Founded in 1957, Cabrini University is a residential Catholic institution in Pennsylvania that welcomes learners of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds. Our undergraduate and graduate degrees help students discover who they are and what they can accomplish in their life, in their career, and in society. Our students are empowered to make a better life for themselves and for others from the moment they step on campus. Our welcoming, safe community is located a short train ride from Philadelphia and is close to world-class shopping and dining.
We are only two hours from New York City and two-and-a-half hours from Washington, DC, making our campus a great starting point for exploring the East Coast.
In 1957, the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSC), the religious order founded by Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, secured the charter for Cabrini College. Led by the College’s first president, Sister Ursula Infante, MSC, Cabrini is the first and only institution of higher learning founded by the order. In the fall of that year, 43 women arrived on campus as the first students of Cabrini College. With the Woodcrest Estate Mansion serving as centerpiece of the campus, the College made plans to expand.
In 1970, the first male students enrolled at Cabrini, and a year later the Evening Division opened, attracting non-traditional students to campus. During following decades, enrollment reached 1,000 students for the first time, and Cabrini counted more than 10,000 alumni.
The College helped form the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (now the Colonial States Athletic Conference), and offered majors and programs that reflect 21st Century education, including biotechnology, an online certificate program in web system design, and a master of science in organizational leadership. Throughout its history, Cabrini has been at the forefront of social justice learning among colleges and universities. Nationally, the College—now University—is among the first in higher education to implement community service into its curriculum, and is the first in Pennsylvania to require community service of all undergraduates. In 2014, the College welcomed it first male president, Donald B. Taylor, PhD, who announced that Cabrini will recruit more Hispanic and international students, while moving forward with plans to build the Athletic and Recreation Pavilion expansion of the Dixon Center. And in 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) approved Cabrini’s application to become Cabrini University.
