Chico State Skip to Main Content
California State University, Chico

Chico State

Tomorrow Calls— Define It at Chico State.

Choosing a college is more than a decision—it’s the start of something big. At Chico State, your future isn’t handed to you. It’s built by you. Every class, every connection, every step moves you forward. Since 1887, we’ve empowered students to define what’s next. Now it’s your turn.

A student wearing dark protective glasses leans over to adjust a red laser in a physics lab.

Find laser focus in high-tech labs, creative studios, and vibrant clinics—backed by faculty who know your name and support your boldest goals.

Your Potential Calls. Chase It.

You can go anywhere you want after studying at a University that offers nearly 400 undergraduate majors and minors, graduate degrees, and professional certifications. You’ll find Chico State alums in tech and communications, science and teaching, and everywhere in between. You have endless ways to own your today, making every tomorrow possible.

A graduate, Isabella Avalos, is dressed in cap and gown, smiling as she holds up her diploma at Commencement with the sun setting behind her.
My mentors at Chico State have always been there when I need help—offering me guidance when I need it but also letting me grow in the ways that I need to grow.
Isabella Avalos (Psychology, ’23; MA, Psychology, '25)
  • #9

    Top Public Schools West —U.S. News

  • 2015

    Classified as a Hispanic-Serving Institution

  • 48%

    First-generation college students

/
Two students splattered with colorful powdered dye laugh and play during Holi Festival on campus.

Go For It. And Never Go It Alone.

There’s room for you to be YOU at Chico State. With 200+ student-run organizations, teams, and cultural affinity centers, you’ll find (or build!) a community where you belong. Want to play rugby? Dance to K-pop? Build a rocket? Connecting—whether over academics, social activities, cultural identity, or athletics—is a big part of being a Wildcat.

Change Yourself. Change the World.

A funny thing happens once you find your passion: You’ll find ways to put it to work for the world around you. Whether that means changing your neighborhood or the planet, Chico State’s academic programs are forces for good.

A student nurse stands at a computer screen in a hospital. A student works with equipment during a prescribed burn at Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. Agriculture student taking soil samples in the field A staff member writing out a schedule of events with a child at the autism clinic.

Our Rural California Nursing Preceptorships program helps rural communities fill crucial healthcare shortages. This one-of-a-kind program has placed more than 2,200 students in hospital settings.

It may not be possible to prevent wildfire—but prescribed fires can help us live with it. That’s just one of the lessons University experts have learned at the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve.

Healthy food, clean air, less pollution. For our Center for Regenerative Agriculture and Resilient Systems, it all starts with soil as students work to increase sustainability of farms and ranches.

For parents whose children have been diagnosed with autism, finding support—and answers—is hard. Chico State’s Autism Clinic offers both. Students play a key role in supporting these families.

Great Value. Within Reach.

It’s one thing to offer a transformative education. It’s another to make it affordable. Chico State does both. We equip our students to live out their most audacious dreams—without having to worry about the debt that often holds those dreams back.

Top 10%

for returns on investment among 2,000 US colleges

Combine Chico State’s affordability with the earnings power that comes with a degree, and you get big-time ROI.

#21

Best Value School in the West by U.S. News & World Report

We're recognized among the nation’s colleges and universities for both affordability and quality—a deal that's hard to beat!

Top 6%

among US colleges on the Social Mobility Index

Chico State is for everybody. We’re a leader in ensuring that historically underserved students have access to the power of higher education.

Tomorrow Calls

If you’re ready to do something meaningful—with your time, your talent, your future—Chico State is ready too.