California State University-Chico

Public · Moderately Selective · CA

Photo: Emily Bryden (Ebryden) (Public Domain)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationCA · West

SettingUrban

Undergrads13,631

Student:faculty23:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate35.9%

6-yr grad rate62.8%

Drop-out rate18.4%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$8k

Out-of-state tuition$21k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity58.9%

Gender diversity56.4%

International1.1%

Identity—

Overview

Chico State is a public university in a historic college town in California's northern Sacramento Valley, one of the oldest campuses in the CSU system, chartered in the 1880s as a normal school before growing into a comprehensive university. The town of Chico revolves around the university's academic calendar, and the adjacent Bidwell Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the country, anchors an outdoorsy campus culture that shapes daily student life.

Academics

Hands-on, applied programs are the signature strength — the College of Agriculture runs its own University Farm, construction management is a well-regarded professional program with strong industry ties, and recreation and parks management draws directly on the surrounding outdoor landscape. Engineering and computer science round out the practical, fieldwork-oriented catalog, with coursework generally favoring applied projects over purely theoretical study.

Campus & student life

Bidwell Park gives students immediate access to hiking trails, swimming holes, and outdoor recreation right at the edge of campus, supported by a well-used Adventure Outings program that organizes student trips into the surrounding Sierra foothills and beyond. Chico's identity as a true college town — with a social and party reputation that goes back decades and that the university has worked over time to manage responsibly — creates a tight-knit, immersive student culture unlike most other CSU campuses.

Getting in

Admission is generally accessible and credentials-based, typical of the CSU system, without an elaborate essay-heavy holistic process, though impacted programs like nursing and some engineering tracks are more competitive to enter. Many students come from Northern California and the greater Sacramento Valley region, and the university's identity as a true college town is itself part of the draw for applicants deciding where to spend four years.

After graduation

Construction management and agriculture graduates find strong placement with California employers in those industries, drawing on the university's long-standing industry relationships, and the recreation program feeds directly into parks, outdoor-education, and hospitality careers across the West. The construction-management and agriculture alumni network in particular runs notably deep across Northern California employers in those fields.

Worth knowing

Chico's identity as a true college town — where the city's rhythms revolve around the academic calendar — combined with Bidwell Park's scale make it distinctive among CSU campuses for students who want an outdoors-oriented, immersive college-town experience, though its lively social reputation is worth knowing going in.

csuchico.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate92.7%

Enrolled mid-50%—

Test policynot used

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Regular decisionNov 30

Applying