Guide
Which campuses count as Cal State
This page lists 23 California State University campuses in the Scorecard. The roster includes the universities that no longer say Cal State in the name: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Humboldt, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Maritime, San Diego State, San Francisco State, San Jose State, and Sonoma State. The table is alphabetical.
The University of California is a different system. So is a private college with California in its name. National Polytechnic College is not a Cal State campus and is not in this roster. A name that merely sounds close is not membership.
- Schools
- 23
- States
- 1
- California
- Median admit rate
- 94%
- All schools report a rate
- Median earnings
- $63,188
- 10 years after entry
The 23-campus roster
The list was matched campus by campus, including the polytechnic name changes. Cal Poly campuses are Cal State. Maritime is Cal State. San Diego State is Cal State. Leaving those off because the words Cal State are missing from the title would be the error.
Every campus here is a public California institution in that system. The fact column shows control, which should read as public. A campus that is public and Californian but outside the system stays off.
UC, privates, and lookalikes
UC campuses have their own page. UCLA is not Cal State Los Angeles. UC San Diego is not San Diego State. The similar geography is why both pages exist. Use the one that names the system you mean.
Community colleges in California are neither system. They stay off this roster. A private polytechnic, or a college that uses California in a trade name, stays off unless it is one of the 23.
Compare campuses inside the system
Alphabetical order keeps Cal Poly next to other campuses without ranking them. Enrollment, admission rate, and price still differ across the 23. The figures below show the spread. They are not one number for the whole system.
In-state sticker price is the tuition figure to read for these public campuses. It is not net price, and it is not the out-of-state charge. Open a campus for the fuller price picture.
Two California systems
Readers often want the public universities in California and do not know which system a campus belongs to. These two pages are the split. A flagship page will not help. It keeps Berkeley and drops the rest of both systems.
Cal State Fullerton is also on the Orange County page and on the Orange County nursing page when the nursing program is reported. System, county, and program are three different filters. A campus can pass more than one.
Where the schools are
Every school on this list is in California. A campus in another state stays off, even when the system or the brand reaches further.
Who runs them
Every school with a reported control is public. Control is the Scorecard field. It is not a judgment about quality.
Predominant degree is the credential the campus awards most often. On this list it is a bachelor's degree at 23 schools. A campus can still award other credentials.
How large they are
The largest undergraduate enrollments on this list are California State University-Fullerton in Fullerton, California, with 38,546 undergraduates, California State University-Long Beach in Long Beach, California, with 35,924 undergraduates, San Diego State University in San Diego, California, with 35,377 undergraduates, California State University-Northridge in Northridge, California, with 32,691 undergraduates, and California State University-Sacramento in Sacramento, California, with 28,350 undergraduates. Enrollment is the undergraduate figure. It is not a ranking, and it leaves out graduate students.
Admission
23 of 23 schools report an admission rate. The median of those rates is 94%. Schools with no reported rate stay out of the median. A missing rate is not an open door, and it is not a closed one.
The lowest reported admission rates on this list are California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, California, at 31%, San Diego State University in San Diego, California, at 36%, and California State University-Long Beach in Long Beach, California, at 46%. A lower rate is harder entry. It is not a score for the school.
The highest reported admission rates on this list are California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt in Arcata, California, at 98%, California State University-Stanislaus in Turlock, California, at 98%, and California State University-Monterey Bay in Seaside, California, at 97%.
What they charge
Among 23 public colleges that report an in-state sticker price, the median is $8,018.
Sticker price is not net price. Grants, waivers, and a service commitment can move the bill by a wide margin. Open a school for the net-price figures.
Earnings and graduation
Among 23 schools that report earnings, the median of those school-level medians is $63,188. The clock starts at entry, not at graduation. The highest reported medians on this list are Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, California, at $94,784, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo in San Luis Obispo, California, at $90,768, and San Jose State University in San Jose, California, at $78,988.
Among 23 schools that report a graduation rate, the median rate is 57%. A blank rate is left out. It is not treated as zero.
Athletics in this file
9 report NCAA Division I athletics, 3 play FBS football, and 2 play FCS football. A blank athletics field means this file has no division for that campus. It does not prove the campus has no team.
Also on other lists
Some of these schools also meet the rule for another list on this site. The overlap is a second flag or a second classification. It is not a second ranking.
7 are also on R2 research universities. 22 are also on Hispanic-serving institutions.
How these figures work
Admission rate, enrollment, sticker price, earnings, and graduation rate all come from the College Scorecard. Earnings are the median 10 years after a student entered the school. Tuition for a public college is the in-state sticker price. Tuition for a private college is the published sticker price. None of these is net price after aid.
A blank field stays blank. This page does not turn a blank admission rate into an open door, a blank fee into a free application, or a blank earnings figure into zero. The table above is membership under the rule in this guide. Sort order is not a quality ranking.