Seton Hill University History

In the summer of 1882, Mother Aloysia Lowe, Mother Superior of the Pennsylvania Sisters of Charity, purchased the land where Seton Hill University now stands. She named the site, which consisted primarily of farmland, Seton Hill, in honor of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, the founder of the Sisters of Charity and the first American-born saint.

After creating the Saint Joseph Academy for Girls in 1883 (which operated until 1947), the Sisters of Charity founded what came to be known as the Seton Hill Schools (which included the Seton Hill Conservatory of Music and Seton Hill Conservatory of Art) in 1885. In 1914, the Sisters opened the doors to Seton Hill Junior College. Four years later, in 1918, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved Seton Hill's charter for a four year institution of higher learning and Seton Hill College was born.

Over the next several decades, Seton Hill evolved and grew with the times, adding programs and expanding its reach. And in 2002, the Pennsylvania Department of Education officially granted Seton Hill's request to become a university. What started as a small college for local young women is now a coeducational university with more than 2,000 students from 42 states and 16 countries, offering 30 undergraduate and eight graduate degree programs, as well as an adult degree program and several advanced certifications.

Throughout its history, Seton Hill has educated students to think and act critically, creatively, and ethically as productive members of society, committed to transforming the world.  A Catholic university, Seton Hill embraces students of all faiths, and pursues its mission in the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, who promised her own students: "I would wish to fit you for that world in which you are destined to live."