California State University-Fullerton

Public · Moderately Selective · CA

Photo: Spatms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationCA · West

SettingSuburban

Undergrads38,546

Student:faculty26:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate39%

6-yr grad rate70.2%

Drop-out rate17.6%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$7k

Out-of-state tuition$20k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity86.8%

Gender diversity55.9%

International1%

Identity—

Overview

California State University, Fullerton is a large Cal State campus in Orange County known for business, communications, and the performing arts, graduating one of the biggest classes in the entire CSU system. It has grown from a modest founding into one of the system's flagship-scale campuses, drawing heavily from Orange County and the broader Los Angeles basin.

Academics

Business and communications programs are especially well regarded and heavily enrolled, among the largest such programs in the CSU system, and the performing arts — theatre and music in particular — have a strong regional reputation. The university maintains a robust transfer pipeline from regional community colleges, a core part of the CSU mission, and its criminal justice and nursing programs are also solid, well-enrolled options.

Campus & student life

Many students commute from across Orange County and the greater Los Angeles area, giving Fullerton a less residential, more day-to-day practical campus culture, though a growing on-campus housing population has built out more traditional student life over time. Titan athletics and a lively club and cultural-organization scene, reflecting the campus's considerable diversity, give the university a social life that's real but layered on top of a fundamentally commuter identity.

Getting in

Admission follows the CSU system's formula-driven review based on coursework and grades, with strong emphasis on transfer admission from community colleges alongside first-year applicants. As with most CSU campuses, there's no essay-driven holistic process — the local-area guarantee and coursework formula do most of the work.

After graduation

Graduates place well into the Los Angeles and Anaheim-area job markets, particularly in business, media, and entertainment-adjacent fields, aided by the university's Orange County location near major media and entertainment employers. Communications and business graduates in particular benefit from the school's proximity to LA's media industry.

Worth knowing

Fullerton's business and communications alumni network runs deep within Orange County and the LA media industry specifically, and its transfer-student population is large enough that transfer students are a genuinely mainstream part of campus life rather than an afterthought.

fullerton.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate90.5%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Regular decisionNov 30

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Cal State Apply.

CSU campuses use one fixed filing period rather than early action, early decision, or rolling admission; applications are accepted only between October 1 and November 30, 2026 for fall 2027 entry.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗