With a history of over 125 years, San Diego State University has grown to become a leading public research university. SDSU is a federally-designated Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). Each year, SDSU provides its highly diverse population of more than 36,000 students opportunities to participate in an academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty, and an international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. SDSU’s mission is to provide research-oriented, high-quality education for undergraduate and graduate students and to contribute to solving problems through excellence and distinction in teaching, research and service. The university pursues its mission through its many diverse departments and interdisciplinary programs in the creative and performing arts, the humanities, the sciences, social and behavioral sciences as well as in disciplines such as business, nursing and public health.
“Education is our foundation, but culture is our difference. SDSU is fostering a space and experience as dynamic as our individuals. The diversity of our global community strengthens this university,” shares Dr. Cristina Alfaro, associate vice president for International Affairs at SDSU.
With more than 300 student organizations on campus, there is a unique space for every student with an unmatched liveliness that can’t be found anywhere else. There is a palpable buzz of energy in and outside the classroom. Whether it’s going to a concert at one of the venues on campus or cheering on Division 1 athletic teams, SDSU is alive with possibilities.
The San Diego location is unbeatable. America’s Finest City borders the Pacific Ocean and Mexico and is recognized globally as a dynamic international hub. Known for its ideal climate, San Diego has miles of sandy beaches and a wide range of things to see and do. SDSU’s campus is within a 15-minute drive of downtown San Diego, the ocean and the mountains.
Looking Beyond the Cultural Wall
SDSU has a one-of-a-kind college-specific support model that ensures international students are advised and supported with their unique immigration requirements in mind through their academic program. International student advisors work closely with academic advisors in coordination to ensure international students are given the maximum amount of accessibility to options and experiences sometimes overlooked in other institutions. This support model promotes a sense of community and belonging for SDSU’s international students.
The International Student Center at SDSU, located in the International Affairs Complex in San Diego, offers walk-in and virtual office hours to support international student success, immigration compliance and belonging. The international student community is diverse, representing more than 98 countries. There are 1,201 undergraduates and 764 graduate international students. International students are celebrated in the annual International Peace Village, one of many programs highlighting the impact of international students at SDSU.
Pioneers in Research and Entrepreneurship
SDSU surpassed records for the most research-related funding secured in a year, reaching $164.5 million in 2021–2022. SDSU is the flagship research institution of the 23-campus California State University and one of the top 10 public research universities in the state.
SDSU scientists work with industry to make their ideas come to life, whether identifying oil spills in the Pacific or leveraging lessons learned from tubeworms to further genetic modification. “And our scholars take a particular interest in confronting injustice through projects that tackle health disparities and address inequities in education,” Alfaro says. SDSU currently offers the Deborah M. Dexter Endowed Scholarship for International Students and the John J. Cleary Endowed Scholarship for SDSU International Affairs for International Students.
Roughly 1,740 undergraduates and 5,500 graduate students participate in research at SDSU annually. They make an immeasurable impact on their work and get the chance to participate in unforgettable experiences — including considering climate change in the Arctic, helping NASA engineers test moon rovers and studying the psychological effects of disordered eating.
SDSU is collaborating with Techstars, one of the largest pre-seed investors in the world, to create the only accelerator in San Diego with a worldwide footprint. Through Techstars San Diego Powered by SDSU, founders receive access to capital, one-on-one mentorship and programming. The ZIP Launchpad provides mentoring, funding, tools and support to students, faculty and staff to help them develop their ideas and work toward launching their companies. “Our artists’ ingenuity provides invaluable support for the creative community through innovations like a competitive incubator program for early career playwrights and a novel audio engineering app that makes some of the world’s most storied venues available to musicians anywhere,” Alfaro explains.
Promoting Faculty Development
SDSU focuses on providing flexible, customizable, technology-enhanced learning opportunities that allow students to maintain access to high-quality instruction regardless of modality (in-person, blended or fully online). Specifically, the pandemic prompted massive investment in faculty development and provided space to dive more deeply into how today’s students learn. “At SDSU, our focus was specifically on investing in faculty development to enable new course designs that promote active learning and more accessible [open and affordable] instructional materials,” shares Alfaro.
SDSU’s mission is to serve the region of San Diego. As it continues to do this, the university has since grown into a leading public research university known for its faculty scholarship, campus diversity and value added to the lives of its graduating students. Each year, SDSU faculty members provide students with the opportunity to participate in an experiential academic curriculum distinguished by compassionate leaders and ethical innovators who will transform the world.
At SDSU, there is a balance of recreation and research, academics and athletics, and exploration and excellence. There are dynamic classes, great internships, unique study abroad programs and opportunities to research alongside faculty who are experts in the field.
Investing in Learning Spaces
In response to the pandemic, and just in time for fall 2021, SDSU dramatically increased the number of Connected Classrooms ( i.e., web conferencing/stream-enabled rooms). These video-equipped rooms enable instructors to record and stream their class sessions and make them available to students for the course duration via the password-protected learning management system. The increased recording and streaming capabilities help to address equity concerns for students who may not be able to attend in person. They can help all learners, e.g., students for whom English is a second language.
The Connected Classrooms (Video Capture/Streaming Capacity) allows students to review recorded course sessions after synchronous instruction or view the recordings if/when campus meetings are impossible. It provides transcripts (automatically generated and available in multiple languages) for recordings from the video collaboration platform. If a student needs accommodation — for example, for students who are deaf or hard of hearing — SDSU will caption course content in alignment with current campus practice.
Connected Classrooms serve diverse populations, e.g., students responsible for childcare or elder care, students with transportation issues and students with work conflicts. It also reduces “transactional distance” or the psychological and communicative space between the teacher and learner. It encourages participation from learners who often withdraw from engaging in person (providing a broader, more diverse perspective). SDSU has taken education to the next level with futuristic thinking and a passion for research and innovation.
For More Info: https://www.sdsu.edu/