History
The first two colleges in California were founded in 1851, at the height of the Gold Rush, both in the town of Santa Clara. Santa Clara College, forerunner of Santa Clara University, was first to open its doors to students and thus is the state's oldest operating institution of higher education. The Methodist-run California Wesleyan College opened shortly thereafter and was the first institution to receive an official state charter. Santa Clara's Jesuit founders eventually accumulated the endowment required for a charter, which was granted on April 28, 1855. Santa Clara bears the distinction of awarding California's first Bachelor's degree, given to Thomas I. Bergin in 1857, and its first graduate degree, two years later.
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