U.S. News and World Report ranks California Polytechnic State University, known as Cal Poly, first in 2010 among "up-and-coming" master's universities in the West. Overall, Cal Poly sits in sixth place among the first tier of Western master's universities in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. Situated in the small town of San Luis Obispo, halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, Cal Poly claims that 89.2 percent of its 2007-08 graduates are working full-time or attending graduate school. With science and technology as its focus, Cal Poly's engineering program is highly regarded, hitting third place among public programs in another U.S. News and World Report list. According to Cal Poly's website, Forbes Magazine ranks the university third in the nation among public institutions in terms of the salaries of the school's alumni. Cal Poly grads with 10 to 20 years of work experience earn a median income of $101,000, according to a report by PayScale.com.
California Polytechnic State University
1 Grand Ave
San Luis Obispo, CA 93407
(805) 756-1111
calpoly.edu
Forbes Magazine ranks California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) 53rd on its list of the top public universities in the country. CSUSB is located between Los Angeles and Palm Springs. The CSUSB website claims that for every dollar invested in the university by the State of California, CSUSB returns $4.53 in additional spending. CSUSB provides more than 10,000 jobs in its local area, while generating more than $532 million in yearly spending. CSUSB is diverse. Latinos make up nearly a third of the student body, and African Americans account for almost 12 percent of the campus population, as of February 2010.
California State University, San Bernardino
5500 University Pkwy
San Bernardino, CA 92407
(909) 537-5000
csusb.edu
California State University, Sacramento, referred to as Sac State, came in at 64th on the Forbes list, just behind CSUSB. Sac State is a large university--28,000 students as of February 2010--located in California's capital city. Despite its size, Sac State boasts a student to teacher ratio of 21:1. More than 70 percent of Sac State classes have fewer than 30 students. According to their website, Sac State has the largest cooperative education program in California, as of February 2010, graduating 700 new teachers yearly.
California State University, Sacramento
6000 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95819
(916) 278-6011
csus.edu