.

Change the World. It'll Return the Favor

At Regis, the world is our classroom, and we work to change it - for the better. We educate students to become leaders in their workplace and in their communities.

By working to change the world, our students are rewarded. Giving back to those near and far from us is the most natural, most human way of showing our gratitude to God for the blessings so freely given to us. Regis University offers you many opportunities for building such life-changing relationships. You can study abroad, spend school holidays doing service in another state or country, or join one of our local weekly service programs. Some of your most lasting learning experiences will take place in ordinary, every-day conversations.

In the Jesuit Tradition of Social Justice

We are part of a global community. To educate the "whole person" today means that we must realize how connected we are to one another. We must become more aware of the needs of people in our cities and around the globe, especially the poor. Our understanding of suffering and hardship cannot be merely an intellectual exercise. Instead, our hearts must be transformed and our passion for justice incited by having direct contact with people. No book can replace this human connection.

At Regis University, we're committed to making a difference in the messy reality of everyday life. Captured by the love of God, we embrace our worth as individuals and acknowledge our responsibility to others. This means that we must offer our gifts and talents in service to our world, especially to the forgotten and marginalized, and be open to learn from those we serve. Join us as we engage in the crucial struggle for peace and justice. Use the gift of your intellect to look critically at the world and work for solutions to the problems of injustice and poverty.

In the Jesuit Tradition of Service

Standing within the Catholic and Jesuit traditions, service learning at Regis is specific in terms of its intended outcomes and its principle focus. Through these traditions, we are called to promote justice and to discern the influence of our actions from the perspective of the poor and marginalized in society. As we work alongside marginalized people, we develop our capacity to listen and to learn from people who are not often heard or valued in our culture. Over time, we can grow in solidarity with them and begin to see society as an integrated whole. As members and sustaining links of this whole, we are not able to easily forget, dismiss, or distance ourselves from the people or their experiences on the margins of society. We glimpse the relational nature of justice, and are hopefully transformed to rise to meet the challenge of becoming positive change agents for a more just society. Our goal, therefore, is not simply to experience and gain a deeper understanding of the voices of the marginalized in our society, but rather, to learn about and gain the tools through which the inequitable systems and structures of society can be challenged and changed.

Social Justice, Social Responsibility, We're Very Social

We're not hermits. We're social and committed to making a difference in the messy reality of everyday life. Captured by the love of God, we embrace our worth as individuals and acknowledge our responsibility to others. This means that we must offer our gifts and talents in service to our world, especially to the forgotten and marginalized, and be open to learn from those we serve. Join us as we engage in the crucial struggle for peace and justice. Use the gift of your intellect to look critically at the world and work for solutions to the problems of injustice and poverty.

Cura Personalis - Caring for the Whole Person:

Thanks for looking it up! Regis University strives to care for each student personally, attentive to the particular needs and talents of each. This focus on the personal care of the individual is called cura personalis, a hallmark of Jesuit education.

At Regis, we try to form the whole person: body, mind, and soul. Like other colleges, we offer countless opportunities for you to stretch your mind, improve your athletic ability and develop healthy living habits. But as a Catholic institution, we also care for what's on the inside: the spirit that gives your life special meaning and dignity. Whether in the dorm, chapel, classroom, or online, we strive to discuss issues of character and values and to develop moral judgment.

If Regis is to care for the whole person, then we must know you, beyond what a transcript can tell us. We strive to know your background and life history, your strengths and limitations, your struggles and hopes. Only then can we teach you and serve you best. We try to work with you where you are, not just where we want you to be. We aim to adapt our objectives and methods to your particular needs. Our goal is to build a personal, trusting relationship with you so that you will feel free to be yourself, ask questions, make mistakes and then to grow in new and unexpected ways.

In the Jesuit Tradition of Academic Excellence

Taking a variety of different courses is what most people mean by a "liberal education." At Jesuit and other Catholic colleges, though, liberal education means more. We are part of a rich tradition that is as much religious as it is intellectual. Jesuit education opens our minds, liberates our thinking, and empowers us to realize our God-given potential.

Colleges are fitting places to help us find God in all things. Students take a variety of courses in different disciplines. In the Jesuit tradition, we look for God's fingerprints in all that we study. For example, because God is found in the natural world around us, we study biology, chemistry, and physics. Because God is found in our humanity, we study the works and ideas of women and men across the ages. We revel in the beauty of fine art and literature, we ask questions fundamental to the human person in philosophy and theology, and we see the best and worst of human nature in history. We can find God in our business courses too: in the innovation that leads to progress and in whatever promotes genuine human community and economic justice.

Above excerpts adapted from "The Heritage of a Jesuit Education" by Kevin O'Brien, S.J.

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