This school appears in our ranking 15 Best Universities for Master's Degrees in Equine Studies 2018.
California State University is a system of public schools in California with 23 campuses and several smaller satellite locations. More than 475,000 students attend classes within the school system and nearly 25,000 faculty members are employed by CSU. As such, the school system is the largest system in the state. The university's headquarters are in Long Beach, California. The official colors of the school are red and white, and each branch has a separate sports mascot and team nickname. The system boasts the largest number of graduates who enter Ph.D. programs, and there are more than twice as many accredited business schools throughout the system than in any other group of colleges.
California State University Accreditation Details
The various campuses throughout the California State University system are accredited by a variety of program-specific and college-specific organizations, and the school system is also accredited by the WASC Senior Colleges and University Commission as its regional accrediting agency. Some of the accreditations held by various programs include the Bachelor of Arts degree from California State University Fullerton, which is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and the Master of Arts in Communicative Disorders, which is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Other accrediting agencies that have given their approval to programs in the CSU system include the Council on Education for Public Health, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and the American Chemical Society.
California State University Application Requirements
There are three primary factors used by campuses within the California State University system to determine eligibility for enrollment. Those criteria include the high school courses taken, the grades received in those courses, as well as the grades earned on standardized tests, and whether the student has graduated from high school. The admission requirements are the same for residents as they are for non-residents. However, non-residents need a higher grade point average and test scores to equal the same application materials submitted by a resident of California. Low income and those who are considered educationally disadvantaged are eligible for the Educational Opportunity Program, which offers admission assistance to eligible applicants, as well as financial assistance to those who qualify.
Tuition and Financial Aid
All students attending one of the almost two-dozen California State University campuses pay the same tuition, which is $5,742 per academic year for undergraduate students attending with more than six credits per semester. For anyone enrolling in six credits or fewer for the term, the cost is $3,330 per academic year. The tuition increases to $6,660 for students who are partaking in the post-baccalaureate teacher prep program. Graduate students will pay $7,176 when enrolled in more than six credits and will pay $4,164 when enrolled in six or fewer credits. There are also several fees that students must pay in addition to tuition, and those fees vary based on the location of the student's program. Non-resident students may need to pay additional tuition.
Financial aid at California State University campuses varies from student loans to grants and scholarships. Students who attend CSU schools may apply for federal financial aid, as well as school loans from private banks. Students with limited income may qualify for Work Study through the federal loan program, which offers money in exchange for guaranteed work opportunities that are usually on campus. Students should investigate opportunities for scholarships in their chosen field as there are hundreds of scholarships available for students entering specific programs. Students should submit their FAFSA form by the deadline to ensure they qualify for federal student aid.
Online Degrees Available
The California State University system offers more than 50 degrees that students may earn online, as well as many credential programs in various areas. Students may study at the bachelor's, master's, or doctorate level, as well as in specialty programs. Additionally, students who want to attend school online can enroll in a program offered completely online, as well as hybrid versions where only some classes are taken on campus. Students also have the choice of attending any of the schools within the university system for many of the programs. For example, a student interested in attending California State University Channel Islands may want to investigate the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
A student looking to attend the Chico location of CSU may want to look at the Religious Studies degree. The Dominguez Hills campus offers an online nursing program. California State University East Bay offers one of the most robust online campuses with students having the opportunity to study business administration, ethnic studies, human development, and hospitality and tourism. Other locations where a student can find degrees offered entirely online include Northridge, Humboldt, Fullerton, Sacramento, Stanislaus, San Diego, San Bernardino, and San Marcos. In addition to offering degrees in a variety of cities across the country, the CSU system also offers bachelor's degrees online that only take a few years to complete.
For example, the Sacramento location of CSU offers a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice that only takes two years to complete and is offered through a partnership with the College of Health & Human Services and the College of Continuing Education. Classes offered in the program include Introduction to Criminal Justice and Society, General Investigative Techniques, Law of Crimes, and The Community and the Justice System. Students also get to take 24 units of elective courses in areas like Investigation, Offenses & Offenders, Law, Corrections, and Criminal Justice Administration. The program coordinators use a student's current transcript and classes to determine the route a student will take through the program.
One of the most popular online degrees in the CSU system is the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Several locations offer this degree option including San Diego, Fullerton, East Bay, and the Channel Islands. The online business programs are designed for students who require flexibility in their scheduling and the convenience of an online program. The programs are open to transfer students, and students may choose to enroll in a community college in California for their initial credits and complete the degree online with CSU. One of the benefits of getting a bachelor's degree in business from the CSU family of schools is that the programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. Students interested in online degree programs at California State University can investigate the programs through each college location's official website.