San Diego State University joins CUMU
Founded in 1897, San Diego State University (SDSU) is a multi-campus public flagship with 37,000 students and more than 6,000 faculty and staff. The university, which obtains more than $192 million in external research funding annually, is characterized by the Carnegie Foundation as a research university with high research activity. SDSU is also federally designated as both a Hispanic Serving-Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution.
SDSU offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees through eight academic colleges; has multiple campus locations in San Diego; Imperial County; Palau; Oaxaca, Mexico; and the Republic of Georgia. SDSU has provided its nearly 500,000 alumni with the opportunity to participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an international emphasis that prepares them for a global future.
Uniquely situated only 30 minutes north of the U.S.-Mexico border on Kumeyaay land, serving the San Diego region has always been a core part of SDSU’s mission.
SDSU maintains a Division I intercollegiate athletics program featuring 18 sports.
Launched in 2020 under the leadership of President Adela la Torre, SDSU’s five-year strategic plan, We Rise We Defy: Transcending Borders, Transforming Lives, focuses on innovation, student achievement, sustainability, and diversity, equity and inclusion. President de la Torre has also led the expansion of SDSU Global Campus; the development of SDSU Mission Valley; and the expansion of academic offerings, faculty and staff positions and student support services at SDSU Imperial Valley.
Expanding opportunity and innovation in the Imperial Valley
Located more than 100 miles west of SDSU, but only seven blocks from the Mexican border, SDSU Imperial Valley offers 12 bachelor’s and 7 master’s and graduate degrees, including a nationally-acclaimed teacher education program.
The campus provides a uniquely intimate, high-quality educational experience for students who don’t want to leave their hometowns to attend college. Interactive videoconferencing provides students at the Calexico and Brawley sites the opportunity to participate in classes broadcast live from San Diego or from partner universities across the border. Many who attend SDSU Imperial Valley, the only 4-year institution in the region, are the first in their families to seek a college degree.
In 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced historic funding to redevelop SDSU Imperial Valley’s Brawley campus. The announcement followed SDSU’s plan, and existing institutional investments, to transform the campus into a 65,000 square foot Innovation Campus to house science, technology, chemistry, engineering, and mathematics programming. In November 2023, additional state funding was announced that will support the first student housing development for SDSU Imperial Valley and Imperial Valley College students in the Valley.
An engine for economic and community engagement
In 2020, SDSU broke ground on SDSU Mission Valley to serve higher education, the public good, and the community’s goals and aspirations. It’s being designed as a vibrant, medium-density, mixed-use, transit-oriented development that will transform the university and the City of San Diego. SDSU Mission Valley features Snapdragon Stadium and will include an Innovation District with a robust academic research footprint, housing, a hotel, retail, and more than 80 acres of community parks and open space, including a 34-acre River Park.
SDSU Mission Valley is designed to be a community asset, expanding the university’s educational, research, entrepreneurial, and technology programs and supporting community engagement. SDSU Mission Valley will generate an additional $3.1 billion each year for the local economy and will support more than 17,000 new jobs. And, importantly, it will allow SDSU to increase enrollment by up to 15,000 new students.
From modest beginnings as a normal school, San Diego State University has evolved into a premier center of education, research, and service to their community.
Join us in welcoming San Diego State University to the CUMU membership.