About University of the Incarnate Word

When the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word first arrived in San Antonio in 1869, it wasn’t to create a world-class university. At that time, cholera outbreaks were common across much of the country, and the three Sisters had traveled from France to care for the sick and poor, inspired by the healing ministry of Jesus Christ. Later that year, they opened San Antonio’s first hospital, the nine-bed Santa Rosa Infirmary, to “all persons without distinction of nationality or creed.”

Their work in the community, however, didn’t stop there. In subsequent years, the Sisters would go on to open shelters for orphaned children, the Incarnate Word School on Government Hill and, in 1881, San Antonio’s first college for women, the College and Academy of the Incarnate Word.

Now the largest Catholic university in Texas, and open to men and women, UIW prides itself on educating students who are concerned and enlightened citizens, on engaging in the pursuit of truth, on educational excellence in the context of faith in Jesus Christ with an emphasis on social justice and community service, and on thoughtful innovation.

A world-class university, UIW is comprised of 11 schools and colleges, offering more than 100 undergraduate majors, minors and concentrations, and more than 50 graduate- and doctorate-level programs. Though the university, like the city it calls home, has grown substantially over the years, we remain committed to providing students the small class sizes, academic rigor and personal attention one would expect from a leading, non-profit private institution, all while staying true to the Sisters’ legacy of serving the underserved.