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San Diego State University

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San Diego State University Overview

San Diego State University is a public institution situated in San Diego, California. The city atmosphere of San Diego makes it a great place for students who enjoy having lots of educational and entertainment options.

What Is San Diego State University Known For?

8,717 Undergraduate Awards
$34,380 Avg Cost After Aid
37% Acceptance Rate
  • Students at SDSU have an easier time paying back their loans. The school's student loan default rate is only 2%, compared to the national rate of 10.1%.
  • The doctor's degree is the highest award offered at SDSU.
  • For the 2019-2020 academic year, 52% of the faculty were full-time.
  • After graduation, SDSU bachelor's degree recipients go on to jobs where they make $59,027 a year. That's about 45% more than their peers at other schools.

Best Schools

San Diego State University Rankings

Our rankings are based on an outcomes-based approach rather than subjective ones used by other media outlets. As such, we utilize data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and the College Scorecard, among other sources. Visit our rankings and methodology section to learn more.

Program Level Awards

These are highlights of some of the most noteworthy awards granted to specific programs at SDSU.

Rank Ranking Name Share
#1 Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#1 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#4 Best Value Ethnic, Culture & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#6 Best Construction Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#25 Best Engineering Technologies Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#31 Best Communication Sciences Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#36 Best Educational Administration Doctor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#43 Best General Biology Master’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#64 Best Education Doctor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It
#100 Best Nursing Bachelor’s Degree Schools Tweet It - Post It

Awards From Around the Web

The following table lists some notable awards SDSU has earned from around the web.

Rank Ranking Name Source
#30 Best Liberal Arts / Sciences & Humanities Schools College Factual
#31 Best Liberal Arts General Studies Schools College Factual
#33 Best Homeland Security, Law Enforcement & Firefighting Schools College Factual
#44 Best Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness Studies Schools College Factual
#77 Best Nursing Schools Nursing Degree Search
#139 Best Health Professions Schools College Factual

Where Is San Diego State University?

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Contact details for SDSU are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 5500 Campanile Dr, San Diego, CA 92182-0001
Phone: 619-594-5200
Website: www.sdsu.edu
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SanDiegoState
Twitter: http://twitter.com/sdsu

How Do I Get Into SDSU?

You can apply to SDSU online at: https://www2.calstate.edu/apply

Admission Requirements for SDSU

Submission Required?
High School GPA required
High School Rank neither required nor recommended
High School Transcript required
College Prep Program required
Recommendations neither required nor recommended
SAT or ACT Scores required
TOEFL neither required nor recommended

How Hard Is It To Get Into SDSU?

37% Acceptance Rate
60% Of Accepted Are Women
85% Submit SAT Scores
You'll need to do what you can to make your application stand out if you plan to apply to SDSU. The school screens its applicants carefully and has a fairly low acceptance rate of 37%. So, don't just throw your admission packet together at the last minute!

Approximately 40% of accepted students are men and 60% are women. The acceptance rate for men is 36%, and the acceptance rate for women is 37%.

Average Test Scores

About 85% of students accepted to SDSU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 550 and 640. Math scores were between 540 and 660.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for San Diego State University  ( 550 to 640 )
200
800

SAT Math Scores for San Diego State University  ( 540 to 660 )
200
800
SDSU received ACT scores from 36% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT English scores ranged between 21 and 30. Math scores were between 21 and 27. Composite scores were between 22 and 29.

ACT English Scores for San Diego State University  ( 21 to 30 )
1
36
ACT Math Scores for San Diego State University  ( 21 to 27 )
1
36
ACT Composite Scores for San Diego State University  ( 22 to 29 )
1
36

Can I Afford San Diego State University?

$34,380 Net Price
29% Take Out Loans
2.2% Loan Default Rate
The overall average net price of SDSU is $34,380. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group.

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.

Student Loan Debt

It's not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At SDSU, approximately 29% of students took out student loans averaging $7,017 a year. That adds up to $28,068 over four years for those students.

The student loan default rate at SDSU is 2.2%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.

San Diego State University Undergraduate Student Diversity

28,084 Full-Time Undergraduates
57% Women
58% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
There are 31,491 undergraduate students at SDSU, with 28,084 being full-time and 3,407 being part-time.

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There are also 4,843 graduate students at the school.

Gender Diversity

Of the 28,084 full-time undergraduates at SDSU, 43% are male and 57% are female.

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Racial-Ethnic Diversity

The racial-ethnic breakdown of San Diego State University students is as follows.

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 3,760
Black or African American 1,231
Hispanic or Latino 9,297
White 9,551
International Students 1,371
Other Races/Ethnicities 2,874

Geographic Diversity

California students aren't the only ones who study at San Diego State University. At this time, 46 states are represented by the student population at the school.

Over 98 countries are represented at SDSU. The most popular countries sending students to the school are China, India, and Kuwait.

Online Learning at San Diego State University

30,790 Took All Classes Online
35,821 Took At Least One Class Online
964.4% Avg Growth Over 4 Years
In 2019-2020, 35,821 students took at least one online class at the school.

The following chart shows how the online learning population at SDSU has changed over the last few years.

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This school is the 89th most popular in California for online learning according to the online graduations recorded by the Department of Education for the academic year 2019-2020.

Online Affordability Rankings of SDSU

During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at San Diego State University was $7,720 for in-state students. Out-of-state students paid $19,600. The following table shows how SDSU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are not mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Other Business, Management & Marketing #1 #10
Other Education #6 #21
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions #22 #25
Public Administration #25 #67
Public Health #28 #55
Public Administration & Social Service #37 #79
General Education #39 #66
Teacher Education Grade Specific #46 #106

Online Affordability Rankings of SDSU Rankings

During the most recent year for which we have data, the full-time undergraduate tuition at San Diego State University was $7,720 for in-state students. Out-of-state students paid $19,600. The following table shows how SDSU is ranked for affordability for both in-state and out-of-state students among colleges and universities that are mostly online.

Major Tuition for In-State Students Tuition for Out-of-State Students
Other Business, Management & Marketing #1 #10
Business, Management & Marketing #54 #132

Online Growth Rankings of SDSU

The average growth rate over the last four years of online students at San Diego State University was 964.4%. This is the #111 largest growth rate of all schools that are mostly online. This refers to all students at SDSU regardless of major.

The following table shows the 1-year growth rate of SDSU majors that offer at least one online course. This table only includes majors with positive growth.

Major 1-Year Growth Rate
Health Professions 8%
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 30%

The table below shows how the average growth rate over 4 years at SDSU ranks compared to all other mostly online schools that offer a specific major. Note that the majors may or may not be offered online at SDSU.

Major Growth Rate Rank
Other Business, Management & Marketing #1
Business, Management & Marketing #34

When we speak of partially online, we are referring to schools whose online population is less than 50% of its total student body. Mostly online refers to those with online populations greater than or equal to 50%.

San Diego State University Undergraduate Concentrations

The table below shows the number of awards for each concentration.

Major Bachelor’s Graduate Certificate Master’s Doctor’s TOTAL
Business Administration & Management 1,770 0 133 0 1,903
General Psychology 601 0 37 0 638
Health & Physical Education 416 0 6 0 422
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 399 0 0 0 399
Criminal Justice & Corrections 391 1 0 0 392
Computer Science 295 0 86 0 381
Teacher Education Grade Specific 166 17 176 0 359
General Biology 282 0 23 4 309
Economics 240 0 19 0 259
Nursing 237 0 12 0 249
Liberal Arts General Studies 237 0 9 0 246
Mechanical Engineering 227 0 16 0 243
Communication & Media Studies 208 0 34 0 242
Fine & Studio Arts 218 0 12 0 230
Public Health 104 0 109 12 225
Social Work 97 0 104 0 201
Communication Sciences 137 7 38 10 192
Public Administration 106 0 66 0 172
Journalism 170 0 0 0 170
Civil Engineering 137 0 25 0 162
Political Science & Government 155 0 7 0 162
General Education 0 0 139 6 145
Electrical Engineering 117 0 28 0 145
Sociology 133 0 8 0 141
International Business 138 0 0 0 138
Nutrition Science 119 0 6 0 125
Hospitality Management 86 0 23 0 109
Natural Resources Conservation 109 0 0 0 109
Chemistry 92 0 5 8 105
Romance Languages 91 0 9 0 100
International Relations & National Security 67 0 32 0 99
General English Literature 81 0 17 0 98
Computer Engineering 86 5 0 1 92
Aerospace & Aeronautical Engineering 80 0 10 0 90
Mental & Social Health Services 0 86 0 0 86
History 67 0 16 0 83
Student Counseling 0 0 72 0 72
Music 60 0 11 0 71
Radio, Television & Digital Communication 66 0 0 0 66
Rehabilitation & Therapeutic Professions 0 9 17 39 65
Drama & Theater Arts 55 0 9 0 64
General Social Sciences 61 0 0 0 61
Anthropology 56 0 2 0 58
Statistics 33 0 23 0 56
Public Relations & Advertising 53 0 0 0 53
Applied Mathematics 44 0 8 0 52
Ethnic Studies 39 2 8 0 49
Geography & Cartography 32 0 9 3 44
Linguistics & Comparative Literature 27 0 13 0 40
Mathematics 28 0 8 0 36
Microbiological Sciences & Immunology 34 0 1 0 35
Allied Health Professions 35 0 0 0 35
Accounting 0 0 34 0 34
Parks, Recreation & Leisure Studies 32 0 0 0 32
Educational Administration 0 0 0 31 31
Environmental Engineering 29 0 0 0 29
Writing Studies 4 1 24 0 29
Geological & Earth Sciences 22 0 5 2 29
Construction Engineering Technology 28 0 0 0 28
Philosophy 21 0 3 0 24
Clinical, Counseling & Applied Psychology 0 0 11 8 19
Physics 12 0 6 0 18
Multilingual Education 0 15 0 0 15
Astronomy & Astrophysics 9 0 6 0 15
Other Business, Management & Marketing 0 0 14 0 14
Finance & Financial Management 0 13 0 0 13
Area Studies 12 0 1 0 13
Biomedical Engineering 1 0 11 0 12
Religious Studies 12 0 0 0 12
Urban Studies 12 0 0 0 12
Urban & Regional Planning 0 0 11 0 11
Mathematics & Computer Science 0 0 5 6 11
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 0 10 0 0 10
Biomathematics & Bioinformatics 0 0 9 0 9
East Asian Languages 9 0 0 0 9
Gerontology 9 0 0 0 9
International Studies 8 0 0 0 8
Criminology 0 0 7 0 7
Teaching English or French 0 6 0 0 6
Dance 6 0 0 0 6
Physiology & Pathology Sciences 0 0 5 0 5
Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology 0 0 0 4 4
Classical Languages & Literature 4 0 0 0 4
Germanic Languages 3 0 0 0 3
Teacher Education Subject Specific 0 0 0 2 2
Manufacturing Engineering 0 0 2 0 2
Other Engineering 0 0 0 2 2
Other Social Sciences 0 0 0 2 2
Other Public Administration 0 0 2 0 2
Film, Video & Photographic Arts 0 0 2 0 2
Slavic, Baltic & Albanian Languages 1 0 0 0 1
Health Sciences & Services 1 0 0 0 1
Computational Science 0 1 0 0 1
Human Resource Management 0 0 0 0 0
Computer Information Systems 0 0 0 0 0
Information Science 0 0 0 0 0
Building Management & Inspection 0 0 0 0 0
Curriculum & Instruction 0 0 0 0 0
Instructional Media Design 0 0 0 0 0
Other Education 0 0 0 0 0
Special Education 0 0 0 0 0
Quality Control Technology 0 0 0 0 0
Human Development & Family Studies 0 0 0 0 0
Housing 0 0 0 0 0
Dietetics & Clinical Nutrition Services 0 0 0 0 0
General Physical Sciences 0 0 0 0 0
Arts & Media Management 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 8,717 173 1,544 140 10,574

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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