It is also connected by structural, academic, and social bonds to the special administrative region of Macau, to Portugal, and to mainland China.

USJ expresses its mission as being a private Catholic university in, of, and for Macao, in, of, and for China, concentrating on post-graduate teaching and research, together with professional training in the liberal arts and social sciences.

Catholic higher education in Asia began with the founding, in 1594, of the Colégio de Macau by Fr Alessamdro Valignano SJ.

Frs Michele Ruggieri, Matteo Ricci and Adam Schall von Bell SJs studied in Macao, as did St Andrew Kim, the first Korean Martyr.

[1] The university's fourth rector, the Rev'd Prof Stephen Morgan DPhil(Oxon) was elected on 9 March 2020 and installed on 23 May 2020.