San Francisco State University

Innovation. Challenging the status quo. Creativity. Making waves. All words that define the culture of San Francisco State University (SF State).
Just one year after SF State was founded in 1899, as the San Francisco State Normal School, the school’s teaching methods were defined as 'radical', and they've been shaking things up ever since. Through a process of continuous improvement and evolution, SF State has become a university like no other.

• Firmly connected with its innovative home city.
• Strongly committed to creating opportunities for each student to discover their unique path in life.
• Deeply engaged with the world’s economies, cultures and politics.
• Uniquely focused on excellence in teaching and research that can be actively applied toward improving the world.

Attending SF State is more than an education -- it’s an experience, and true preparation for living a life of principle and value. SF State alumni are known worldwide as agents of change, creative artists, activists, inventors and company founders. Once a student at SF State, always a leader who is engaged and innovative. SF State offers bachelor’s degrees in 75 disciplines, master’s degrees in 63 disciplines and more than 50 certificate and credential programs. Students will be learning from the best, too. SF State’s faculty includes Guggenheim Fellowship recipients, Emmy Award and Pushcart Prize winners, National Science Foundation honorees and other internationally recognized leaders and innovators. They regularly work with Apple, Google, Facebook, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Institutes of Health, NASA and Pixar.

Why San Francisco State University

• Enhanced teaching environment: Teaching is what SF State is all about -- it's what they do best. Here students are guided and encouraged to find their own way, to speak up and express themselves. SF State instructors are interested in their students' success -- and they are accessible, offering ongoing support through advising, learning assistance, and career counseling.
• Campus life: SF State represents an exceptional range of ethnic groups, cultures, ages, values, and life experiences. Sixty-seven percent of undergraduates are students of color, as are 40 percent of graduate students. Students will arrive right out of high school; others will arrive with extensive professional experience. This mix of people leads to stimulating discussions both in and out of class; students will learn not only from their professors but also from other students.
• Engagement: SF State is one of the nation's leading public urban universities. Promoting respect for scholarship, freedom, and human diversity, the University's faculty and administration encourage students to ignore traditional barriers. Here students learn by helping people solve real-life problems, take part in research projects with senior faculty, collaborate with classmates, and explore future personal horizons and career pathways.
• Hands-on experience: At SF State, students learn outside of classrooms and laboratories; they learn in the vibrant community of the Bay Area itself. Through service learning programs and courses, students have made a difference in the real world, working to improve city housing projects, bringing music instruction to city schools, helping immigrants prepare for citizenship tests, and supporting a health clinic in San Francisco's Mission district for low-income residents. By taking part in these or similar projects, students can work, study, and contribute at the same time.
• Facilities: San Francisco is where students can find an awesome view and unexpected thrills over every hill. Ride cable cars, explore authentic ethnic neighborhoods, hang out at downtown clubs, visit traditional or alternative music and theatre venues, or stroll through eucalyptus groves in city parks. What's more, San Francisco and nearby Silicon Valley comprise the nation's high tech capital and the home of biotechnology. If students want to get a jump on tomorrow's job market, San Francisco is the place to be.