San Diego State University: Statistics

Updated:

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Position Category
#329 of 14,131 In the World
#143 of 2,597 In North America
#124 of 2,496 In the United States
#13 of 249 In California
#2 of 20 In San Diego
#11 of 1,346 For Sports / Exercise science
Top50% For 204 other topics
Subject rankings

Quick Review

Acceptance rate
36%
Aid receiving
62%
Undergraduates
35,782
Graduates
5,355
Male:Female Ratio
42:58
Control
Public
Highest Degree
Doctor's degree
Website
www.sdsu.edu

San Diego State University Acceptance rate and admissions statistics

San Diego State University has an acceptance rate of 36% and is among the top 9% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.

Total Men Women
Acceptance Rate 36% 34% 38%
Applicants 89,972 37,490 52,482
Admissions 32,561 12,805 19,756
Freshmen enrolled full time 6,552 2,594 3,958
Freshmen enrolled part time 77 30 47

21,435 students enrolled in some distance education courses.

2,454 enrolled exclusively in distance education.

Admissions requirements

College-preparatory program Required
Secondary school GPA Required
Secondary school record Required
TOEFL Required
Formal demonstration of competencies Neither required nor recommended
Other Tests Neither required nor recommended
Recommendations Neither required nor recommended
SAT/ACT Neither required nor recommended
Secondary school rank Neither required nor recommended

Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity

Hispanic 14962 (36%)
White 13607 (33%)
Asian 5308 (13%)
Two or more races 2930 (7%)
Black or African American 1421 (3%)
Race or Ethnicity unknown 1392 (3%)
Nonresident Alien 1345 (3%)
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander 102 (0.2%)
American Indian or Alaska Native 27 (0.1%)

Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees

The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.

Average aid awarded
$12,053
Students receiving aid
62%

Tuition and fees

UndergraduatesGraduates
Tuition in-district $6,084$7,608
Tuition in-state $6,084$7,608
Tuition out-of-state $18,684$17,688
Fee in-district $2,644$2,644
Fee in-state $2,644$2,644
Fee out-of-state $2,644$2,644

Room and board costs

Dormitory capacity 8,630
Combined charge for room and board $22,824
Room charge $15,280
Meal charge $7,544

San Diego State University majors

San Diego State University has granted 8,611 bachelor's degrees across 78 programs, 1,922 master's across 76 programs, and 179 doctorate degrees across 18 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at San Diego State University.

Major Bachelor Master Doctoral
Business Administration and Management, General 2,156 235
Psychology, General 669 26
Criminal Justice & Safety Studies 542
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education & Fitness, General 405
Speech Communication and Rhetoric 300 18
Computer Science 219 60
Art & Art Studies, General 278
Biology & Biological Sciences, General 252 19 6
Public Health, General 170 94 10
Liberal Arts and Sciences & Liberal Studies 260 5
Registered Nursing & Registered Nurse 200 31
Education, General 221 5
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, Other 223
Economics, General 200 13
Mechanical Engineering 186 24
Speech-Language Pathology & Pathologist 139 36
Early Childhood Education and Teaching 140 30
Multi- & Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 169
Sociology, General 155 12
Civil Engineering, General 144 16
Social Work 78 78
Electrical and Electronics Engineering 101 36
Political Science and Government, General 127 8
English Language and Literature, General 122 8
Journalism 119
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical & Space Engineering, General 104 11
International Business & Trade & Commerce 100 11
History, General 89 13
Public Administration 52 46
Radio and Television 84
Hospitality Administration & Management, General 62 13
Educational Leadership and Administration, General 26 47
Computer Engineering, General 70 2
Nutrition Sciences 60 12
Spanish Language and Literature 57 12
Music Performance, General 57 10
Environmental Studies 64
Chemistry, General 43 10 9
Counselor Education & School Counseling and Guidance Services 57
Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General 45 12
Anthropology, General 47 9
Geography 41 10 3
National Security Policy Studies 43
Social Sciences, General 42
Management Science 41
Statistics, General 22 19
Mathematics, General 27 11
Health Communication 37
Physical Therapy & Therapist 37
Environmental Science 32
Microbiology, General 29 2
Environmental & Environmental Health Engineering 30
Philosophy 21 7
International Relations and National Security Studies, Other 27
Physics, General 19 8
Applied Mathematics, General 19 6
Clinical Psychology 18 7
Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling & Counselor 25
Linguistics 14 9
Urban Studies & Affairs 23
Marriage and Family Therapy & Counseling 22
Computational Science 9 12
Accounting 20
Writing, General 4 14
Construction Engineering Technology & Technician 17
Community College Administration 16
Creative Writing 16
Mass Communication & Media Studies 16
Astronomy 6 9
Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering 14
Construction Management, General 14
Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studies 14
Women's Studies 7 7
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other 13
Educational & Instructional Technology 13
Geology & Earth Science, General 6 7
City & Urban, Community, and Regional Planning 12
Hispanic-American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican-American & Chicano Studies 12
Meeting and Event Planning 12
Criminology 11
Music, General 8 3
Bioinformatics 10
International & Globalization Studies 10
School Psychology 10
Athletic Training & Trainer 1 8
Japanese Language and Literature 9
Musical Theatre 2 7
Exercise Science and Kinesiology 8
Humanities & Humanistic Studies 8
Computer and Information Systems Security & Auditing & Information Assurance 7
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies, Other 7
Health & Medical Physics 7
Cinematography and Film & Video Production 6
Comparative Literature 6
Dance, General 6
Linguistics and Anthropology 6
Physiology, Pathology, and Related Sciences, Other 6
Science Teacher Education & General Science Teacher Education 6
African-American & Black Studies 5
Audiology & Audiologist 5
Engineering, Other 5
Fine & Studio Arts, General 5
Latin American Studies 2 3
Public Health, Other 5
Epidemiology 4
Gerontology 4
Social Sciences, Other 4
Ecology 3
Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General 2
French Language and Literature 2
International Public Health & International Health 2
Manufacturing Engineering 2
Religion & Religious Studies 2
Atomic & Molecular Physics 1
Communication Sciences and Disorders, General 1
Geophysics and Seismology 1
Jewish & Judaic Studies 1
Russian Language and Literature 1
Grand Total 8,611 1,922 179

San Diego State University has a graduation rate of 76%, which is among the 14% highest for universities in the US.

Total Men Women
Graduation rate 76% 72% 80%
  • Full-time retention rate - 91%
  • Part-time retention rate - 79%

Publications & Citations

San Diego State University is a world-class research university with 46,896 scientific papers published and 1,714,806 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Biology, Medicine, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Engineering, Psychology, Physics, Political Science, and Chemistry.

Publications
46,896
Citations
1,714,806

Publication / Citation count by topic

Liberal Arts & Social Sciences
26,429 / 951,891
Biology
22,602 / 992,331
Medicine
21,106 / 905,203
Computer Science
20,395 / 829,221
Environmental Science
19,052 / 772,746
Engineering
17,257 / 622,305
Psychology
16,279 / 723,237
Physics
15,466 / 570,088
Political Science
14,802 / 501,319
Chemistry
14,407 / 615,723
Sociology
14,385 / 544,214
Law
13,855 / 470,079
Philosophy
11,455 / 381,228
Geography and Cartography
11,091 / 431,434
Mathematics
10,888 / 426,919
Geology
10,334 / 445,401
Quantum and Particle physics
9,897 / 368,438
Ecology
8,778 / 420,848
Pathology
8,538 / 397,866
Psychiatry
8,329 / 395,662
Business
8,319 / 305,975
History
7,937 / 241,448
Genetics
7,869 / 420,325
Statistics
7,841 / 340,935
Biochemistry
7,612 / 406,317
Economics
6,962 / 223,366
Organic Chemistry
6,613 / 248,359
Paleontology
6,586 / 292,702
Public Health
6,370 / 328,784
Archaeology
6,355 / 226,355
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
6,018 / 214,301
Neuroscience
5,833 / 252,987
Materials Science
5,697 / 182,469
Linguistics
5,616 / 204,576
Demography
5,551 / 277,242
Social Psychology
5,201 / 284,322
Art & Design
4,537 / 137,645
Nursing
4,444 / 226,669
Development Studies
4,204 / 137,915
Machine Learning
4,057 / 147,536

Annual publication & citation counts

Year Publications Citations
1993 400 4171
1994 377 4493
1995 404 5192
1996 467 6155
1997 482 6377
1998 537 7164
1999 487 8134
2000 512 10082
2001 632 10646
2002 801 13195
2003 794 15039
2004 906 16474
2005 928 20073
2006 1050 23742
2007 1088 28042
2008 1238 33297
2009 1225 39658
2010 1288 44923
2011 1376 52326
2012 1419 59126
2013 1415 65651
2014 1466 71442
2015 1572 74565
2016 1706 76891
2017 1804 81373
2018 1804 89876
2019 2019 101594
2020 2223 118721
2021 2079 128285
2022 1972 121870
2023 2556 122799
2024 1820 119121
2025 1451 105464
Academic rankings

San Diego State University alumni

  1. Kawhi Leonard

    Kawhi Leonard
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1991-.. (age 35)
    Enrolled in San Diego State University
    Studied in 2007
    Occupations
    basketball player
    Biography

    Kawhi Anthony Leonard is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP, he is a seven-time All-Star and a six-time member of the All-NBA Team (including three First Team selections). Nicknamed the "Claw" or "Klaw" for his ball-hawking skills and exceptionally large hands, Leonard is often regarded as one of the greatest two-way players in NBA history, earning seven All-Defensive Team selections and winning Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2015 and 2016. In 2021, he was named to the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

  2. Gregory Peck

    Gregory Peck
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1916-2003 (aged 87)
    Occupations
    stage actorproduceractorfilm producerfilm actor
    Biography

    Eldred Gregory Peck was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood Cinema.

  3. Carl Weathers

    Carl Weathers
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1948-2024 (aged 76)
    Enrolled in San Diego State University
    Graduated with Master of Arts
    Occupations
    film directorprofessional athletetelevision actorvoice actorassociation football player
    Biography

    Carl Weathers was an American actor, director and gridiron football player. His prominent roles included boxer Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films (1976–1985), Colonel Al Dillon in Predator (1987), Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore (1996), and Combat Carl in the Toy Story franchise. He also starred in the 1988 film Action Jackson and portrayed Det. Beaudreaux in the television series Street Justice (1991–1993) and a fictionalized version of himself in the comedy series Arrested Development (2004, 2013), and voiced Omnitraxus Prime in Star vs. the Forces of Evil (2017–2019). He had a recurring role as Greef Karga in the Star Wars series The Mandalorian (2019–2023), for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

  4. Saweetie

    Saweetie
    Born in
    United States Flag United States
    Years
    1993-.. (age 33)
    Occupations
    singersongwriterrapper
    Biography

    Diamonté Quiava Valentin Harper, known professionally as Saweetie, is an American rapper, singer and actress. Her 2017 debut single, "Icy Grl", received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and led her to sign with Warner Records in a joint venture with her then-manager Max Gousse's record label, Artistry Worldwide.

All 100 notable alumni

General info

Alternative names SDSU
Founded 1897
Motto Minds that move the world
Colors black, scarlet red
Academic calendar August to May (August - December; January-May)
Total FTE staff 3,552
Carnegie classification Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity

Location and contacts

Address 5500 Campanile Dr
San Diego, California, 92182-0001
United States
City population 1,387,000
Phone 6195945200

San Diego State University in social media