CSUSB Rankings
Academic Excellence/Overall Ranking
- Named one of the best universities in the West – The Princeton Review, 2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region
- Listed among the Best Colleges in the nation at No. 46, and named a top institution for social mobility at No. 3, Student Experience at No. 27, Best Value at No. 34, and Best Salaries at No. 107. – The Wall Street Journal, 2025 America's Best Colleges
- Recognized by the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge as a 2024 ALL IN Most Engaged Campus for College Student Voting – ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
- Named one of the best universities in the West – The Princeton Review, 2024 Best Colleges: Region by Region
- Earned Bronze Seal for student voter participation in 2022 midterm elections – ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
- Earned second prize in the 2022 Gerald D. Nash History Journal Competition – Graduate Print Division for the 15th edition of the student-run journal, History in the Making: A Journal of History – Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society
- Earned Silver Seal for student voter participation in 2020 presidential election – ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge
Accessibility and Affordability
- Ranked No. 11 in the nation, among the top 25 Best Value Online Colleges and Universities – College Consensus, 2024
- Ranked No. 1 for Top Affordable Online Master of Social Work Programmes for Mental Health Professionals – Physcreg, 2024
- Listed CSUSB at No. 9 in the West in the Best Bang for the Buck category and No. 31 in its National University Rankings – Washington Monthly, 2024 College Guide and Rankings
- Listed among the top schools in the nation for affordability, quality of education and student outcomes, earning a 4.5-star rating – Money magazine, 2024
- Named a Military Friendly® School for 2023-24 with a gold ranking – Military Friendly®
- Named one of the Top Veteran-Friendly Schools in the nation – U.S. Veterans Magazine, 2023
- Ranked No. 10 in the nation in the annual Best for Vets: Colleges rankings – Military Times, 2023
- Ranked No. 6 as one of the most affordable universities in the nation – EDsmart, 2023
- Listed CSUSB at No. 12 in the West in the Best Bang for the Buck category and No. 29 in its National University Rankings – Washington Monthly, 2023 College Guide and Rankings
Career Outcomes/Social Mobility
- Ranked No. 4 in the nation for social mobility and No. 27 in the Best Value Schools category – U.S. News & World Report, 2024 Best Colleges rankings
- Ranked No. 12 nationally for social mobility and No. 48 (the highest ranked California public institution) in the Best Value-National Universities category. – U.S. News & World Report, 2025
- Listed at No. 5 in the nation for social mobility – Education Reform Now, 2023
- Ranked No. 8 for economic mobility – Third Way, 2022
Diversity
- Ranked No. 32 in the 50 Best Value Hispanic Serving Institutions For International Students – Study Abroad Aid, 2024
- Ranked No. 20 in bachelor’s degrees granted to Latinx students, and No. 8 in awarding English language and literature/letters degrees – Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education, 2023
- Ranked 35th in the Top 100 Colleges and Universities for Hispanics – Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine, 2022
Degree Programs
- Ranked No. 86 in the nation for doctorate in education programs in the Best Education Schools category – U.S. News & World Report, 2024 Best Graduate Schools
- Listed among the top online master's degree in criminal justice programs in the nation. CSUSB was ranked 44th in the nation and 4th in California – U.S. News & World Report, 2024 rankings for best online programs
- Listed among the Best On-Campus MBA programs in the nation. In the Top 50 Best Online MBA programs, CSUSB was ranked 37th in the nation, 3rd in California and 1st in the state among public universities. – The Princeton Review, 2024
- Ranked No. 120 for the Master in Social Work program in the Best Schools for Social Work category, and ranked No. 135 for the Master of Public Administration program in the Best Public Affairs Programs category – U.S. News & World Report, 2024
- CSUSB’s MBA program was listed in three categories: Global MBA Tier One, 44th for Global Executive MBA and 46th for Online MBA – CEO Magazine, 2024
- Listed among the top online MBA programs in the nation. CSUSB was ranked 137th in the nation and 5th in California – U.S. News & World Report, 2024 rankings for best online programs
- Ranked No. 16 for nursing programs in California and in the top 10% nationally – RNCareers.org, 2024
- Nine CSUSB graduate programs were listed among the best in the nation – U.S. News & World Report, 2023-24
- In the Top 50 Graduate Entrepreneurship Programs in the nation, CSUSB was ranked 44th in the nation, 8th in the Top 9 Entrepreneurship Programs in the West, among the top 4 in California and 2nd in the state in public universities. – The Princeton Review, 2023
- Ranked No. 7 for having one of the best RN to BSN programs in California – Allnurses, 2023
- Ranked among the top in the nation for graduate programs in public affairs, social work, public health and part-time MBA – U.S. News & World Report, 2023 edition of Best Graduate Schools
- CSUSB’s online MBA program ranked No. 6 in California – Online MBA Report, April 2022
- Ranked 8th in the West and 44th in the world for top graduate schools for entrepreneurship studies – The Princeton Review, 2022
- Ranked No. 3 for the Best MBA for Human Resources – The Princeton Review, 2022