California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system.The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelor's degrees in 60 areas of study, 45 master's degrees, 3 doctoral degrees, 12 certificates of advanced study, and 2 different teaching credentials.
The university's unique facilities include an on-campus planetarium, on-campus raisin and wine grape vineyards, and a commercial winery, where student-made wines have won over 300 awards since 1997. Members of Fresno State's nationally ranked Top 10 Team have the option of housing their horses on campus, next to indoor and outdoor arenas. Fresno State has a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) Student Recreation Center and the third-largest library (by square footage) in the California State University system.The university is classified as a doctoral university with moderate research activity in the Carnegie Classification, as of the February 1, 2016 update.
- The University - California State University, Fresno was founded as Fresno State Normal School in 1911, became a teacher's college in 1921, and has offered advanced degrees since 1949. The university's popular nickname is "Fresno State." Our mascot is the Bulldog.
- Affiliation - Fresno State is one of the 23 campuses of the California State University, one of the largest systems of higher education in the world.
- Accreditation - The University is accredited by the California Board of Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. It has 26 nationally accredited departmental programs, among the highest number within the CSU system.
- Location - Fresno State's 388-acre main campus and its 1,011-acre University Farm are located at the northeast edge of Fresno, California, at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. The surrounding San Joaquin Valley is one of the richest agricultural areas in the world, and Fresno is the sixth largest city in California. The university is within an hour's drive of many mountain and lake resorts and within a three or four hour drive of both Los Angeles and San Francisco.
- Academic Schools and Divisions - Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology; Arts and Humanities; Craig School of Business; Kremen School of Education and Human Development; Lyles College of Engineering; Health and Human Services; Science and Math; Social Sciences. Graduate Studies; Continuing and Global Education.
- Academic Calendar - Fall semester: late August through December. Spring semester: mid-January through mid-May. The university also offers shorter sessions in summer.
Fresno State is an award-winning national university student’s call home. Reports from Washington Monthly Magazine, U.S. News and World Report, and Money Magazine placed our University alongside the University of California campuses, Ivy League institutions and Stanford.
U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 Best College Rankings
#3 among public national universities for graduation-rate performance for the past five years
#21 in Top Performers in Social Mobility
#53 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs
#107 among all national public universities, and was one of two California State Universities to make the list with San Diego State.
Fresno State is ranked No. 54 in the nation by Washington Monthly magazine in 2021 for its focus on social mobility, research, and service to the community. Fresno State is the only California State University to make the top 100.
The University ranked No. 7 in MONEY Magazine’s 2020 Best Colleges rankings for Most Transformative Colleges.
We recieved our eighth Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award 2021 from INSIGHT into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education.
In the words of our University President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval:
- “This ranking shows the determination and resilience of our talented students, who come from diverse backgrounds and experiences, to achieve their higher-education dreams”
- “It is also a recognition of our outstanding faculty and staff who inspire and empower our students for success. And this is the best part: Their success is directly tied to the success of our community and a higher quality of life in our Valley.”
