Schools & Programs
Stafford offers undergraduate, graduate, and professional study through a selective range of schools grounded in the liberal arts and advanced research.
Private Research University in California
Stafford University
Land of the Free, Home of the Elite.
About Stafford
A California institution shaped by scholarship and public ambition.
Founded in 1891, Stafford University is a private research university in California, built around academic excellence, leadership, and public ambition.
Across its schools, institutes, and residential colleges, Stafford brings rigorous study together with a culture of service, inquiry, and principled leadership.
Academics
Disciplines with depth, breadth, and consequence.
Research Culture
Faculty and students work across laboratories, archives, policy centers, and design studios to address questions that shape California and the wider world.
Honors & Leadership
Honors seminars, leadership fellowships, and close faculty advising prepare students for visible achievement and durable civic responsibility.
Campus Life
Residential life with the scale of a university and the rhythm of a close community.
The Stafford campus is organized around The Quad, the Library, the Stadium, Crown Café, and The Row. These places anchor daily study, dining, athletics, and student gatherings with a tone that is spirited, respectful, and distinctly institutional.
Traditions
Ceremonies that mark the Stafford year.
Stafford traditions connect generations through formal gatherings, athletic rivalries, and seasonal celebrations that reinforce the university's sense of place.
- Founders’ Ball
- Homecoming
- Big Game Week
- Winter Gala
California
Regional experiences around Stafford life.
From coastal field study to mountain retreats, Stafford's California setting extends learning beyond the campus gates.
Big Sur
Coastal seminars, environmental observation, and weekend reflection along one of California's defining landscapes.
California Current
Policy, culture, technology, and public life brought into focus through regional study and civic partnerships.
Lake Tahoe
Leadership retreats and field experiences set within the Sierra landscape, close enough to shape the Stafford year.
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Campus Map
