The University of Silicon Valley (USV) is a private university in San Jose, California, in Silicon Valley. Founded in 1887 as Cogswell Technical School, and later known as Cogswell Polytechnical College. It was the first technical training institution in the West and one of only two private universities, along with

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, that were originally guaranteed a tax exemption in the

Californian Constitution The Constitution of California ( es, Constitución de California) is the Constitution, primary organizing law for the U.S. state of California, describing the duties, powers, structures and functions of the government of California. California' ...

.Belcher, D., And Belcher, M. "Constitutionally Suspect Special Property Tax Exemptions,"SCOCAblog, May 9, 2018. http://scocablog.com/constitutionally-suspect-special-property-tax-exemptions/ USV is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission.Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities
Statement of Accreditation Status: Cogswell Polytechnical College
. Retrieved 2013-03-27. Programs at Cogswell range from digital media to engineering, with an emphasis on digital animation, audio and music production, and video game design.

History

The University of Silicon Valley was founded as a high school on March 19, 1887, by

Henry D. Cogswell Henry Daniel Cogswell (March 3, 1820 – July 8, 1900) was an American dentist and a crusader in the temperance movement. Cogswell and his wife Caroline also founded Cogswell College in San Jose, California. Henry Cogswell College, Another campus ...

in San Francisco. It opened in August 1888, offering technical classes for boys and business classes for girls. On June 30, 1930, it became a technical college. It was the first technical training institution in the West. The original campus building was occupied in 1888 in the Mission District in San Francisco. When the 1906 earthquake partially destroyed the campus, the College relocated across the street to an existing home. After the City of San Francisco purchased some of the land by eminent domain in 1917, a new building was constructed at Folsom Street and 26th Street in San Francisco to house the school. In 1974, having outgrown the existing campus, the college moved to a location at Stockton and California Streets. In 1985, it moved to Cupertino,Nathan Donato-Weinstein
"Cogswell College finally chooses a new home"
''Silicon Valley Business Journal'', June 24, 2015, updated June 25, 2015. where it remained until 1994 (its old San Francisco building became a Ritz Carlton hotel). In 1993, the college purchased a campus in

Sunnyvale Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwest Santa Clara County in the U.S. state of California. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real and Highway 101 and is bordered by portions of San Jose to the north ...

, which it moved to in 1994. This campus was sold in 2012, and in 2015 the college moved to a leased building in San Jose.

Modern history

In 2010 the college was acquired by Palm Ventures, a private equity firm. The following year Charles "Chuck" House, executive director of the Media X program at

, became chancellor.Chris O'Brien, "Cogswell College may be Silicon Valley's geekiest secret", '' The Oakland Tribune'', November 5, 2011
online at Highbeam
(subscription required)
at DailyMarkets.com
November 17, 2011. Deborah Snyder was appointed president of the college in 2014. As of 2018, the current Chief Executive Officer is Charles Restivo. As a result of the acquisition, the college lost its original property tax exemption as a non-profit institution. In April 2021, the university formally took the name of "University of Silicon Valley", referring to the local high-technology growth of Silicon Valley.

Academics

University of Silicon Valley - Baypointe Campus 2396 (cropped)

Enso Apartments by the University of Silicon Valley

The University of Silicon Valley offers the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), and Master of Arts (M.A.) degrees and specializes in digital animation, video game design and audio & music production Its computer graphics degree program is the longest-running in the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

. It includes Project X, an invitation-only animated film production course that approximates the experience of interning in the industry, and MediaWorks, an audio-visual concepting and production course, which has been running continuously since 2013.Alia Wilson, "Digital Hogwarts: Cogswell celebrates college's 125th anniversary," ''The Sunnyvale Sun'',

Silicon Valley Community Newspapers Silicon is a chemical element with the symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member of group 14 in the periodic table ...

, June 8, 2012, pp. 20+. MediaWorks facilitates student learning via national and international collaborations between students and professional organizations in a fast-paced, competitive production setting, imitating the environment and work ethic of the media production industries. In November 2007, USV announced the addition of a minor in business management. In January 2011 Cogswell started its entrepreneurship program; it expanded this in 2012 into the first Master's program in Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Campus

The University of Silicon Valley is located in San Jose, California, in Silicon Valley. USV's campus is located in the Innovation Triangle district in North San Jose, near the headquarters of Samsung and Cisco. Student housing is spread across

North San Jose North San Jose (abbreviated as NSJ) is the northern region of the city of San Jose, California. North San Jose is made up of numerous neighborhoods grouped into three districts: Alviso, Berryessa, and Rincon / Golden Triangle. North San Jose ...

Student outcomes

According to the College Scorecard, the school has a 42 percent 8-year graduation rate. In 2021, the median salary after attending was $61,619.

Notable alumni

John Oceguera John Oceguera (born 1968 in Reno, Nevada) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He represented Clark County District 16 in the Nevada Assembly from 2001 to 2013 and was elected speaker of the Assembly in 2011. Oceguera is ...

, former Speaker of the Nevada Assembly *

Gertrude Boyle Kanno Gertrude Farquharson Boyle Kanno (January 26, 1878August 14, 1937) was an American sculptor noted for her portrait busts. Biography Boyle was born in San Francisco on January 26, 1878. She was the sixth child of John Boyle and Helen Milliken C ...

, American sculptor * DJ Qbert, Filipino musician

References

External links

Official website
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University of Silicon Valley The University of Silicon Valley (USV) is a private university in San Jose, California, in Silicon Valley. Founded in 1887 as Cogswell Technical School, and later known as Cogswell Polytechnical College. It was the first technical training ins ...

Educational institutions established in 1887 Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Private universities and colleges in California 1887 establishments in California