About Sacramento State

Students choose Sacramento State because they want something special in a college experience. California’s capital university is in the heart of the state’s political, economic, and cultural center, and our students come here to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others, to find and develop their passions, and to live those passions beyond the classroom.

Take a walk along pathways snake through a 3,500 tree urban forest to find students poring over papers spread out on cafe tables, lounging in vast, grassy quads, and heading to any of the hundreds of on-campus events each semester. Check out one of the seven art galleries. See the world around you with fresh eyes and realize that here is where you’ll find the tools and opportunities to scale heights and reach goals you never imagined.

Sacramento State athletics sponsors 21 intercollegiate sports at the NCAA Div. I level. Most of the University’s teams compete in the Big Sky Conference while other Hornet teams are members of the Western Athletic Conference, the Big West Conference, the American Athletic Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. Sacramento State has captured 88 conference championships in its Div. I era and routinely ranks high in the Big Sky all-sports standings.

Hornet student-athletes have also shined in the classroom, posting a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0 in school history in nine consecutive semesters.

Among the notable alumni who were student-athletes at Sacramento State are NFL veterans Todd Davis, John Gesek, Daimon Shelton, Lonie Paxton and Lorenzo Lynch. Former Hornet football player Ryan Coogler has made his mark in Hollywood as the writer and director of “Fruitvale Station”, “Creed” and “Black Panther.” Several others have chosen to remain Hornets and work in the athletics department, including four of Sacramento State current head coaches.

Our students also enjoy unique career opportunities, from politics to business, philanthropy to the arts, and more. If you want a future in California’s capital region and beyond, a degree from its capital university is your ticket. So rather than asking “Why Sac State?” the real question is: What are you waiting for?

AMONG OUR MANY POINTS OF PRIDE: • Sacramento State is the fourth most diverse university in the western United States (U.S. News and World Report, 2019). • There is one faculty member for every 27 students at Sacramento State, and undergraduate classes averaged just 34 seats in 2014. • Home to more than 3,500 trees, Sac State is a Tree Campus USA, having held the distinction since 2013. • Sac State features the second-largest veterans program in the CSU system, with more than 1,200 veterans and their dependents. • The College of Business Administration has been AACSB-accredited since 1963, one of just 5 percent of the world’s 13,000 higher education institutions to have earned this designation. • The Capital Fellows Programs are consistently ranked among the nation’s top 10 internships. • Sac State offers two independent doctorates, in Physical Therapy and Educational Leadership. • We are the home of the nation’s second-largest Criminal Justice program. • Each year, Sac State’s School of Nursing graduates 200-250 skilled nurses, who average between a 95 percent and a 100 percent passage rate on the National Council of State Boards of Nursing’s licensure examination (NCLEX). • The University’s Honors Program provides highly motivated undergraduates with challenging and stimulating learning experiences in small class settings.