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University of Detroit Mercy
University of Detroit Mercy seal.svg
Latin: Universitas Detroitensis Misericordia
Motto Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (Latin)
Maria, Sedes Sapientiae (Latin)
Motto in English
 For the greater glory of God;
Mary, Seat of Wisdom
Type Private university
Established 1877; 148 years ago (1877)
Religious affiliation
 Roman Catholic
(Jesuit / Sisters of Mercy)
Academic affiliations
 AJCU, ACCU, NAICU
Endowment $94 million (2020)
President Donald B. Taylor
Academic staff
 210 full-time, 208 part-time
Students 5,080
Undergraduates 2,745
Postgraduates 1,148
Other students
 1,187 (professional)
Location
Detroit, Michigan
,
U.S.
Campus Urban, 91 acres (36.8 ha)
  • McNichols Campus
    4001 W. McNichols Road
    (undergraduate and graduate programs, main administration and athletic facilities, six student residence halls)
  • Riverfront Campus
    651 East Jefferson downtown Detroit
    (School of Law)
  • Corktown Campus
    2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
    (School of Dentistry and Dental Clinic since 2008)
Colors              Blue, red, white
Nickname Titans
Sporting affiliations
 NCAA Division I:
Horizon League, MAAC,
MAC, Midwest Fencing Conference
Mascot Tommy Titan
University of Detroit Mercy new logo.svg

The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is supported by two religious groups: the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university started in 1877. It is the biggest Catholic university in Michigan.

Detroit Mercy has three main campuses. Here, students can choose from over 100 different study programs. The university also has 17 NCAA Division I sports teams for men and women. They are part of the Horizon League.

A Look Back: University History

The University of Detroit Mercy began in 1877. It was first called "Detroit College." The Society of Jesus founded it in downtown Detroit. Later, in 1911, it became the University of Detroit.

In 1941, the Sisters of Mercy started their own school, Mercy College of Detroit. Both schools were very successful. They had many famous graduates. In 1990, these two schools joined together. They became the "University of Detroit Mercy."

Many important people have graduated from this university. These include U.S. Senator Gary Peters. Also, Jim Padilla, a former leader at Ford Motor Company, went here. After the schools joined, actor Keegan-Michael Key and news anchor Allison Payne graduated. Donald Taylor became the university's president in July 2022.

Explore the Campuses and Colleges

The University of Detroit Mercy has seven main colleges and schools. These include:

Detroit Mercy also offers programs at other locations. For example, some programs are at Macomb University Center. The university also works with Aquinas College and St. Mary Mercy Hospital. They offer a special nursing program together.

A long time ago, Mercy College of Detroit had a campus on West Outer Drive. After the schools merged, this campus hosted the Dentistry Clinic. In 2008, the School of Dentistry moved to the Corktown Campus.

University Campuses

The university has three main campuses in Detroit:

The McNichols Campus

This campus is at 4001 W. McNichols Road. It's in northwest Detroit. Most of the university's programs are here. This campus also has the main offices and sports facilities. Calihan Hall is one of these sports places. All six student dorms are also on this campus.

The Riverfront Campus

This campus is in downtown Detroit. It's home to the School of Law. You can find it at 651 East Jefferson. It's right across from the Renaissance Center.

The Corktown Campus

This campus is at 2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Since 2008, it has been home to the School of Dentistry and its Dental Clinic.

The Novi Campus

This campus is at 41555 West 12 Mile Road. It is a special place for nursing students to learn.

UDMCommons
University of Detroit Mercy McNichols Campus

What Students Study: Academics

Some of the most popular study areas for students at Detroit Mercy include:

Special Collections and Centers

Black Abolitionist Archive

This is a digital collection of over 800 speeches. These speeches were given by African Americans before the Civil War. It has 14,000 documents. It shows how Black people were involved in the fight against slavery. Experts say it's a huge collection of original materials.

Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive

This archive has books, human rights reports, and newspapers. It also has papers about social justice. These materials show over 25 years of work by people helping Latin America.

Center for Social Entrepreneurship

This center helps businesses in Detroit that have a social mission. This means they want to do good in the community. The center offers workshops to help these new social businesses grow.

Dental Clinics

The School of Dentistry has several dental clinics. They offer dental care to the community. They even have a mobile clinic in a special RV. Because student doctors work here under supervision, the services cost less.

Detroit Collaborative Design Center

The Detroit Collaborative Design Center (DCDC) is a special firm. It works on architecture and city design. It's part of the School of Architecture.

Institute for North Korean Studies

This institute studies North Korea. It was started in 2004. It is the first research center in the U.S. or Europe to focus only on North Korea. It holds seminars and publishes research. It also publishes an academic journal called North Korean Review.

Law Clinics

In 1965, the Urban Law Clinic at the University of Detroit was one of the first in the country. It's one of the few law schools that requires all students to take a practical course. Students work with people who need legal help but can't afford it. This gives them real-world experience.

In 2003, the clinic got a mobile law office. It was perhaps the first of its kind. In 2012, a new building was bought for the clinic. This brought it closer to the courts. The clinics help over 1000 clients each year.

Detroit Mercy Law students must take one "clinic" course. This course puts them in touch with people who are not well-represented. They get skills and knowledge for their legal work. They also get guidance from professors.

Here are some of the law clinic courses offered:

Immigration Law Clinic

Students help immigrants with family sponsorship or special status. They represent clients in U.S. Immigration Court.

Veterans Law Clinic

Students help veterans get disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Juvenile Appellate Clinic

Students argue cases about child protection or delinquency. They may argue cases in the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Appellate Advocacy Clinic, State Appellate Defender's Office (SADO)

SADO helps people who cannot afford a lawyer in criminal cases after their conviction. Students prepare legal papers for the Michigan Court of Appeals or Supreme Court.

Intellectual Property Law Clinic

Inventors who can't afford legal help can get it here. Law students, supervised by patent attorneys, help them. Students need a science degree to join this clinic. This program also teaches U.S. and Canadian patent law.

University Rankings

U.S. News & World Report gives rankings to universities. For 2023, Detroit Mercy was ranked:

  • Tied for #202 among National Universities.
  • #40 in Best Value Schools.
  • Tied for #172 in Nursing programs.
  • #141 for its law school.

How to Get In: Admissions

Undergraduate Admissions

Detroit Mercy is considered "selective" for undergraduate students. This means they accept many students but not everyone. For students starting in fall 2021, the university accepted most applicants. About 565 students chose to enroll. The average SAT scores for these students were between 1063 and 1250. The average ACT scores were between 22 and 29.

Fall first-time freshman statistics
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016
Applicants 4435 3985 4358 3760 4301 4542
Admits 4135 3168 3377 3120 2783 3561
Admit rate 93.2 79.5 77.5 83.0 64.7 78.4
Enrolled 565 419 530 583 550 532
Yield rate 13.7 13.2 15.7 18.7 19.8 14.9
ACT composite*

(out of 36)

 22-29

(12%†)

 22-27

(20%†)

 21-28

(24%†)

 21-27

(30%†)

 22-27

(41%†)

 22-27

(92%†)
SAT composite*

(out of 1600)

 1063–1250
(45%†)		 1060–1245
(74%†)		 1060–1230
(71%†)		 1050–1250
(66%†)		 -- --
* middle 50% range
† percentage of first-time freshmen who chose to submit
Admissions statistics
2021 entering
classChange vs.
2016
Admit rate 93.2
(Neutral increase +14.8)
Yield rate 13.7
(Steady −1.2)
Test scores middle 50%
SAT Total 1063–1250
(among 45% of FTFs)
ACT Composite 22–29
(among 12% of FTFs)

Graduate Admissions

For Fall 2022, the School of Law received many applications. They accepted about half of them. Of those accepted, 209 students decided to enroll.

Student Life: Greek Organizations

Students at Detroit Mercy can join fraternities and sororities. These are social groups that often focus on community service and leadership.

  • Fraternities: Alpha Phi Alpha, Lambda Theta Phi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Phi Kappa Theta, Sigma Pi
  • Sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Beta Gamma, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta

Sports and Teams: Athletics

Main article: Detroit Mercy Titans

The University of Detroit Mercy has 17 NCAA Division I sports teams. These teams are called the Detroit Mercy Titans. They compete in the Horizon League. Sports include basketball, cross country, fencing, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, and track and field.

The university also offers eight intramural sports. These are sports played by students just for fun.

The women's softball team won the Horizon League Championship in 2019. In 2014, both the women's golf team and men's cross country team won their league titles. The men's lacrosse team won the MAAC Championship in 2013.

In 2014, the Detroit Mercy Titans started their own 24-hour TV network. It's called the Titan Classic Sports Network.

Basketball

The men's basketball team often competes for the Horizon League title. In 2018, Mike Davis became the head coach. He has led teams to the NCAA tournament many times. He even led Indiana University to the 2002 NCAA Championship game.

Ray McCallum coached the men's team from 2008 to 2016. He led them to the Horizon League Championship in 2012. This also led to an NCAA tournament appearance. Perry Watson coached before him. He led the Titans to many winning seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances. They even beat famous teams like St. John's and UCLA.

Dick Vitale, a famous college basketball commentator for ESPN, used to coach the men's basketball team. He coached for four seasons (1973–1977). In his last year, 1977, he led the Titans to a school record of 25 wins. They made it to the Round of 16 in the NCAA tournament. In 2011, the basketball court at Calihan Hall was named in his honor.

The women's basketball team had a great season in 2011–12. They won 20 games and played in the WNIT Tournament for the first time. The men's team won the Horizon League Championship in 2012. They reached the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time.

Detroit Mercy has hosted several NCAA Tournament men's basketball games. They hosted games at Ford Field and Little Caesars Arena.

Football

The Detroit Titans football team played from 1896 to 1964. In 1928, they had a perfect 9–0 record. Gus Dorais, who coached the Titans from 1925 to 1942, is in the College Football Hall of Fame. There is a plaque for him at Calihan Hall. He also coached the NFL's Detroit Lions.

Famous People from Detroit Mercy

Many notable people have studied or worked at the University of Detroit Mercy. This includes its earlier schools.

You can find more examples in the main article:

Main article: List of University of Detroit Mercy people

Images for kids

McNichols Campus

  • UDM WWI Clock memorial

    World War I Memorial Clock Tower

  • Fisher Fountain, University of Detroit Mercy

    Fisher Fountain

  • UDM Student Fitness Center front exterior 2012

    Student Fitness Center

  • UDM Lille B Kassab Mall 2012

    Lille B. Kassab Mall in 2012

  • UDM McNichols main campus

    Campus seen from northeast parking lot

  • UDMWarrenLorangerSchoolofArchitecture

    Warren Loranger Architecture Building

  • UDM Chemistry Building exterior

    Chemistry Building

  • Chemistry Building, University of Detroit Mercy (close view)

    Chemistry Building detail

  • UDMFordLifeSciences

    Ford Life Sciences Building

  • UDM Engineering building detail

    Engineering Building detail

  • UDMCollegeofBusinessAdministration

    Commerce & Finance Building ("C&F")

  • UDMCollegeofHealthProfessionsandtheMcAuleySchoolofNursing

    College of Health Professions

  • UDMLansing-ReillyHall

    Lansing Reilly Hall – Jesuit Residence

  • UDMLansing-ReillyHall detail

    Lansing-Reilly Hall detail

  • HoldenHallUDMcampus detroit Michigan

    Holden hall

  • CalihanHallUDM

    Calihan Hall main entrance

  • UDMathlecticfield infront of Calihan Hall

    Athletic field and track

  • UDMathleticfield

    Athletic Field

  • UofD2

    West side of Warren Loranger Architecture Building

  • UofD1

    Library on McNichols Campus has a cartouche by Corrado Parducci

  • CalihanHallbackside

    Calihan Hall from southwest, before 2011–2012 renovations

Corktown Campus (School of Dentistry)

  • University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry clinic stations

    School of Dentistry clinic stations

  • University of Detroit Mercy Corktown Campus exterior 2012

    Detroit Mercy Corktown Campus

Riverfront Campus (School of Law)

  • UDMlawschool1

    Detroit Mercy School of Law, in the shadow of the Renaissance Center

  • UDMLawschoolcourtyard

    Courtyard view, showing Ss. Peter & Paul Jesuit Church's cross and the General Motors logo

  • UDM Asher Law Clinic Center entrance

    Detroit Mercy's Asher Law Clinic Center entrance

  • UDMlawschoollibrary

    Detroit Mercy's Kresge Law Library

  • UDM downtown campus

    School of Law is beside Ss. Peter & Paul Jesuit Church

See also

  • Detroit Collaborative Design Center of the University of Detroit Mercy
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit
  • University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy had a common early history with the university.
  • Detroit Titans track and field
  • Detroit Mercy Titans
  • List of Jesuit sites
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