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Located in California's premier wine country 50 miles north of San Francisco, Sonoma State is a small campus with big ideas.With a tradition of promoting intellectual and personal growth, leadership opportunities and technological proficiency, SSU offers its students a friendly, safe and informal atmosphere on a beautiful campus setting. Currently, campus housing accommodates students in both apartment and residential suite style facilities.
Quick Facts:
- Mid-size campus (8,900 students)
- 60/40 female to male ratio
- 2,400 residential students (27% of student population lives on campus)
- Top 10 majors (by number of applicants):
- Pre/Business
- Biology
- Kinesiology
- Communications
- Psychology
- Hutchins
- Pre-Nursing
- English
- Criminal Justice
- History
- Graduate 2,200 students per year
- 41 bachelor’s degree programs; 14 master’s degree programs
- 9 credential programs; 8 certificate programs
- 269 richly-landscaped acres, 50 miles north of San Francisco
The university also owns and operates the 411-acre Fairfield Osborn Preserve nearby and the 3,200 acre Galbreath Wildland Preserve in Mendocino County. Both offer major opportunities for research in the natural sciences rare for students.
One of the most requested campuses in the CSU system and regularly named a “Best Value”and "Most Green" College by Princeton Review, SSU has also been named one of the “most wired” campuses in the nation by Forbes magazine. It is the only California university that is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges, the prestigious group of 25 universities and colleges across the nation that are often described as the “Public Ivies.” While SSU generally accepts all qualified students who apply from high schools in its service area, 80 percent of the freshmen and 55 percent of the junior transfer students come from outside the North Bay region. With 25 percent of its student body living on campus, it is one of the most residential campuses within the system. Sonoma State is proud of its many outstanding achievements:
The Jean and Charles Schulz Information Center is named after Peanuts cartoon creator Charles Schulz and his wife. It holds one of the largest libraries in the CSU system and the state of California with more than 400,000 volumes. A unique 750,000-volume automated-retrieval system is one of only four in the country. It also houses a valued collection of Jack London’s writings, original letters and memorabilia.
The 59,000 square foot Recreation Center, designed with high standards for sustainable building methods, houses state-of-the-art aerobic equipment, a climbing wall, exercise and dance studios, two gyms, a large weight lifting and machine area, locker rooms and a spa. Known as a ” building that teaches,” the Environmental Technology Center is a demonstration of sustainable architecture and energy efficiency that results in it consuming only 50% of the energy of similar structures.
Opening in the next few years, the Green Music Center has been designed to become one of the great concert halls of the world and is modeled after Seiji Ozawa Hall at Tanglewood in Massachusetts (the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra).
The Cerent Engineering Science Laboratories house state-of-the-art equipment for research and teaching in computer and engineering sciences and students have unique opportunities to work with high tech companies in the area.
Take a 360 degree virtual tour of Sonoma State University and see some of the reasons the campus is so popular.
Founded in 1960 as a teacher education center for the North Bay, Sonoma
State University is now a liberal arts and sciences university dedicated
to providing high-quality undergraduate education and selected professional
graduate programs. Dedicated to the liberal arts and sciences and known
for its active use of technology, the SSU educational experience fosters
intellectual, cognitive, social and personal growth. The faculty and
staff of Sonoma State provide close mentoring relationships and an education
that fosters ethical exploration, civic engagement, social responsibility,
and global awareness combined with a solid foundation in an academic
discipline.
Sonoma State University also serves as an educational and cultural resource
for its region by offering courses, lectures, workshops and programs
that are open to the public and by entering into partnerships with local
businesses, industries, and cultural and educational institutions to
enhance the quality of life in the North Bay and beyond.
As California's premier public undergraduate institution, SSU has a commitment to graduating students who have the ability to think critically and ethically and can effectively use information technology.
Student Life
Residential Life department and the Center for Student Leadership, Involvement & Service organize a wide variety of social and educational activities to ensure there activities for students. This can run the gamut from karaoke, community service events, video game contests, live music shows, comedy contests, lectures, trips to local Bay Area theatres, sporting events, museums, and much more. The alcohol and drug education program has become a model for other CSU campuses. The campus has a student newspaper and a student run radio station. For more information on events, visit the Student Activities calendar.
More than 100 clubs and organizations are available to accommodate a wide range of interests from ethnic and international to special hobbies and pursuits.
A community service program supported by the Associated Students, JUMP (Join Us Making Progress) offers students the opportunity to serve in numerous volunteer programs and gain experiences relevant to their education. Some of the many JUMP projects are Adopt-a-Grandparent, Study Buddies, Bodega Bay Homework Project, and Serving Our Unfed People.
The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics sponsors 13 sports: five for men and eight for women and is an NCAA Division II member and part of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). Eleven of SSU's sports are in the CCAA, water polo is in the WWPA, and men's tennis is a Division II independent. Sonoma State athletics got its start in 1964 with the school's first men's basketball team. Through the years, the Seawolves have had much success including national championships in 1990 (women's soccer) and 2002 (men's soccer).
Greek Life and Campus Clubs: There are currently seven sororities and six fraternities on campus. Four new local and ethnic sororities were started in the recent years. More than 100 club and organizations are available to accommodate a wide range of interests.
The residential community provides some of the most attractive suite-style housing in the area. Non-dormitory suites are served by a dining hall and are clustered in villages, offering students a similar experience to living off campus. Freshmen generally live in residential suites; sophomores and upper-level students in the apartments. Available to all are swimming pools, spas, computer labs, a convenience store, a U.S. Postal Station, a pizzeria, and outdoor recreational areas.
Academic Profile
The SSU educational experience fosters intellectual, cognitive, social and personal growth. The faculty and staff provide close mentoring relationships and an education that fosters ethical exploration, civic engagement, social responsibility, and global awareness combined with a solid foundation in an academic discipline. Many classes average fewer than 40 students, allowing close interaction between students and faculty.
SSU has a commitment to graduating students who have the ability to think critically and ethically and can effectively use information technology. There is a strong move to develop a global perspective in much of the curriculum to prepare students for the needs of the 21st century workplace.
The University is comprised of six schools: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Education, Extended Education, Social Sciences and Science and Technology. Degrees are offered in 41 majors and 46 minors at the bachelor's level and 14 at the master's level. The University offers a joint master’s degree in mathematics with San Francisco State University and a joint doctorate in educational administration with California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis. There are nine credential programs and eight undergraduate and graduate certificate programs. SSU also offers one of the only Wine Business programs in the country
Degree/Program Offerings
The University offers 9 credential programs and eight undergraduate and graduate certificate programs. Basic teaching credential programs in education include multiple subject, multiple subject BCLAD, single subject, administrative services, reading/language arts (certificate or specialist), special education (mild/moderate or moderate/severe), pupil personnel services (via the Counseling Department).
The university is comprised of six schools: Arts and Humanities, Business and Economics, Education, Extended Education, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. Degrees are offered in 41 majors and 46 minors at the bachelor's level and 14 at the master's level. The university offers a joint master’s degree in mathematics with San Francisco State University and a joint doctorate in educational administration with California State University, Sacramento and the University of California, Davis. It also offers nine credential programs and eight undergraduate and graduate certificate programs. Sonoma State offers one of the only wine business programs in the country.
Accreditation
Sonoma State University is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and the California State Board of Education. The School of Education is accredited at the state and national levels by CCTC and NCATE. The School of Business and Economics is accredited by AACSB-International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Many departments and programs are individually accredited.
Ethnicity Profile*
*Summarized from CSU Statistical Abstract.
African American |
2.6% |
American Indian |
0.8% |
Asian American/Pacific Islander |
6.9% |
Latino |
10.6% |
White, Non Latino |
66.8% |
Declined to State |
13.02% |
Alumni Association
SSU has an active Alumni Association that maintains a continuing connection between University and its 53,000 alumni, sponsoring educational projects, programs and activities to continue the relationship students have with their university.
