Rankings and Distinctions

Excellence Every Day

The rankings and achievements earned by the University and its students demonstrate the excellence that takes place across campus every day in big and small ways.

No. 4 Most Diverse Campus in the West (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)  
No. 9 Most Transformative College (Money.com, 2020) 
No. 8 Best Bang for the Buck for Western Colleges(Washington Monthly, 2022)  
No. 12 Top Performers on Social Mobility in the West (U.S. News & World Report, 2023) 
No. 8 Top Public Schools in the West (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)  
No. 10 Best Colleges for Veterans (U.S. News & World Report, 2023)
The Associated Students, Inc. Food Pantry distributed 44,845 pounds of fresh produce to 3,042 students across 14,367 visits. 
Sac State is recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators and the Suder Foundation as a First-gen Forward Institution for enhancing the experiences and outcomes of first-generation students. 
Sacramento State is one of 27 CSUs and California Community Colleges recognized by the Campaign for College Opportunity for landmark transfer reform and closing racial/ethnic equity gaps for students.
One of only six in the CSU, the Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Center serves more than 6,700 students whose families come from more than 40 Asian countries.
Sacramento State is the first CSU and one of just a handful of college campuses in the U.S. to open a Disability Cultural Center to help students find community and achieve goals. 
Sacramento State is ranked No. 9 Best Nursing School in California by RN Careers, with a 96.29% National Council Licensure Examination pass rate. 
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center underwent an expansion that nearly doubled its size, making it one of the largest in the CSU. 
Sac State’s National Institute on Artificial Intelligence in Society (NIAIS) is the first of its kind in the CSU and one of the first organized efforts among colleges and universities nationwide to advance the technology’s ethical, equitable and accessible uses in education.
Communication Studies Professor Andrea Terry joined the Religious Communication Association’s delegation to the White House to discuss the role of scholarship in communication and religion with the director of the White House Office of Engagement and Council on Faith-based initiatives. 
The College of Business has been AACSB-accredited since 1963, one of just 5% of the world’s 16,000 higher education institutions to have earned the designation (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business). 
Sac State is the first and only California State University campus to offer a paramedic program. Students consistently rank higher than national averages when taking the National Registry Exam. 
Thirteen students received $38,000 each through the College of Education’s new yearlong Sacramento Metro Special Education Teacher Residency scholarship program, which prepares educators to make a difference in the lives of students with disabilities and their families and guarantees a job upon graduation. 
Sacramento State’s team achieved the highest U.S. ranking, placing 6th overall out of 36 teams in the American Concrete Institute’s (ACI) Reinforced Polymer Beam Competition at the ACI National Convention in Boston. 
The College of Health and Human Services works with more than 1,100 community partners; offers nine community clinics, including Health Hive Mobile Health Services; and places 2,000 plus interns in clinical andfield placements each year. 
More than 1,000 people visited Sacramento State to see the Oct. 14 annular solar eclipse as part of a viewing party organized by the Department of Physics and Astronomy that also included solar telescopes, shows at the Planetarium and arts and crafts activities for children.
Sacramento State’s Department of Psychology hosted its first Happiness Day, educating 400 students on the importance of joy and well-being, just days before the International Day of Happiness.

Research & Grants

Sac State received nearly $29 million in research and development expenditures from federal, state, local, business and non-profit and institutional sources (FY 2022-23). 
The U.S. Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions program granted Sac State $3 million over five years for its TECH4Equity initiative, aiding underrepresented Engineering students. 
The National Science Foundation awarded a $3 million grant to renew Sac State’s CyberCorps Scholarship for Service workforce development program through 2028. 
Sacramento State received nearly $400,000 from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to implement a Victim-Offender Dialogue program led by Dr. Ernest Uwazie from the Department of Criminal Justice.