Catholic School CompassTrue north for Catholic families.
Samuel Merritt University

College · Catholic life on campus

Samuel Merritt University

  • LocationOakland, CA
  • Type and sizePrivate nonprofit · 4-year · 1,894 students
Official website

Samuel Merritt University is not a Catholic college. This rating measures Catholic life on campus: campus ministry, priests, Mass and confession, student groups, and nearby parishes.

Catholic life here hasn’t been researched yet. We research from official sources only, starting with the largest campuses, and we never guess. The nearest Catholic church mapped in OpenStreetMap is 0.7 miles away.

Know the official campus ministry or Mass schedule page? Send us the link.

Catholic churches nearby

Map of Samuel Merritt University, its Catholic center and nearby Catholic churches1 mi2 mi3 miSacred Heart Roman Catholic Church: 0.7 mi1The Cathedral of Christ the Light: 0.7 mi2Church of Saint Leo the Great: 1.0 mi3Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church: 1.3 mi4Saint Patrick Roman Catholic Church: 1.8 mi5Saint Albert's Priory Chapel: 2.1 mi6Samuel Merritt University (campus)N1 mi
CampusCatholic church (numbered below)Open a street map ›
  1. Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church — 0.7 mi · 4025 Martin Luther King Junior Way
  2. The Cathedral of Christ the Light — 0.7 mi · 2121 Harrison Street, Oakland
  3. Church of Saint Leo the Great — 1.0 mi · 176 Ridgeway Avenue, Oakland
  4. Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church — 1.3 mi · 2800 Lakeshore Avenue
  5. Saint Patrick Roman Catholic Church — 1.8 mi · 1005 Peralta Street
  6. Saint Albert's Priory Chapel — 2.1 mi

Within 3 miles, as mapped by OpenStreetMap contributors. The map may be incomplete. Confirm with the parish or diocese.

My rating and notes

Sign in or create a free account to rate this school privately, keep notes, and save it to your list.

Academic Excellence

N/AAcademic Excellence: Not enough information. Official sources do not cover enough of this to grade it yet.
Not enough information
Federal data covers too few of the measures to score this school.

Each measure counts for the share shown.

  • Graduation rate 35% of scoreThis measure counts for 35% of the Academic Excellence score.Not reported
  • First-year retention 20% of scoreThis measure counts for 20% of the Academic Excellence score.Not reported
  • Entering students' test scores 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score.Not reported
  • Student-to-faculty ratio 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score.5 to 1
  • Instructional spending per student 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score.$19,852

Bars show points on each measure’s scale. How Academic Excellence is computed.

Source: College Scorecard (College Scorecard, most recent cohorts (data release 06/10/2026))

Campus facts

SettingCity
Students per faculty member5 to 1

Federal data (IPEDS). None of this changes the faith grades.

Cost and value

Federal data, shown separately. Cost, debt, and earnings are never part of any grade.

Value and outcomes
Undergraduate students
Fall enrollment (IPEDS)
741
Total students1,894
Average net price (per year)
After grants and scholarships, for students receiving federal aid
—
Cost of attendance (per year)—
Median federal debt at graduation$20,825
Graduation rate
First-time, full-time students finishing within 150% of normal time
—
First-year retention—
Median earnings 10 years after entry$143,238
Admission rate—
Students receiving Pell grants18%

Sources: College Scorecard · IPEDS College Navigator
College Scorecard, most recent cohorts (data release 06/10/2026); IPEDS 2024-25 directory and institutional characteristics; fall 2023 enrollment.

Local Church

Diocese of Oakland

The Most Reverend Michael C. Barber, Bishop of Oakland

Formal address: “Your Excellency”

Source: oakdiocese.org, verified Oct. 7, 2026.

Diocese determined from the county, using the diocese’s county list (Wikipedia). Confirm with the diocese.

About this school’s data

Questions families ask

Is Samuel Merritt University a Catholic college?
No. Samuel Merritt University is not a Catholic college. Catholic School Compass rates the Catholic life on its campus instead.

Reviews

Personal experiences from signed-in readers. Reviews are moderated automatically and never change a school’s grades.

No reviews yet.

Sign in to write a review.

More in California · California rankings

What would it cost your family?

Pick your family’s yearly income. Each college then shows what families like yours paid on average after grants and scholarships (federal data).

Could you get in?

Enter an SAT or ACT score. Each college with published scores shows whether yours falls in the middle range of students it admitted. A rough guide, not a prediction.