The University of the Pacific, formerly College of the Pacific, is an independent university, first chartered in 1851 in Santa Clara, California under the name California Wesleyan College. College of the Pacific moved to San Jose in 1871, and to its present location in Stockton in 1923. It was the state's second institution for higher learning, post-dating the present Santa Clara University by a few months. The University of the Pacific has three campuses in three cities: McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry in San Francisco, and the main campus in Stockton.

The University is known for its small class size (an average of 13 students to 1 professor), its focus on undergraduate education along with profressional degree programs, a wide variety of hands-on learning via coop experiences, and a large number of extracurricular organizations and activities.