CSUN Economic and Social Impact Study
Scope of csun graduates
As one of the leading universities in Southern California, CSUN plays a central role in providing its students with economic and quality-of-life benefits that persist throughout their careers and lives. Considering how many students take courses at CSUN, its impacts in terms of producing graduates are immense. The University has produced more than 40,000 college graduates over the past five years alone—a number that has increased nearly every year on record. CSUN graduated 9,232 students during the 2014/2015 academic year, almost double the number it graduated at the turn of the century. The 2014/2015 graduating class was the University’s largest on record, up 4.7% from 2013/2014. As has been documented throughout this analysis, the economic and social benefits of graduating from college for both students and communities at large are enormous.
diversity of csun degrees
CSUN is producing more graduates across almost every one of its eight undergraduate colleges. In particular, the number of graduates in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has steadily grown since the 2005/2006 academic year, primarily due to a surge in the number of students graduating with degrees in psychology or sociology. These two fields often serve as precursors to post-secondary education in fields such as law or medicine, or to the pursuit of academic positions. In the past five years, the college has also graduated more students in diverse fields such as Africana studies and anthropology. The college provides an ideal starting point for students to pursue professional degrees or to engage in more specialized coursework not available at other campuses.
The number of graduates in the College of Health and Human Development has also grown by a substantial 139.6% since the 2005/2006 academic year. The college offers extremely popular programs in child and adolescent development, kinesiology, and health sciences. These specialized programs are preparing students for careers in the Healthcare industry. In the Los Angeles region, growth has been tremendous in this sector in recent years, even amid the recession, generating a substantial number of new job opportunities each year for workers with the necessary skills.
The variety and specialization of available CSUN degrees not only provides students with diverse educational opportunities, it also benefits the broader community by developing graduates who can meet critical demand for skilled workers across many fields.
9 Huber, Bettina J. “Undergraduate Persistence at Cal State Northridge From 2000 Onwards.” Office of Institutional Research. October 2014.