 | |
Former names | Satellite campus ofLos Angeles State College (1952–1958) San Fernando Valley State College (1958–1972) |
|---|---|
| Motto | Vox Veritas Vita (Latin) |
Motto in English | "Speak the truth as a way of life" |
| Type | Public university |
| Established | 1958; 67 years ago (1958) |
Parent institution | California State University |
| Accreditation | WSCUC |
Academic affiliations | CUMU |
| Endowment | $229.4 million (2024)[1] |
| Budget | $574.9 million (2024)[2] |
| President | Erika D. Beck[3] |
| Provost | Meera Komarraju |
Academic staff | 2,173 (Fall 2024)[4] |
Administrative staff | 1,907 (Fall 2024)[4] |
| Students | 36,848 (Fall 2024)[4] |
| Undergraduates | 32,499 (Fall 2024)[4] |
| Postgraduates | 4,349 (Fall 2024)[4] |
| Location | ,, U.S. 34°14′30″N118°31′42″W / 34.24167°N 118.52833°W /34.24167; -118.52833 |
| Campus | Large city, 356 acres (144 ha)[5] |
| Newspaper | Daily Sundial |
| Colors | Red and black[6] |
| Nickname | Matadors |
Sporting affiliations | |
| Mascot | Matty the Matador |
| Website | csun |
 | |
 | |
California State University, Northridge (CSUN/ˈsiːsʌn/ orCal State Northridge), is apublic university in theNorthridge neighborhood ofLos Angeles, California, United States. With a total enrollment of 36,848 students (as of Fall 2024), it has the fourth largest total student body in theCalifornia State University system. The size of CSUN also has a major impact on the California economy, with an estimated $1.9 billion ineconomic output generated by CSUN on a yearly basis.[7] As of Fall 2024, the university has 2,173 faculty members, of which around 36% are tenured or on the tenure-track.[4]
California State University, Northridge, was founded first as the Valley satellite campus ofCalifornia State University, Los Angeles. It then became an independent college in 1958 asSan Fernando Valley State College, with major campus master planning and construction. In 1972, the university adopted its current name of California State University, Northridge. The1994 Northridge earthquake caused $400 million (equivalent to $849 million in 2024) in damage to the campus, the heaviest damage ever sustained by an American college campus.[8]
The university offers 134 differentbachelor's degree andmaster's degree programs in 70 fields, as well as fourdoctoral degrees. It isclassified among "Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs".[9]
CSUN is home to theNational Center on Deafness and the university hosts the annualInternational Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities, more commonly known as the CSUN Conference. Cal State Northridge is aHispanic-serving institution.
The establishment of CSUN began in 1952 with the proposal of a new satellite campus for Los Angeles State College (now known asCalifornia State University, Los Angeles), to be established inBaldwin Hills.[8][10] However, San Fernando Valley advocates persuaded state officials, including California Assembly memberJulian Beck, to change the location toNorthridge after a meeting at theBrown Derby restaurant onWilshire Boulevard.[8][10][11] The origins of San Fernando Valley State College trace back to September 1955, when classes first began in 10 leased classrooms atSan Fernando High School.[12] The official groundbreaking of the university occurred on January 4, 1956, and was performed by, among others, theGovernor of CaliforniaGoodwin Knight and Los Angeles State College PresidentHoward S. McDonald.[10] While it is situated in a suburban location nowadays, it was a rural location during its founding.[10]
Classes started on September 24, 1956, in temporary buildings, with an enrollment of 1,500 students.[10][12] Delmar Oviatt, the former namesake of the campus library (subsequently renamed University Library), was the dean of the satellite campus until July 1, 1958, when the campus separated from Los Angeles State College and was renamed San Fernando Valley State College (popularly abbreviated to Valley State College, Valley State, or SFVSC) after the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill No. 971.[13][14]Ralph Prator was assigned as the first president of the university and enrollment reached 2,525 with a tuition of $29 per semester.[8][10] During that same year, the first graduation ceremony was held for around 100 students at theHollywood Bowl; it was held on campus during subsequent years.[10] In 1959, the university became the first State College to have its own computer.[8] In 1964, the pioneering computer lab was moved into new quarters in the recently completed Sierra Hall building complex, and student enrollment reached nearly 12,000.[8] Buildings were swiftly constructed during the early 1960s.[10] Additionally, in November 1963 the university established its own radio station, which continues operation to this day asKCSN.[10]
On October 25, 1960, then vice presidential nomineeLyndon B. Johnson visited the campus accompanied byGovernor Pat Brown to hold a rally in front of approximately 3,500 students.[10] Four years later, then Republican candidateNelson Rockefeller held a rally at the university in front of around 6,000 students, which was organized by the university's Republican Club.[10] In December 1965, with increasing conversation and tension on the topic of civil rights in the country, the university hosted a debate between the conservative thinkerWilliam F. Buckley Jr. and liberalAfrican American journalistLouis Lomax.[10]
The campus's quiet, moderately conservative and overwhelmingly white suburban setting did not shield it from a share of the noise, strife and social upheavals of theVietnam War era. As on many college campuses, there were antiwar demonstrations.[8]
In September 1966,Vice PresidentHubert Humphrey visited the campus, where he was met by students protesting theVietnam War.[10] On March 25, 1968, a presidential campaign speech on campus byRobert F. Kennedy drew an orderly crowd of 10,000 and mainly focused on his opposition to theVietnam War.[15] Shortly thereafter, his opponentEugene McCarthy also held a rally at the university which drew a crowd of 7,000 spectators.[10]
However, 1968 would not end quite so peacefully on the campus. The Aprilassassination of Martin Luther King Jr. inMemphis, Tennessee, soon followed by the Juneassassination of Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, then the August1968 Democratic National Convention inChicago, had led to aseries of riots throughout the nation. On November 4, the assault of anAfrican American student athlete by his white coach on the CSUN campus led a group of African American students to hold the acting college president and more than 30 staff membershostage in the Administration Building for several hours, pressing demands for greater outreach in minority enrollment and employment and the establishment of minority studies departments.[16][17][18] No one was hurt and, under duress, the president agreed to their demands.[19][20] After subsequent negotiations, minority enrollment was increased and both the Africana and Chicano/a departments were established.[21][22][23][24] Despite an assurance of amnesty, 28 of the students involved were later charged with kidnapping, assault, conspiracy, and false imprisonment,[8][25][26] according to scholarMartha Biondi "the most serious crimes ever in the history of campus protest."[27] Nineteen were convicted and three served time in state prison.[28] Almost one month later, a fire started by an arsonist gutted the president's office.[29][30]
Furthermore, several massive antiwar demonstrations took place during 1969–1970, variously resulting in campus shutdowns, heavy police responses, violent clashes, hundreds of arrests, and in a few cases serious injuries to demonstrators.[24][17] The last such demonstration was in May 1971, on the first anniversary of theKent State shootings.[25][31]
Aside from the demonstrations, the university also catered tohippie culture whenJanis Joplin performed withBig Brother and the Holding Company at what is now theMatadome on May 12, 1968.[32] Additionally, theNewport Pop Festival was held at theDevonshire Downs, now CSUN's North Campus, in June 1969 and attracted 200,000 attendees to watch performances byJimi Hendrix,Ike & Tina Turner,Marvin Gaye,Jethro Tull and various others.[32][33]
Despite the turmoil during this period, the university continued to grow and construction of theOviatt Library began on May 19, 1971. The college also officially renamed itself to California State University, Northridge on June 1, 1972, by action of the Legislature and the Board of Trustees of the California State University.[10][14][12]
On October 24, 1973, the university's library, once named the Oviatt Library and renamed to the University Library in 2020, was completed and opened.[34] In 1975, the construction of the CSUN sculpture began at the southeast corner of campus after the design by alumnus John T. Banks.[8] By 1977, enrollment at the university was 28,023, with tuition at $95.[8] In 1981, the campus officially established a foreign exchange student program with Japan, China, Ukraine, South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and the Netherlands.[8] In 1988, the campus had an enrollment of 31,575 and a $342 tuition fee.[8]
In 1974, in partnership withUC Santa Barbara, CSUN opened the Ventura Learning Center inVentura. This became the CSUN Ventura Campus in 1988 and was spun off intoCalifornia State University, Channel Islands in 1998.[35]
In 1990, the Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition and Dietetics was established; theOviatt Library east and west wings were added; and the campus had the California State University system's only fully established astronomy department with a planetarium.[8]
The1994 Northridge earthquake struck on January 17 and caused $400 million in damage to the campus, the heaviest damage ever sustained by an American college campus.[8] The epicenter was less than two miles (3 km) away on a previously undiscoveredblind thrust fault. Later the same month, Vice PresidentAl Gore visited with a promise of funds to help with the reconstruction.[8] Entire sections of the main library, the art building and several other major structures were either physically unusable or too hazardous to occupy. Among the structures judged to be so seriously damaged that repair was not a practical option were the Fine Arts building, designed by noted modernist architectRichard Neutra, and the South Library, the oldest permanent building on campus. The art courtyard survived. Due to inadequateearthquake engineering, theparking structure next to theMatadome was completely destroyed.[36]
Despite the extensive damage, classes for the spring term started only two weeks late.[10] The classes were held in rapidly constructed tents and temporary facilities, remaining campus buildings deemed safe for use, and local high schools, community colleges, andUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) while the campus was being rebuilt.[10] On January 17, 1995, PresidentBill Clinton visited the campus to commemorate the first anniversary of the quake.[8]
In April 1999, the Board of CSU trustees decided to give $27 million to construct post-earthquake projects.[8] The university opened the first Central American Studies program in the nation in May 2000.[8] In 2003, both University Hall and Manzanita Hall were opened, marking the completion of the earthquake recovery program.[37] California State University trustees on March 15, 2006, voted their unanimous approval of Envision 2035, the Cal State Northridge planning initiative that framed the university's physical development for the next several decades.[38] The vote approved the revised master plan as well as an increase in the campus' master plan enrollment capacity from 25,000 to 35,000 full-time equivalent students (FTEs). The trustees also certified the final environmental impact report on the plan. The university in 2007, with clean energy advocates, built the new 1 megawattfuel cellpower plant which was the largest of its kind in any university in the world.[8]
The campus community maintained its legacy of activism when budget cuts and tuition fee hikes were announced during the2008 financial crisis. Students formed the Students Against Rising Tuition group and protested whileGovernorArnold Schwarzenegger visited the campus in February 2008.[10] Subsequently, students, staff and faculty protested further cuts introduced by theGovernor later in the year.[10] Protests against the budget cuts continued on March 4, 2010, when a statewide protest against the budget cuts was organized, with several professors cancelling class and large numbers of students leaving their classes to join the protests and march downReseda Boulevard.[10] The protests resulted in several arrests, but in turn students raised allegations of abusive behavior from the police.[10] Aside from the protests, politicians continued to visit the campus as in previous decades, this time with visits from2008 Democratic presidential candidateHillary Clinton,United States SenatorsBarbara Boxer andDianne Feinstein, and a visit in 2016 from futureVice President (thenAttorney General of California)Kamala Harris.[10][39]
This period also saw increased donations to the university, with gift commitments reaching a record $31.7 million in 2018.[40] Major donations included $7 million fromMichael Eisner in 2002, $7.3 million from the Bayramian family estate in 2005, $10 million fromMike Curb in 2006, $10 million fromDavid Nazarian in 2014, and a then record $17 million fromYounes Nazarian in 2017.[41][14] This period also saw an increase in sponsored research.[42]
In 2019, a record 11,627 students graduated from the university.[43] The same year, presidentDianne F. Harrison announced she would retire at the end of June 2020.[42]
Like many other universities around the U.S. and the world, CSUN was heavily affected by theCOVID-19 pandemic. The university ceased in-person instruction on March 12, 2020, when the pandemic started totake hold in the United States.[44] Two months later, theCalifornia State University was the first in the nation to announce that fall instruction would also be almost exclusively online.[45] The university saw major revenue losses as a result of the pandemic and announced a budget cut in August 2020, despite receiving the 7th largest amount in the nation from the first wave of Covid relief funds under theCARES Act.[46][47][48] In total, CSUN received the most federal Covid relief funds ($265 million) out of all universities in California after the three waves of relief funds from theCARES Act,Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, andAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[49] In January 2021, CSUN became a vaccination site. When the site closed in June of the same year, around 250,000 people had been vaccinated on the campus.[50]
CSUN received the two largest donations in its history in 2021. On June 15, 2021, the university announced it had received a donation of $40 million fromMacKenzie Scott and her husband Dan Jewett; the largest gift from a single donor in its history.[51] Three months later CSUN announced it had received the second largest donation in its history, $25 million, fromApple.[52][53] The donation, combined with $25 million of state appropriations and over $7 million in support fromAutodesk, was used for the establishment of a Global Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Equity Innovation Hub and construction of the Autodesk Technology Engagement Center (which houses the hub).[54] The hub allows for collaboration from across theCSU and otherhispanic-serving institutions to improve student success, equity, and prepare students from historically disadvantaged backgrounds forSTEM careers. Moreover,Apple will provide technology, design support and creative support at the hub as the project matures. Thepublic–private partnership was made possible by political support from various state politicians, includingGovernor Gavin Newsom andSenator Alex Padilla,[53] as well as an initial donation of $1 million fromAutodesk for a feasibility study.[55][56]
During this time period the university also completed construction of Maple Hall, which was financed by $49.9 million of CSU funds. The completion of this building cleared the way to renovate neighboring Sierra Hall, pending funding and construction approval.[57]
| Race and ethnicity[58] | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hispanic | 57% | ||
| White | 19% | ||
| Asian | 9% | ||
| Black | 5% | ||
| Two or more races | 3% | ||
| Foreign national | 3% | ||
| Unknown | 3% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[a] | 56% | ||
| Affluent[b] | 44% | ||
In the fall of 2018, there were 60,519 applicants, of which 31,102 were admitted for an acceptance rate of 51.4%.[59] As of fall 2018, CSUN has the largest enrollment percentage ofLatino Americans that are not Mexican American in the Cal State system.[60] These are Latino Americans with heritage fromCentral America,South America and theCaribbean. In addition, CSUN has the third largest enrollment percentage of non-residents in the California State University system.[60]
Fall freshman statistics[61]
| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freshman applicants | 33,350 | 30,098 | 26,276 | 23,656 | 27,738 |
| Admits | 30,842 | 27,748 | 23,687 | 20,842 | 18,253 |
| % Admitted | 92.5% | 92.2% | 90.1% | 88.1% | 65.8% |
| Enrolled | 5,543 | 5,545 | 4,972 | 4,708 | 4,010 |
| GPA | 3.33 | 3.37 | 3.42 | 3.38 | 3.39 |
For the academic year 2015–2016, the number of foreign students who attended U.S. institutions exceeded the one million mark. During the same year, CSUN was ranked as the number one Master's institution, having the highest number of international students in the United States. The total number of international students for that academic year totaled 3,924.[62]
CSUN is divided into nine colleges:
The university, in partnership withSouthwestern Law School, offers a dual B.A./J.D degree. The program allows students to graduate within six years instead of the traditional seven if both degrees were taken separately. The program began in fall 2014 with an estimated cohort size of 35 students. In addition, students accepted into the program receive an initial $10,000 Wildman/Schumacher entering student scholarship. Students in the program will have their first year of law school double count as their fourth year of undergraduate education.[63]
CSUN offers a pathway program for academic progression in the field of Nursing that links CSUN with designated California Community College (CC) partners.[64] This program enables students who are interested in attaining an ADN to earn a BSN degree in2+1⁄2 years. Students will be concurrently enrolled in both nursing programs, taking courses for their BSN while completing their associate degree at the community college. On completion of their ADN students will be able to complete their BSN in one year. Students must be accepted into an ADN program at one of the participating community colleges.
The following California Community Colleges are currently partnered up with CSUN Nursing:Glendale Community College,[65]College of the Canyons,[66]Los Angeles Valley College,[67] andPierce College.[68]
Central American Studies is an interdisciplinary academic space with an emphasis on the transnational character of Central America. The department is the only program to focus onCentral Americans in the United States.[69][70] The Central American Studies program was established in 2000 after years of lobbying were derailed by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.[71] The program began with a minor which required 18 units for graduation and developed into a Bachelor of Arts program with 13 graduates in 2017.
Since 2015, CSUN receives around $35 million annually in research funding from over 210 awards each year.[72] For the most recent fiscal year of 2024, CSUN received funding of around $45 million from 230 grants.[72] The College of Math and Science at CSUN is the biggest recipient of grant money, with around $11.4 million in funding in fiscal year 2024.[72] Its faculty are published in numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals each year.[73]
To support research activities for both faculty and students, CSUN built a 10,000-square-foot (930 m2) research facility.[74] Half of this building, named Lilac Hall, is currently occupied by The Health Equity Research & Education (HERE) Center, which is funded by a $22 millionNIH grant to support biomedical andhealth equity research at CSUN in the form of the BUILD PODER program; the other half of the building houses alaser lab containingfemtosecond lasers to study energy flows and electric charges innanomaterials, with the intention to design more efficient solar energy devices and nanomaterial-basedphotothermal therapy for cancer treatment.[75][76] Another major research program at CSUN is the CSUN-UCLA Bridges to Stem Cell Research program. This ongoing collaboration allows undergraduate students to perform research in one of 50stem cell research labs headed by UCLA faculty.[77] CSUN has also been collaborating with the Princeton Center for Complex Materials atPrinceton University since 2006.[78] It is also a co-founder and partner institution of the Research Center for Translational Applications of Nanoscale Multiferroic Systems (TANMS), which was established atUCLA through an $18.5 millionNSF grant in 2012. Other institutions involved at the center includeCornell University,University of California, Berkeley,ETH Zurich,University of Texas at Dallas andNortheastern University.[79][80] In 2019, the university received $3 million fromNASA to establish the NASA Autonomy Research Center for STEAHM. The interdisciplinary research center will comprehensively study increasingly autonomous (IA) systems, such asartificial intelligence andautomation, through the collaboration between six of the university's colleges, while also collaborating with researchers from NASA'sArmstrong Flight Research Center andJet Propulsion Laboratory.[81]
CSUN is also home to the San Fernando Observatory. It has operated thisobservatory since 1976 and moved the observatory from its location inSylmar to the campus in 2016.[82] The observatory mainly functions as a solar observatory, and due to its decades long operation by CSUN, has allowed hundreds of students and faculty members to collect solar data.[82] The photometric images from this facility are used to determine energy changes in the sun and the data collected by this observatory are used by researchers worldwide.[82] The observatory, in combination with the Donald E. Bianchi Planetarium and the stellar (nighttime) observatory, form the only comprehensive astronomy network in the entire California State University system.[82]
Additionally, over 70 CSUN Engineering and Computer Science students designed, built, programmed, and tested aCubeSat named CSUNSat1, which was funded byNASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Partnership program.[83][84] Its mission is to test alow temperature-capable energy storage system in space, developed byJPL, which will raise thetechnology readiness level of this storage system from 4 or 5 to 7.[85] The success of this energy storage system will enable future space missions and scientific studies to conduct more experiments while requiring less energy, mass, and volume.[84] The satellite was launched on 18 April 2017 as part of the ELaNa 17 mission by NASA on theCygnus CRS OA-7 fromKennedy Space Center inCape Canaveral to theISS.[83] The satellite was deployed byNanoRacks on May 17, 2017, and the nominal and cold temperature experiments were completed on June 18, 2017.[83] The satellite is still operational and proceeding with its mission operations.[83]
Various faculty members have been awarded prestigiousGuggenheim Fellowships for research and creative activity,[86][87] while over 50 have won Fulbright awards to conduct research or teach abroad.[88] Recipients of theGuggenheim Fellowships have includedKim Victoria Abeles,Judy Baca, andSabina Magliocco.
 | This sectionis inlist format but may read better asprose. You can help byconverting this section, if appropriate.Editing help is available.(February 2025) |
| Academic rankings | |
|---|---|
| Master's | |
| Washington Monthly[89] | 4 |
| Regional | |
| U.S. News & World Report[90] | 18 |
| National | |
| Forbes[91] | 207 |
| WSJ/College Pulse[92] | 53 |
| Top Public Schools | 11 |
| Top Performers on Social Mobility | 14 (tie) |
| Best UndergraduateEngineering Programs | 30 (At schools where doctorate not offered) |
| Computer Engineering | 9 (2022–2023) |
| Economics | 268 (tie) |
| Nursing | 319 |
| Program | Ranking |
|---|---|
| Health Care Management | 52 |
| Fine Arts | 89 |
| Social Work | 116 |
| Part-timeMBA (tie) | 125 |
| Public health | 136 |
| Physical Therapy | 137 |
| Speech–Language Pathology | 146 |
| Public Affairs Program | 182 |
TheCSUN Botanic Garden is located in the southeast quad, near the intersection of Zelzah Avenue andNordhoff Street.[115] It is part of the Biology Department for university curriculum, and also a regionally important demonstrationgarden and educational resource for the community.[116] It has new focus projects for plants usable for regionally localsustainable landscaping usingsustainable gardening techniques and studying and 'planting'ethnobotany insights and links.[117] One of the few remaininghistoric (c. 1920s)orangegroves is thriving on the southeastern campus quad. The citrus industry formerly had groves covering much of theSan Fernando Valley. The rows of large eucalyptus trees, historic windbreaks for agricultural fields from the late 19th century, are found towering over the perimeters of the campus, surviving planners developing campus expansions with valor.[118]
The CSUN University Library provides educational, cultural and information services and resources to the students and faculty. Its primary mission is to support and supplement classroom and independent learning; facilitate student and faculty research; and provide students with lifelong skills in identifying, locating, evaluating and synchronizing information.
All library materials are housed in the University Library, a 234,712-square-foot (21,805.5 m2) facility. The library maintains its own AS/RS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System) with the capacity of 1.7 million volumes.[119][120]
The University Library has a physical collection containing 1.3 million volumes, of which over one million are books, and over 245,000 bound periodical volumes.[121] The library subscribes to over 84,000 online journals, 200 online databases and more than 500,000 ebooks. The microform collection contains 3.1 million pieces. There are over 14,000 sound recordings and over 60,000 film and video recordings. The Special Collections & Archives section of the University Library has possibly the "second largest private collection on human sexuality" after theKinsey Institute.[122]
In 2019, CSUN presidentDianne F. Harrison appointed a campus committee to investigate whether the Oviatt Library should be renamed due to allegations of racism.[123] They recommended that the name of be removed and the name was changed to University Library in December 2020.[124]
Other campus departments and centers with collections:
Opened in 2003, the Earthquake Sculpture Garden was created as a means to commemorate those affected by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.[127]
The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (formerly the Valley Performing Arts Center) is a performance venue completed in 2011 at a cost of $125 million. Its 166,000 sq ft (15,400 m2) houses a 1,700-seat three-tier concert hall and a 175-seatblack box theater, as well as rehearsal rooms, academic and production support spaces, classrooms, and a lecture hall.[128][129] In 2017,Younes Nazarian and his wife, Soraya Nazarian, donated $17 million to rename the Valley Performing Arts Center to the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, also known asThe Soraya.[130]
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The University Student Union or USU, is a non-profit student organization that strives to better the college experience. The USU provides a variety of involvement opportunities, programs, services, and job opportunities.[131] In July 2019, it was announced that the USU complex will be reconstructed and expanded. The project is named "The New Heart of Campus" and will cost an estimated $130 million to both replace the old USU complex with a new three story, 79,800-square-foot (7,410 m2) complex and renovate an additional 49,900 square feet (4,640 m2). This project will be financed by both an additional student fee and $24 million in reserves from the University Student Union itself. Construction is set to begin in spring 2020 and the estimated opening date will be in the 2022–2023 academic year.[132]
The Veteran Resource Center (VRC) is located within the University Student Union (USU). The VRC is a designated area for veteran students for support as they transition from military service to academia. The VRC is open to all CSUN students.[133]
The Oasis Wellness Center is located beneath the USU computer lab and next to the Plaza Pool. It is described as a place of peace and tranquility in order to help achieve academic success. It provides massage therapy, power-napping sleep pods by appointment, nutrition classes, and yoga. The Oasis Wellness Center is open to all CSUN students.[134]
The CSUN Food Pantry provides food and personal care items, free of cost. This service opened in 2017, and is open to any CSUN student, staff/faculty, and local community members.[135]
TheNational Center on Deafness was established in 1972. Support services such as sign language interpreters,real-time captioners, and notetakers are coordinated from this center, as well as serving as a location of academic advisement and gathering of deaf students.[136]
Since 1988 theStrache Leadership Award has been awarded at theCSUN Conference for leadership in the field of disability and technology.[137] The award recognizes the role of education and mentorship while remaining a leader in their field.
Since 2013 theCSUN Conference has issued a Call for Papers[138] and selected papers become part of theJournal on Technology & Persons with Disabilities. In 2018, Journal began providing awards for The Dr. Arthur I. Karshmer Award for Assistive Technology Research for leading researchers inAssistive Technology,Accessibility andInclusion.[139]
CSUN fields19 teams at theNCAA Division I level. CSUN fields both men's and women's teams inbasketball,cross country,golf,soccer, indoor and outdoortrack and field, andvolleyball. CSUN also hasbaseball andsoftball and fields women's teams inbeach volleyball,tennis andwater polo. Due to state and university budget deficits, CSUN droppedfootball following the 2001 season. The football team cost the university $1 million a year and had little fan support.[140] CSUN also dropped men's and women's swimming in 2010 due to a statewide and campus budget crisis.[141] CSUN is one of only 45 schools in the nation that has abeach volleyball program.[142]
CSUN moved up to Division I in 1990. Before moving up, the university won 34 national titles at the Division II level which still ranks third all time.[143] CSUN was a member of theBig Sky Conference from 1996 to 2001. They have been a member of theBig West Conference ever since for most sports. The men's and women's indoortrack and field teams and the men'svolleyball team compete in theMountain Pacific Sports Federation instead.
Since moving up to Division I CSUN has produced two NCAA national runner-up teams: the men's volleyball team in 1993 and softball team in 1994.[143] The Matadors softball team has appeared in threeWomen's College World Series in 1981, 1993 and 1994, advancing to the title game in1994 before falling to Arizona.[147] In 2010 the men's volleyball team spent several weeks as the number one ranked team in the nation and also made the Final Four but lost toPenn State in a semi-final match.[143]
The men's basketball team has made it to theNCAA tournament two times in 2001 and 2009. The team made it to three Big Sky championship games in 1997, 2000 and 2001. CSUN beatEastern Washington in 2001 to advance to their first NCAA tournament. CSUN was seeded 13th and lost to the fourth seedKansas in the round of 64. CSUN has played in two Big West championship games in 2004 and 2009. CSUN beatPacific in 2009 and was seeded 15th in the NCAA tournament and lost to the second seedMemphis.
The women's basketball team won the Big West Championship for the first time in 2014. They were the 16th seed in theNCAA tournament and lost to the first seedSouth Carolina.
CSUN men's Soccer reached the 3rd Round of the 2006 NCAA tournament, knocking out Big West Conference rivalUC Santa Barbara in the 2nd Round.
The Women's Track and Field team won six straight Big West titles from 2006 to 2011. The men's Track and Field team has won three Big West titles in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
The men's and Women's Basketball and Volleyball teams all play in the 2,500 seatsMatadome located in Redwood Hall.
CSUN's sports teams are known as theMatadors. In 1958 a student vote chose the school colors red and white and 'Matadors' as the school mascot over 158 nominations for possible nicknames.[148] Matadors was elected over four other finalists Apollos, Falcons, Rancheros and Titans.
The men's and women's boxing teams compete in theNational Collegiate Boxing Association. CSU hosted the 2016 national championships for the United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association.[149]
The CSUNEsports Club currently hosts several teams for a variety of competitive video games such asLeague of Legends,Overwatch,Valorant, andCounter-Strike: Global Offensive. As of 2020, the CSUN Esports Club has been officially affiliated byCloud9, an American Esports Organization under their Cloud9 University Affiliate Program.[150]
There are more than 300 student clubs and organizations at CSUN.[citation needed]
The university is home to many Greek life organizations. After the death ofArmando Villa, who died during an 18-mile hike when pledging for a fraternity, CSUN abolished hazing from any on campus organizations/clubs.[151]
The AS/SPACE (AssociatedStudents /StudentProductions andCampusEntertainment) produced a weekly concert series held on Wednesdays at noon in the quad of the University Student Union. Nationally known musical artists and bands have performed there, includingBone Thugs-n-Harmony andRed Hot Chili Peppers.[152]
The Associated Students has organized the Big Show, aconcert where various musicians perform on the Oviatt Lawn, since 2001.[153] Each year, students vote on both the genre and the artists they want to see.[154] This has resulted in a variety of performances throughout the years, with headliners likeJimmy Eat World,Common,Ne-Yo,Ludacris,Diplo,Afrojack,Laidback Luke,DVBBS,Big Sean,Tyga,Dillon Francis,Louis the Child, andASAP Ferg.[155][156][154]
Since 2011, the Associated Students also started organizing the Big Lecture series, where influential individuals tell the audience about their experiences and careers. Because of the success of the first lecture byDr. Cornel West, the series was allowed to continue yearly and has attracted a variety of individuals from different industries and backgrounds. Recent speakers wereJames Franco,Magic Johnson,Viola Davis, andLaverne Cox.[157]
3 WINS Fitness, formerly known as 100 Citizens, is a free exercise program in Southern California that offers exercise agendas for local communities.[160] This program is implemented by volunteerkinesiology students attending CSUN.[161] In 2012, the program obtained recognition from theWhite House, winning Popular Choice award in First LadyMichelle Obama's Let's Move video challenge.[162]
CSUN has about 350,000 alumni as of 2019.[163]
At the national level, CSUN has been home to a former head of theUnited States Census Bureau (Vincent Barabba), a former Commissioner of theBureau of Labor Statistics (Kathleen Utgoff), theProgram Executive Officer of theJoint Strike Fighter program (Lt GenChristopher Bogdan), a former member of theCouncil of Economic Advisers and president of theFederal Reserve Bank of Cleveland (Jerry Jordan), as well as theAmbassador to the Bahamas (Nicole Avant),Governor of Hawaii (Linda Lingle), andLieutenant Governor of California (Mike Curb). In 2018, alumnusKatie Hill became a member of theUnited States House of Representatives, and the following year graduateNury Martinez became the firstLatina president of theLos Angeles City Council. On January 20, 2021, alumnusDoug Emhoff became the firstSecond Gentleman of the United States as he is the spouse of formerVice President of the United StatesKamala Harris.[164]
CSUN alumni foundedArtsy (Wendi Deng Murdoch, co-founded),Haas Automation andHaas F1 Team (Gene Haas),PennyMac Financial Services (Stanford Kurland), andSM Entertainment (Lee Soo-man).
Alumni are or have been CEO ofA+E Global Media (Paul Buccieri), theAlfa Group Consortium (Stan Polovets),Autodesk (Andrew Anagnost),Hilton Worldwide (Stephen Bollenbach), andHoulihan Lokey (Scott Beiser).
AlumnusCharles Noski has been a director atWells Fargo andMicrosoft, while also having served as CFO forBank of America,Northrop Grumman, andAT&T.[165]
In entertainment, former students have won:
Although former studentDebra Winger was nominated three times for theAcademy Award for Best Actress as well as nominated five times forGolden Globe Awards, she won none of the nominations. ActressesAlyson Hannigan andEva Longoria also graduated from CSUN and receivedPeople's Choice Awards for their roles inHow I Met Your Mother andDesperate Housewives, respectively.[166]
ThreePulitzer Prize winners have attended CSUN:Frank del Olmo (for Public Service),Paul Pringle (for Public Service andfor Investigative Reporting), andKen Lubas (photojournalist). Journalist and political commentatorAna Kasparian ofThe Young Turks network also graduated from CSUN.[167]
In the sciences, CSUN alumni includeastronautScott J. Horowitz, who flew fourSpace Shuttle missions, andAdriana Ocampo, who is a planetary geologist known for her contributions to the discovery of theChicxulub crater as well as her work as Science Program Manager atNASA and lead program executive for theNew Frontiers Program.[168]
Former students have also won 15Olympic medals in total, withJeanette Bolden (gold medal),Valerie Brisco-Hooks (three gold medals and one silver medal),Alice Brown (two gold medals and one silver medal),Florence Griffith Joyner (three gold medals and two silver medals),Joe Ryan (silver medal), andBob Samuelson (bronze medal) all winning medals at theOlympic Games. The former four were all coached by alumnusBob Kersee.[169]
CSUN has also seen alumniJason Thompson andRobert Fick becomeMLB All-Stars, whileAdam Kennedy was named theALCS MVP in 2002.
In politics, three former faculty and staff members have become high-ranking officials in foreign countries, includingMohamed Morsi who became the 5thPresident of Egypt in 2012, as well asMohammad Qayoumi andPrakash Chandra Lohani. Additionally, former head of theUnited States Census BureauRoy Peel and formerAmbassador to MexicoJulian Nava were professors at the university.James Lawson, a civil rights leader, was a visiting scholar at the university from 2010 until his death in 2024.
Lucille Ball was an assistant professor in 1979 andJames Dickey,United States Poet Laureate and winner of aNational Book Award for Poetry, was a visiting lecturer at the university.
The university has also had two prominentmathematicians in its faculty:Lorraine Foster, who became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in mathematics fromCalifornia Institute of Technology, andWilliam Karush, amathematician known forKarush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions and physicist on theManhattan Project. Faculty membersMaria Elena Zavala and Stephen Oppenheimer received thePresidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring.[170]
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