University of San Francisco Paper Format & Writing Requirements

University of San Francisco at a glance

San Francisco's first university, founded by Jesuits in 1855, famous for Bill Russell's back-to-back NCAA basketball titles in 1955 and 1956 and the undefeated 1951 football team that refused to leave its Black teammates home from a bowl game.

The campus sits in San Francisco, California, operates as a private (jesuit) institution, and enrolls about 9,600 students — a scale that directly shapes how writing support works. Founded in 1855 with an acceptance rate around 70%, University of San Francisco pairs selective admissions with the large-course writing loads typical of its category.

Citation styles University of San Francisco actually requires

University of San Francisco courses predominantly require MLA 9 or Chicago 18 or APA 7. That is not a trivial preference: it decides your title page, heading levels, in-text punctuation and reference format on every graded document.

• MLA 9: used across humanities and writing-sequence courses
• Chicago 18: used across the university's signature programs
• APA 7: used across social science, nursing and business courses

Verify against the specific course syllabus anyway — instructors can override departmental defaults, and the first paper is where they enforce it.

The writing requirement, decoded

The RHET 110 written communication course opens the sequence, theology and philosophy courses assign Chicago-style papers, and the Writing Center in Gleeson Library tutors every draft stage.

Plan the sequence early: composition requirements compound, and students who defer them discover the advanced seminars — where the writing-intensity lives — conflict with major courses later. The registrar's degree audit shows exactly which flags remain; check it each semester.

Three things about University of San Francisco papers that surprise new students

• Jesuits opened the school in October 1855 as St. Ignatius Academy, the first institution of higher learning established in San Francisco.
• Bill Russell led the Dons to NCAA titles in 1955 and 1956, the heart of a 55-game winning streak that still ranks among the longest in college basketball.
• The undefeated 1951 football team was frozen out of bowl invitations because hosts wanted its two Black stars, Ollie Matson and Burl Toler, left home; the university refused, ended the program, and Toler later became the NFL's first Black game official.

None of these appear in the course description. All of them appear in the rubric. Students who learn them in week one report smoother first-semesters than students who meet them at the deadline.

Assignments University of San Francisco students face most

• Essay — most frequently assigned across University of San Francisco's programs
• Research Paper — most frequently assigned across University of San Francisco's programs
• Term Paper — most frequently assigned across University of San Francisco's programs
• Literature Review — most frequently assigned across University of San Francisco's programs
• Case Study — most frequently assigned across University of San Francisco's programs

Popular programs at University of San Francisco include business administration, communication studies, psychology — each pairs the assignment list above with its own capstone or practicum expectations, detailed on our subject pages.