Bellarmine is proud to offer a wide range of curricular offerings, to challenge and nurture the interests of each one of our students. All students take a college preparatory curriculum designed to meet the minimum subject requirements of the University of California and California State University systems. Most of our graduates go beyond these minimum entrance requirements, stretching themselves by learning one of our four foreign languages, each of which offers Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities. They pursue the highest levels of mathematics, including not only Calculus AP, but even courses in Multivariable Calculus and AP Statistics, as well as AP offerings in Computer Science. This list is far from comprehensive. Students have a number of opportunities in science, including Anatomy & Physiology, Geology, and Marine Biology; in six different AP options in the Social Studies Department; and in a wide variety of English electives, including a William Faulkner Seminar, a Screenwriting class, and many others.

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Students pursue their passion for the performing and visual arts through an extensive music program, ceramics, photography, digital media, or some of the more traditional two-dimensional media, such as pencil, charcoal, or paint. In religious studies, students not only receive instruction in the Catholic, Christian tradition, but in their senior year also have the opportunity to explore elective options in courses such as Prayer & Meditation or Comparative Religions. These are just some of the ways in which students enjoy the richness and depth of Bellarmine's academic requirement. You will find a complete list of all curricular offerings under the various departments listed here.

Bellarmine students appreciate that their teachers are passionate about the subject matters they teach. More than 70 percent of Bellarmine's faculty members have Master's Degrees, and a number of them also have Ph.D.'s. What sets this group of talented individuals apart, however, is their care for their students. Teachers are always willing to lend extra assistance to their students who are struggling, and truly go above and beyond to help students succeed. When teachers and students make these connections outside of class time, during office hours, on the field or in a club or activity, friendships are formed which can last a lifetime.

Students at Bellarmine are remarkably successful in their academic endeavors as well. Bellarmine sends 100 percent of its graduates each year to college, with typically better than 95 percent attending four year colleges. From the class of 2006, nearly 25 percent are currently attending University of California schools, including Berkeley, Davis, and Los Angeles. Another 8 percent are at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and more than 12 percent of the graduates are continuing their studies at Santa Clara University. Many other Bellarmine graduates from '06 attend some of the finest universities around the country, including Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, Brown, and Duke.

Bellarmine's acceptance rate at these universities is partially due to how well students fare in standardized testing. On the SAT Test, Bellarmine students score on average more than 300 points better than both the state and national averages on the new 2400 point scale. In Advanced Placement testing, Bellarmine administers around 900 tests each year. Over the past four years, students have scored a 3 or higher on 85 percent of those tests. This means that a majority of Bellarmine graduates qualify for some degree of advanced standing when they begin college, which enables them either to graduate early, or to have access to courses ordinarily not made available to freshmen.

You are invited to peruse the pages here to gather a better sense of how truly strong Bellarmine's academic program is.

Academics News

  • FINAL SCHEDULES

    Posted: May 12, 2008

    Monday, May 19:
    MATH - SOCIAL SCIENCE


    Tuesday, May 20th:
    ENGLISH - RELIGIOUS STUDIES


    Wednesday, May 21st:
    SCIENCE - LANGUAGES

    Silent Study Hall

    Extended Time Finals (Only for qualified students)

    Read More
  • Olympiad for the Arts - Photography

    By: Larry Harden
    Posted: March 29, 2008

    Please congratulate the following student photographers who will be representing Bellarmine at this year’s OLYMPIAD FOR THE ARTS – PHOTOGRAPHY, being held at West Valley College.

    Read More
  • Online Catalog

    Posted: March 3, 2008

    We are pleased to announce that our online catalog has joined the 21st century. It is now available on the World Wide Web. What this means for you is that you can look at our catalog from any computer in the world. Both from off-campus and on-campus you can access the catalog at http://destiny.bcp.org

    Read More
  • East Side Heroes Scholorship

    By: Tyler Hansbrough
    Posted: March 1, 2008

    Bell alum, Enrique Flores '97 interviewed with our very own Luis Guzman '08 on "Comunidad del Valle."

    Read More
  • Bells Win 2008 SiDocFest

    Posted: February 12, 2008

    Andrew Datu, Nico Litonjua, and Patrick Li won the 2008 SiDocFest. Terrence Crawford also placed at the Festival.

    Read More

Academics Facts

  • SAT Averages

    Bellarmine's SAT average for the class of 2006 was 1820, more than 300 points higher than the national and state averages.

Academics Calendar

Wed. May 14

AP English Language (am)

Thu. May 15

AP Micro Economics (pm)

AP Macro Economics (am)

AP World History (am)

Final - Computer Science

1:30pm - 2:30pm
Fri. May 16

AP Latin Vergil (pm)

AP Latin Lit (pm)

AP Spanish Lit (am)

AP Human Geography

Mon. May 19

Finals: Social Science & Math

Tue. May 20

FINALS - English & Religious Studies

Wed. May 21

Finals: Modern & Foreign Languages, Science