Type | Public |
---|---|
Established | 1989 |
Endowment | $22.0 million (2016) |
President | Karen S. Haynes |
Provost | Graham Oberem |
Academic staff
|
615 (225 tenured or tenure-track) |
Students | 13,144 (Fall 2016) |
Undergraduates | 12,562 (Fall 2016) |
Postgraduates | 582 (Fall 2016) |
Location | San Marcos, California, U.S. |
Campus | Suburban, 340 acres (140 ha) |
Colors | Blue, Black, White |
Athletics | NCAA Division II – CCAA |
Nickname | Cougars |
Affiliations |
AASCU California State University |
Website | www |
California State University San Marcos (CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public comprehensive university in San Marcos, California, United States, and one of the 23 campuses of the California State University system. San Marcos is a suburban city in the North County area of San Diego County. It was founded in 1989 as the 20th CSU campus. The first class was admitted in 1990.
CSU San Marcos offers 62 different Bachelor's degrees, 15 master's degrees, an Ed.D. program, and 13 teaching credentials. The university has four colleges: the College of Business Administration; the College of Science and Mathematics; the College of Humanities, Arts, Behavioral and Social Sciences; and the College of Education, Health and Human Services. In Fall of 2013, the university had 615 faculty, of which 225 (or 36.5 percent) were tenured or on the tenure track.
Efforts by community and political leaders to bring a state university to North County date back to the 1960s. In 1969, the chancellor of the CSU system, Glenn S. Dumke issued a report concluding that there was "an ultimate need" for a new university campus in the area.
In 1978, State Senator William A. Craven (1921–1999) of Carlsbad won $250,000 in state funding for a North County satellite campus of San Diego State University, which opened at Lincoln Junior High School in Vista with an enrollment of 148 students. In 1982, the satellite moved to larger quarters in an office building on Los Vallecitos Boulevard in San Marcos. When it appeared that the new San Marcos campus would be a satellite of San Diego State, CSU Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds insisted on an independent university with the goal of creating leadership opportunities for women and minorities. In September 1985, Senate Bill 1060, introduced by Craven, passed, appropriating $250,000 for a feasibility study on building a university in North County. By 1988, the enrollment of SDSU North County had reached 1,250 students, and the CSU board of trustees purchased for $10.6 million the future site of CSU San Marcos, the 304-acre Prohoroff Poultry Farm in San Marcos. The hillside site lies approximately 8 miles (13 km) due east of the Pacific Ocean and 35 miles (56 km) due north of downtown San Diego. Today the campus comprises 340 acres (140 ha). The CSU trustees also requested $51.8 million in state funds for the first phase of construction.