Academics
Majors and faculty
The most popular major is Business Administration and Management, General (24% of graduates). 27 students for every faculty member, more than at 98% of colleges. 50% of faculty are full-time. Spends $8,619 a year on instruction per student.
Most popular majors
9,105 bachelor's degrees, 2024–25 graduates
The top 5 programs account for 47% of graduates; 81 programs in 24 fields awarded at least one.
- Business Administration and Management, General 52.020124% 2,210Graduates in this field earn $69,902 4 years out
- Psychology, General 42.01018.3% 759Graduates in this field earn $51,021 4 years out
- Criminal Justice/Safety Studies 43.01046.0% 547Graduates in this field earn $57,510 4 years out
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, General 31.05014.2% 381Graduates in this field earn $59,914 4 years out
- Computer Science 11.07013.7% 339Graduates in this field earn $100,586 4 years out
Fastest-growing field: Business, 21% → 26% of graduates since 2014–15 (2,391 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
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing$120,799 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $100,221
4 years after completion$120,799National median: $88,910Above typical4 years out, Pell: $94,735 · Non-Pell: $109,699(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $17,375 · 407 graduates, two most recent years combined
Computer Engineering$116,842 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $76,812
4 years after completion$116,842National median: $109,015Above typicalMedian federal debt: $17,249 · 238 graduates, two most recent years combined
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$106,416 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $75,061
4 years after completion$106,416National median: $100,647Above typical4 years out, Pell: $83,283 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $17,999 · 207 graduates, two most recent years combined
Computer Science$100,586 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $74,523
4 years after completion$100,586National median: $107,009Below typical4 years out, Pell: $88,715 · Non-Pell: Too few graduates to report(an older graduating class than the figure above — see the (i) for why)
Median federal debt: $16,866 · 465 graduates, two most recent years combined
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician$100,564 4 yrs out
1 year after completion: $81,608
4 years after completion$100,564National median: $93,843Above typicalMedian federal debt: Too few graduates to report · 55 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 24 to 1 in its Common Data Set (36,401 students, 1,494 faculty).
Not the average class size: faculty also teach graduate students and do research, and large lectures can sit alongside small seminars.
Class sizes
25%
of classes have fewer than 20 students; 22% have 50 or more
| Students | sections | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2–9 | 200 | 6% |
| 10–19 | 664 | 19% |
| 20–29 | 1,060 | 31% |
| 30–39 | 471 | 14% |
| 40–49 | 282 | 8% |
| 50–99 | 538 | 16% |
| 100+ | 205 | 6% |
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
- Honors program
- Independent study
- Internships
- Liberal arts/career combination
- Student-designed major
- Teacher certification
- Study abroad
- Undergraduate research
Requires coursework in arts, English composition, a foreign language, history, humanities, intensive writing, math, philosophy, a natural science, and social science.
$117,223
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;San Diego State University Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2025;San Diego State University Common Data Set 2025–26, 2025–26;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (athletics, programs, services, religious affiliation), 2025–26About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)