Academics
Majors and faculty
The most popular major is Business Administration and Management, General (16% of graduates). 23 students for every faculty member, more than at 96% of colleges. 56% of faculty are full-time. Spends $8,907 a year on instruction per student.
Most popular majors
3,358 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates
The top 5 programs account for 40% of graduates; 68 programs in 26 fields awarded at least one.
- Business Administration and Management, General 52.020116% 537Graduates in this field earn $72,651 4 years out
- Psychology, General 42.01017.9% 264Graduates in this field earn $52,621 4 years out
- Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies 24.01017.3% 244Graduates in this field earn $55,008 4 years out
- Sociology, General 45.11015.9% 198Graduates in this field earn $52,323 4 years out
- Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse 51.38013.2% 107Graduates in this field earn $117,543 4 years out
Fastest-growing field: Liberal arts and general studies, 4.6% → 7.6% of graduates since 2014–15 (256 graduates in 2024–25).
Source:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2014–15 to 2024–25About the data(built 2026-10-12; CPI retrieved 2026-10-12)
Bachelor's degrees awarded July through June, by federal program name (), which can differ from what the college calls a major. A double major counts once, under the ; its other field is a . Earnings are College Scorecard's median for graduates of the program's broader field (), 4 years after completion; see Top-earning majors below.
Top-earning majors here
By earnings 4 years after completion
Computer Science$127,498 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $81,021
4 years after completion$127,498National median: $107,009Above typical4 years out, Pell: $106,192 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $20,000 · 147 graduates, two most recent years combined
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$117,543 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $113,181
4 years after completion$117,543National median: $88,910Above typical4 years out, Pell: $106,914 · Non-Pell: $118,322(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $16,500 · 240 graduates, two most recent years combined
Construction Management$108,021 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $89,075
4 years after completion$108,021National median: $95,124Above typical4 years out, Pell: $101,694 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $19,341
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians$106,225 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $77,965
4 years after completion$106,225National median: $84,599Above typical4 years out, Pell: $84,843 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $18,822
Engineering, Other$103,272 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $74,204
4 years after completion$103,272National median: $93,989Above typical4 years out, Pell: $91,736 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $22,500 · 64 graduates, two most recent years combined
Bachelor's programs only, among graduates who received federal financial aid and were working (not enrolled in school) in the measurement year.
The college also reports 22 to 1 in its Common Data Set.
Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.
Class sizes
24%
of classes have fewer than 20 students; 12% have 50 or more
| Students | sections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2–9 | 197 | 10% |
| 10–19 | 308 | 15% |
| 20–29 | 523 | 25% |
| 30–39 | 504 | 24% |
| 40–49 | 284 | 14% |
| 50–99 | 193 | 9% |
| 100+ | 57 | 3% |
This counts class sections, not students: a lecture of 300 is one section, so a student is more likely to sit in a large class than the share of sections suggests. Labs and discussion sections are counted separately and left out here.
Programs & curriculum
- Cross-registration
- Distance learning
- Double major
- Dual enrollment
- English as a Second Language
- Domestic exchange program
- Honors program
- Independent study
- Internships
- Student-designed major
- Teacher certification
- Study abroad
- Undergraduate research
Requires coursework in arts, computer literacy, English composition, a foreign language, history, humanities, intensive writing, math, philosophy, a natural science, and social science.
$104,996
9-month equated, all ranks combined. Pay tracks local cost of living as much as a college's generosity.
Spending and endowment
Fiscal 2023–24. Compared only against other public colleges: public and private colleges report finances on different accounting forms that aren't comparable. Many public universities' endowments sit mostly in a separate foundation this survey doesn't count, so this likely understates what's actually available.
Sources:IPEDS Completions survey (degrees awarded by field), 2024–25 graduates;College Scorecard Field of Study data, most recent release;IPEDS Fall Enrollment survey (part D), Fall 2024;IPEDS Salaries survey (SAL, instructional staff, all ranks), Fall 2024;College Scorecard, Fall 2024;IPEDS Finance survey, derived per-student figures, 2023–24;California State University-Chico Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;California State University-Chico Common Data Set 2025–26, 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)