About SSU

While SSU generally accepts all qualified students who apply from high schools in its service area, 80 percent of the freshmen and 55 percent of the junior transfer students come from outside the North Bay region. With 34 percent of the student body living on campus, it is one of the most residential campuses within the California State University system.

Specialized Programs and Resources

SSU is home to a number of specialized programs and resources that not only complement the University’s academic offerings, but create tremendous opportunities for faculty and students while enriching the campus and community it serves:

• Cerent Engineering Science Complex – The Cerent Engineering Science Complex consists of eight well-equipped laboratories focused on communications, networking, photonics, microanalysis, electronics, computer-controlled instrumentation, and software engineering.
The labs are supported by local industries and private funds.

• Green Music Center – The Green Music Center (GMC) is a cornerstone of SSU’s commitment to the arts, a place that inspires through year-round programming. This world-class music center includes the acoustically suburb, 1,400-seat Weill Hall and the intimate 240-seat Schroeder Hall. GMC brings together artists, students, families, music-lovers, and diverse communities throughout the North Bay; students have access to unique opportunities to learn through the arts and through the GMC’s Arts Integration Program.

• Preserves and Gardens –SSU’s Center for Environmental Inquiry (CEI) administers 4,160 acres of SSU lands (Galbreath Wildlands Preserve, Fairfield Osborn Preserve, Los Guillicos Preserve and Stocking Native Plant Garden) for the purposes of enhancing environmental
education, research, and creative inquiry; the Native Plant garden and the Agroecology Garden on campus serves as a hands-on classroom. The Environmental Technology Center is a model building in the garden that showcases green construction technologies while also
serving as a classroom and research center.

• University Library – The University Library within the Jean and Charles Schulz (of Charlie Brown and Snoopy fame) Information Center is a hub of learning and research. The library houses over 400,000 volumes and provides access to over 1.5 million eBooks, journals, and
streaming media titles. The Makerspace has equipment to support creation and innovation, and the technology lending program provides access to laptops, media creation tools, and
more.

• Wine Business Institute – The Wine Business Institute (WBI) serves as an intellectual and industry center for faculty, students, alumni, and the business community. Founded in 1996 as
a partnership between wine industry leaders and the SSU School of Business, the WBI provides innovative research that informs industry best practices and program curriculum.

Our Mission

Sonoma State is a regionally serving public university committed to educational access and excellence. Guided by our core values and driven by a commitment to the liberal arts and sciences, Sonoma State delivers high-quality education through innovative programs that leverage the economic, cultural, and natural resources of the North Bay. 

As a member of the 23-campus California State University system, Sonoma State is proud to serve a diverse student population on our beautiful campus, at our environmental preserves, and at satellite centers throughout the region. Located north of San Francisco in California’s wine country, Sonoma State drives the economic, cultural, and educational engines of the North Bay. Sonoma State University prepares students for meaningful citizenship in a complex world.

Our History

The California State Legislature established Sonoma State College in 1960. The college opened in temporary quarters in Rohnert Park in fall 1961 under the leadership of founding president Ambrose R. Nichols, Jr., with an enrollment of 274 upper-division students. Most of the faculty and administrators of the Santa Rosa Center of San Francisco State College, which had served the region since 1956, joined the new college. The center’s elementary education, psychology, and counseling programs were the principal offerings. The college grew steadily, developing academic programs based in the traditional liberal arts and sciences, as well as in career and professional programs, all the while emphasizing close student-faculty interaction.

The college moved to its present 215-acre site in 1966, upon completion of Stevenson and Darwin halls. Excellent new facilities have been constructed, and the grounds have been extensively landscaped, creating one of the most attractive, modern, and well-equipped campuses in the state. In 1978, University status was granted, and the name was changed to Sonoma State University.

Accreditation

Sonoma State University is fully accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. In addition, individual program accreditation’s have been granted by the American Chemical Society, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the National Association of Schools of Music, the National League for Nursing, the National Association for Schools of Art and Design, and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs. The School of Education and its programs are approved by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).

The University is also a member of the prestigious Council of Public Liberal Arts and Colleges (COPLAC), an association of public colleges and universities whose primary mission is ensuring that fine undergraduate liberal arts and sciences education is available to students in the public systems of higher education. SSU is the only California member of COPLAC.

Contact Information:
WASC Senior College and University Commission
985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100
Alameda, CA 94501
Tel: (510) 748-9001
Fax: (510) 748-9797