Cal State San Marcos

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Population 2,500,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 125 (91% 😎)
Sunshine Hours 3,338 (97% ☀️)
Days Without Precipitation 324 (97% 🏖️)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 13,118
Men / Women 42% / 58%
From State 98%
From Region 0%
Athletes 302 (2.4%)

Racial/Ethnic

Hispanic 52%
White 24%
Asian 9%
Mixed 6%
Black 4%
Native American 1%
International 1%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
California State University, San Marcos 3,373 38% 27% 11% 3% 49% 1% $65,370 29 -0.23 75 95% 3.7%
Computer Engineering 1 — 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% $102,017 16 -0.71 97 — — — — —
Electrical Engineering 27 — 81% 26% 11% 0% 59% 0% $107,288 30 -0.46 98 — — — — —
Computer Science 166 — 79% 21% 20% 5% 40% 2% $102,933 27 -0.64 98 92% 2.6% — — —
Computer Software Engineering 19 — 95% 32% 16% 5% 32% 0% $102,017 25 -0.67 97 — — — — —
Computer and Information Sciences 2 — 0% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% $93,159 45 -0.25 95 — — — — —
Chemistry 9 — 67% 33% 22% 0% 44% 0% $63,680 16 -0.76 73 100% — — — —
Mathematics 25 — 44% 36% 4% 0% 56% 0% $58,194 7 -1.02 64 95% — — — —
Physics 6 — 83% 50% 0% 0% 33% 0% $71,574 15 -0.87 82 100% — — — —
Biochemistry 37 — 38% 16% 22% 3% 54% 0% $67,999 35 -0.31 79 96% — — — —
Biology 152 — 32% 29% 12% 4% 45% 0% $66,267 51 -0.02 77 93% — — — —
Biotechnology 30 — 47% 23% 17% 10% 43% 0% $67,078 25 -0.39 78 92% — — — —
Environmental Studies 36 — 47% 53% 8% 0% 36% 0% $48,719 10 -1.25 40 96% — — — —
Nursing 290 — 20% 27% 34% 1% 30% 0% $105,138 91 +1.28 98 97% 3.0% — — —
Speech-Language Pathology/Pathologist 59 — 2% 24% 2% 0% 66% 2% $87,494 100 +3.30 93 90% — — — —
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 238 — 42% 27% 14% 3% 46% 0% $62,733 56 +0.11 72 96% — — — —
Business Management and Administration 601 +1 59% 30% 10% 4% 44% 1% $68,038 32 -0.50 79 97% — — — —
Economics 29 +2 72% 38% 7% 7% 38% 3% $77,944 23 -0.75 87 98% — — — —
English 63 — 24% 29% 8% 5% 40% 0% $54,059 61 +0.20 55 96% — — — —
Ethnic Studies 3 — 33% 0% 33% 0% 33% 0% $49,209 18 -0.80 42 — — — — —
History 62 — 61% 40% 2% 2% 44% 0% $55,341 50 -0.15 57 90% — — — —
Interdisciplinary Studies 1 — 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $51,977 26 -0.51 49 — — — — —
Linguistics 8 +1 0% 50% 0% 0% 25% 0% $47,194 14 -0.97 36 — — — — —
Native American Studies 2 — 50% 0% 0% 0% 50% 0% $49,282 19 -0.79 42 — — — — —
Spanish 31 +5 35% 6% 0% 0% 90% 0% $38,813 2 -1.71 15 91% — — — —
Women's Studies 5 — 0% 60% 0% 0% 40% 0% $48,035 14 -1.01 39 — — — — —
Anthropology 8 — 50% 38% 12% 0% 38% 0% $43,445 2 -1.22 26 92% — — — —
Geography 6 +1 83% 33% 17% 0% 33% 0% $56,743 24 -0.62 61 — — — — —
Human Development and Family Studies 86 — 15% 24% 9% 1% 56% 0% $50,561 30 -0.32 45 93% — — — —
Intercultural and International Studies 12 +1 58% 25% 8% 0% 42% 8% $58,911 14 -0.72 65 — — — — —
Media Studies 14 — 50% 29% 14% 14% 36% 0% $57,303 36 -0.43 62 96% — — — —
Political Science 51 +2 57% 27% 6% 4% 43% 0% $60,064 17 -0.89 67 92% — — — —
Psychology 304 +3 21% 25% 6% 3% 56% 0% $51,575 32 -0.53 48 92% — — — —
Social Sciences 78 — 32% 18% 8% 3% 68% 0% $49,919 22 -0.63 44 97% — — — —
Sociology 204 +6 18% 20% 5% 9% 57% 0% $51,531 34 -0.49 48 93% 5.5% — — —
Speech Communication and Rhetoric 122 +1 43% 32% 5% 3% 48% 1% $57,303 36 -0.43 62 96% — — — —
Early Childhood Education 102 +3 5% 26% 5% 1% 59% 1% $48,743 27 -0.53 41 100% — — — —
General Education 161 — 9% 34% 2% 0% 55% 0% $50,894 28 -0.49 46 97% — — — —
Music 7 — 71% 29% 29% 0% 14% 14% $37,291 10 -1.02 13 — — — — —
Theater 11 — 36% 45% 18% 0% 27% 0% $38,735 24 -0.58 15 — — — — —
Visual and Performing Arts 85 — 42% 32% 12% 1% 48% 0% $42,975 50 -0.01 25 92% — — — —
Criminology 202 +7 33% 19% 7% 2% 66% 0% $55,387 25 -0.62 58 95% — — — —
Fire Protection 18 — 83% 56% 6% 0% 28% 0% $78,027 55 +0.20 87 — — — — —

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $8,284
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $21,627
Est. In-State Cost $10,716
Est. Out-of-State Cost $27,977
ROI Percentile 75th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 79%
4-Year Graduation Rate 28%
6-Year Graduation Rate 55%
Transfer-Out Rate 4%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Social Sciences 26.2% 885 27% 25% 6% 4% 55% 0% $52,751 23 -0.52 51 93% 5.5%
Business & Economics 18.7% 630 60% 31% 10% 4% 44% 1% $68,494 21 -0.51 79 97% —
Health Sciences 17.4% 587 27% 27% 22% 2% 40% 0% $86,171 79 +1.01 92 96% 3.0%
Education 7.8% 263 8% 31% 3% 0% 57% 0% $50,060 25 -0.50 44 98% —
Professional 6.5% 220 37% 22% 7% 2% 63% 0% $57,239 16 -0.55 62 95% —
Life & Natural Sciences 6.5% 219 35% 26% 15% 5% 46% 0% $66,671 44 -0.12 77 93% —
Computer Science 5.5% 187 80% 22% 20% 5% 39% 2% $102,735 37 -0.64 98 92% 2.6%
Humanities 5.2% 175 38% 30% 4% 3% 49% 0% $51,177 27 -0.38 47 93% —
Arts 3.1% 103 44% 33% 14% 1% 44% 1% $42,136 12 -0.14 23 92% —
Physical Sciences & Math 1.2% 40 55% 38% 8% 0% 50% 0% $61,435 6 -0.94 69 97% —
Agriculture & Food Science 1.1% 36 47% 53% 8% 0% 36% 0% $48,719 7 -1.25 40 96% —
Engineering 0.8% 28 82% 25% 11% 0% 57% 0% $107,100 68 -0.47 98 — —

Research R3

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Life & Natural Sciences $2.4M #246 68% $0 — — — —
Engineering $1.5M #263 96% $0 — — — —
Education $1.4M #203 100% $0 — — — —
Humanities & Social Sciences $1.1M #307 49% $0 — — — —
Physical Sciences & Math $0.9M #369 72% $0 — — — —
Computer Science $0.7M #246 95% $0 — — — —
Health Sciences $0.1M #363 15% $0 — — — —
Agriculture & Food Science $0.0M #288 100% $0 — — — —
Business & Economics $0 #456 — $0 — — — —
Total $8.2M #325 78% $0 — — — —

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D2

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 64 $462K $462K $1
Baseball 39 $479K $479K -$1
Soccer 29 $485K $485K $0
Basketball 16 $553K $553K $0
Golf 10 $310K $310K $0
Total 142 $2.3M $2.3M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 136 $442K $442K $0
Soccer 32 $455K $455K $0
Softball 26 $528K $528K $0
Basketball 18 $528K $528K $0
Volleyball 18 $426K $426K $0
Golf 10 $329K $329K $0
Total 160 $2.7M $2.7M $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Track & Field (combined) 200 $905K $905K $1
Soccer 61 $941K $941K $0
Baseball 39 $479K $479K -$1
Basketball 34 $1.1M $1.1M $0
Softball 26 $528K $528K $0
Golf 20 $640K $640K $0
Volleyball 18 $426K $426K $0
Total 302 $8.7M $8.7M $0

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App No
Acceptance Rate 95%
Yield (non-ED) 14%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 95% 94% 94%

Standardized Tests

Test Policy blind
Submitted Test Scores 3%
SAT Range 860 – 1110
SAT Math Range 430 – 530
SAT RW Range 450 – 570