The Opportunity
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is an urban, comprehensive university that delivers award-winning undergraduate and graduate programs to over 38,000 students and has a current alumni body of 330,000. One of the largest and most diverse universities in the country, nearly two-thirds of CSUN’s students are first-generation students. CSUN ranks 13th in awarding bachelor’s degrees to under-represented minority students and seventh in bachelor’s degrees to Latino students, serves the 13th largest Jewish student population, and enrolls the largest number of students who are deaf and hard-of-hearing of any U.S. state university.
Originally founded in 1958 as San Fernando Valley State College, then renamed in 1972 as California State University, Northridge, the campus has seen its share of growth and development. Beginning with a 165-acre site purchased for $6,000 an acre, the campus has grown to 353 acres with 91 facilities on-site. A unique highlight of the campus landscape is the CSUN Orange Grove and Pond. The Orange Grove is actively used for research (studying bee populations and pond turtles) and is the site for stellar and solar observatories. It is also home to the CSUN Pond which features rock waterfalls, a meandering stream bed, a bridge, and shallow pools.