California State University

Emeritus Kevin Starr has described the CSU as “in so many ways the Rodney Dangerfield of public higher education.”

According to the California Master Plot for Higher Education (1960), both university systems may discuss Bachelors or Master’s degrees as well as qualified certifications, even if only the University of California has the authority to issue Ph.D degrees (Doctor of Philosophy) and qualified degrees in the fields of law, medicine, veterinary, and dentistry. As a result of contemporary legislation (SB 724), the California State University may now offer the Ed.D degree (also known as the Doctor of Education or “education doctorate degree”) to its graduate students as well as certain types of qualified doctorate degrees (for instance, audiology (Au.D), etc.). Additionally, the California State University (CSU) offers Ph.D degrees as a “joint degree” in combination with other institutions of higher education, including “joint degrees” with the University of California (UC) and accredited private universities. This is why, for instance, San Diego State can be eligible as a “Research University with high research endeavor” (Carnegie Foundation link) by donation 16 doctoral degrees.

There are 23 CSU campuses and 10 UC campuses representing 414,000 and 191,000 students respectively. The cost of CSU tuition is approximately half that of UC. Thus, the CSU system has been referred to by former California State University authorities as “The People’s University.”

CSU and UC use the terms “president” and “chancellor” internally in exactly contrary ways: At CSU, the campuses are headed by “presidents” who report to a systemwide “chancellor”; but at UC, they are headed by “chancellors” who report to a systemwide “president”.

CSU has traditionally been more accommodating to the older apprentice than UC, by donation more degree programs in the evenings and, more recently, online. In addition, CSU schools, mainly in more urban areas, have traditionally catered to the commuter, enrolling most of its students from the surrounding area. This has changed as CSU schools increase enrollment and some of the more prestigious urban campuses attract a wider demographic.

Admission standards

Historically the requirements for admission to the CSU have been less stringent than the UC system. The CSU attempts to accept applicants from the top one-third (1/3) of California high school graduates. In contrast, the UC attempts to accept the top one-eighth (1/8). In an effort to maintain a 60/40 ratio of upper division students to lower division students and to encourage students to attend a California community institution first, both university systems give priority to California community institution transfer students.

Even if, as of 2008 the subsequent CSU campuses use higher standards than the basic admission standards because of the digit of qualified students who apply to persons campuses as first-time freshmen during the initial application filing period:

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Cal Poly Pomona

Fullerton

Long Beach

San Diego

Impacted Campuses

An impacted campus or major is one which has more CSU-qualified students than capacity permits. As of 2006, CSU Long Beach, San Diego State, and Cal Poly SLO are impacted for both new freshmen and for transfer students, even as CSU Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, and Sonoma State are impacted for new freshmen. Thus, these campuses have higher admission standards than the CSU minimum. In addition, some programs at other campuses are similarly impacted. Even with this, CSU undergraduate admissions are quantitatively based and generally do not include items such as personal statements, SAT Subject Test scores, letters of recommendation, or portfolios. In addition, there is geographic preference given to persons residing surrounded by the commuting areas of the colleges.

Special admissions process for the California Maritime Institution

The Maritime Institution uses a different admissions process from other CSU schools. Because of the nature of its programs, the Maritime Institution requires all applicants to pass a standard physical examination prior to enrollment.

Campus naming conventions

The UC system follows a consistent style in the naming of campuses, using the words University of California followed by the name of its declared home city. Most CSU campuses follow a similar pattern, even if several are named only for their home city or county, such as San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, San Diego State University, or Sonoma State University. A few of the colleges follow neither pattern, in particular the California Maritime Institution (Cal Maritime) and the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), the only campuses whose official names do not reference their location in California. Some critics, including Donald Gerth (a former President of California State University, Sacramento), have claimed that the weak California State University identity has contributed to the CSU’s perceived lack of standing when compared to the University of California.

Research and academics

AAU and AASCU

The University of California and most of its campuses are members of the Association of American Universities (AAU), even as the California State University (CSU) and several of its campuses (including San Diego and San Jose) are members of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).

ABET

Main condition: List of engineering programs in the California State University

ABET, Inc., (formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology), accredits post-secondary degree programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. It is proposed to certify the quality of these programs. There California State University has 17 ABET-accredited engineering colleges throughout California.

Cal Poly Pomona Institution of Engineering in Pomona

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Institution of Engineering in San Luis Obispo

California Maritime Institution Institution of Engineering in Vallejo

California State University, Chico Institution of Engineering in Chico

California State University, Dominguez Hills Institution of Engineering in Carson

California State University, East Bay Institution of Engineering in Hayward

California State University, Fresno Institution of Engineering in Fresno

California State University, Fullerton Institution of Engineering in Fullerton

California State University, Northridge Institution of Engineering in Northridge

California State University, Long Beach Institution of Engineering in Long Beach

California State University, Los Angeles Institution of Engineering in Los Angeles

California State University, Sacramento Institution of Engineering in Sacramento

California State University, San Bernardino Institution of Engineering in San Bernardino

Humboldt State University Institution of Engineering in Arcata

San Diego State University Institution of Engineering in San Diego

San Francisco State University Institution of Engineering in San Francisco

San Jose State University Institution of Engineering in San Jose

Rankings

U.S. News rankings of California State University best undergraduate Engineering programs accredited by the ABET in order.

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo

Cal Poly Pomona

San Jose

Los Angeles

Long Beach

Northridge

CENIC

The CSU is a founding and charter member of CENIC, the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California, the nonprofit organization which provides extremely high-routine Internet-based networking to California’s K-20 research and education community.

NASULGC

The CSU is a member of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

Statewide university programs

Agricultural Research Initiative

California State University Agricultural Research Initiative (ARI)

A comprehensive applied agricultural and environmental research program unification the CSU’s four colleges of agriculture (at San Luis Obispo, Pomona, Chico and Fresno) and the state’s agriculture and natural resources industries and allied business communities.

Biotechnology

California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology

Managed by the San Diego and Chico campuses, the California State University Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology (CSUPERB) provides vision, leadership, and support for biotechnology education and research throughout the CSU to promote biotechnology in California. CSUPERB was produced in 1987 and designed to direct CSU system-wide resources and catalyze interdisciplinary, inter-campus, synergistic endeavors involving Biology and Chemistry departments as well as Engineering, Agriculture and Computer Science. The interdisciplinary nature of biotechnology includes areas such as bioengineering; agricultural biotechnology; human pharmaceutical and health applications; environmental and natural resource biotechnology; molecular ecology; marine biotechnology; and bioinformatics and computational biology as they are applied to molecular questions. CSUPERB also recognizes basic research in the molecular and cellular life sciences as contributing to biotechnology, and serves as the official liaison between the CSU system and industry, government, the Congressional Biotechnology Caucus, and the public arena in all biotechnological matters.

Tending

Statewide Tending Program

Headquartered and administered at the Dominguez Hills campus, the CSU Statewide Tending Program offers registered nurses courses available throughout California that lead to Bachelors’ and Masters’ of Science degree in Tending (awarded by the closest participating CSU campus). See also California Postsecondary Education