History

Golden Gate University traces its origins to an evening lecture series started by the San Francisco YMCA during the California gold rush in the early 1850s. Even then, lectures focused on practical issues of the day such as gold assaying and English.

The first degree-conferring program of the university started in 1901, with the formation of California's first evening law school. By offering classes at night, Golden Gate made legal studies available to the common person. Four students comprised the law school's first graduating class.

Today, Golden Gate University is a leader in graduate and undergraduate education in business and management, information technology, taxation and law. As always, GGU emphasizes hands-on learning taught by professionals practicing in the field. Campuses and teaching sites are located in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Silicon Valley and online through GGU's nationally recognized CyberCampus.

During its long and often colorful history, GGU has consistently been a pacesetter:

• Opened the first night school in San Francisco. Initially begun in the early-1850s, it became the YMCA Night School in 1881, the YMCA Evening College in 1894, Golden Gate College in 1923 and finally Golden Gate University in 1972.
• Started the first evening law school in California in 1901, which was the third law school to open in Northern California. The Law School is accredited by the American Bar Association.
• Survived two major earthquakes, the 1906 quake that destroyed its home, and the 1989 Loma Prieta quake which caused extensive damage to the east wing of the San Francisco campus.
• Began the West Coast's first four-year accounting program in 1908. Golden Gate University counts among its alumni several winners of the Elijah Sells award for outstanding performance on the national CPA exam.
• Initiated Northern California's first evening program for students seeking an MBA degree in 1950, and now confers more MBA degrees annually than any other university in Northern California.
• Offered the first evening program in the Bay Area for students seeking the master of public administration degree.
• Launched the first graduate program in telecommunications management in the United States in 1976 and opened a telecommunications laboratory, the only one of its kind in the country in a university setting.
• Was a leader in bringing the case-study method of instruction and the scholar/practitioner concept to the classroom, which are now widely used in business schools throughout the world.
• Was a leader in the development of Web-based distance learning with the first online courses offered in the fall of 1997.
• Runs the nation's largest tax school.