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University Marketing and Communications

Pride Points

We are a campus of opportunity, empowering students to write their own success stories. See some our top accomlishments and latest facts from the 2022-23 fiscal year and read below to learn more about some of the things we are proud of at Fresno State:

Education and research

  • High-quality academic programs in 72 undergraduate, 49 postbaccalaureate and three doctoral degree options prepare students to tackle real-world needs and transform communities in the region and across the world.
  • 26 nationally accredited departmental programs rank among the highest number within the CSU system, with accreditations by the California Board of Education and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
  • Our faculty and students continuously conduct pioneering applied research.
    • The Jordan Agricultural Research Center fosters collaboration between some of the brightest minds in agriculture, engineering, science and mathematics.
    • The library – the largest academic library in California between Los Angeles and San Francisco – opened in January 2009 and is arguably one of the busiest libraries in all of inland California with 1.76 million visitors a year.
    • California Water Institute, Center for Irrigation Technology and International Center for Water Technology are pioneering water development and water-saving irrigation techniques and equipment.
    • Through our School of Nursing and Central Valley Health Policy Institute, faculty and students are conducting research to understand and address the special health challenges of Central California.
    • For the 2022-23 academic year, the university was awarded $65.5M in grants and contracts ($10M more than 2021-22), and we've posted a remarkable 75% increase over the last six years. The university submitted over $89M in over 500 proposals and contracts in fiscal year 2022-23.
    • On the strength of significant growth in research activities in recent years, Fresno State is one of only 14 California Universities to receive “Doctoral University — High Research Activity,” or R2 status, according to the most recent Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Fostering diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

Meeting students with open arms

  • We have focused attention on the essential life necessities that are sometimes taken for granted. Our Student Cupboard – the Valley’s first-of-its-kind free food and hygiene pantry for students – averages almost 5,000 visits a month. Comprehensive programs and initiatives such as the Renaissance Scholars Program, the Clothing Closet and the Good Samaritan Grant address the basic needs of underserved students so they can focus on what’s centrally important: reaching their personal, academic and career goals.
  • Dozens of service men and women have completed the Veterans Education Program which began in 2012. The program provides veterans with a no-cost educational re-entry opportunity paired with access to resources at Fresno State and support organizations in the Central Valley.
  • Our Upward Bound Programs serve low-income, first-generation college-bound high school students who have the potential to succeed in college, but whose high school grades and test scores do not reflect that potential.
  • Project Rebound, a support program for students who were formerly incarcerated, has been offered at Fresno State since the fall of 2016. 

We are one with our community

  • Learning by serving is core to who we are. Community service, coordinated by the Jan and Bud Richter Center for Community Engagement and Service-Learning, is a hallmark at Fresno State. Students, faculty and staff have provided more than 1 million hours of community service each year for the past 14 years.
  • 87.9% of Fresno State students are from the Central Valley, having a direct and meaningful impact on our regional economy and vitality.
  • Fresno State has about 2,500 employees and nearly 24,000 students. In the 2018-19 academic year, Fresno State-related activity supported 11,142 jobs, $438.9 million in labor income and $1.3 billion in industry activity, and contributed $81.2 million in state and local tax revenue, according to the report, “The Impact of the California State University.”
  • The Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) is a product of the College of Arts and Humanities, the College of Social Science, and the Jordan College of Agricultural Science and Technology, designed to support multidisciplinary scholarship related to the Portuguese-American experience in Central California.
  • Fresno State established the Peace Garden in 1990 and has since expanded it to include statues honoring César Chávez (1996), the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1998) and Jane Addams (2006). A statue honoring Nelson Mandela is in the works. 

Academics and athletics rising together

  • Often serving as the “front porch” of our university, our athletics program is steeped in tradition and draws tens of thousands of alumni and community members to campus each year.
  • A tradition of nationally ranked athletics programs, including the 24th-ranked  2022 football program; four 10-win seasons in the past five years (non-COVID); a baseball national championship in 2008 and softball national championship in 1998.

Educating tomorrow’s leaders

  • Nearly 90% of Fresno State students hail from the Central Valley and 80% of our graduates stay in the region to become the next generation of leaders. Here are just a few centers and institutes at Fresno State that foster leadership:
    • The Maddy Institute at Fresno State provides non-partisan, interdisciplinary and fact-driven analysis of public policy issues impacting our region and state while supporting student internships and real-world experiences.
    • The Kremen School of Education and Human Development prepares 60% of school administrators across the region to do their part in solving key problems faced by Central California schools.
    • The Center for Leadership builds the leadership capacity of students through the development of personal leadership philosophies applied to campus, community and national issues.
  •  83% of students receive financial aid, ensuring they have the financial support they need to be successful
    • 65% are Pell Grant recipients
    • 64% of our students receive a tuition-paying award
  •  66.2% of Fresno State students are the first in their families to graduate from college.
  • Our 16:1 student-to-faculty ratio ensures students get the unique hands-on support they need to succeed in industry.
  • As a national leader in social mobility, Fresno State is committed to uplifting the quality of life for students and their families. Here are some of the pathways that propel students to transformational careers.

Our rise in national rankings

  • Each year, academics at Fresno State steadily garners more attention with the release of several prestigious national rankings. Reports from Washington Monthly Magazine, Wall Street Journal and Money Magazine consistently place our university alongside University of California campuses and Ivy League institutions. 

Hands-on learning opportunities

  • Fresno State has operated the first commercially bonded winery on a university campus in the U.S. since 1997. Students have produced wine that has won hundreds of awards in tasting competitions.
  • Located within the most agriculturally rich region in the world, the 1,000-acre University Agricultural Laboratory, or the “Farm,”  provides students with hands-on learning experiences and leading industry research. Students help maintain vineyards, orchards, vegetable crops, animal units and food processing, horticulture facilities, poultry education and research, and the Gibson Farm Market.
  • Fresno State’s Mobile Health Unit has served thousands of community members in hundreds of unique sites around Fresno County, providing free health care services, including to those in rural areas where health care access is often limited. 

Inspirational alumni

  • Unparalleled star power in professional sports amongst alumni include New York Yankee Aaron Judge, Las Vegas Raider Davante Adams, Los Angeles Clipper Paul George and New Orleans Saint Derek Carr.
  • A number of award-winning writers have Fresno State ties — two U.S. poet laureates (Juan Felipe Herrera and Philip Levine), two-time winner of the California Book Award (Mark Arax), Pulitzer prize winner (Philip Levine) and finalist (Mai Der Vang), two-time winner of the National Book Award (Levine), best-selling author Daniel Silva (alum), and poet and fiction writer Gary Soto (alum).
  • Additional notable alumni include Malinda Chouinard, co-founder of Patagonia clothing company; Ross Bagdasarian, the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks; Bo Barrett, the California winemaker whose story was featured in the movie “Bottleshock”; Sam Iacobellis, an aviation industry leader who led the development of the B1-B bomber; and country music superstar Brett Young (attended).