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Highlights and Distinctions
Excellence, Access and Impact
Each year, Sacramento State builds on its mission to serve students, foster community partnerships, and elevate academic excellence. The following represent select initiatives, accomplishments, and milestones from across campus.
Campus Highlights
- With more than 1,500 students, Sacramento State’s Criminal Justice program is one of the nation’s largest and among Northern California’s most popular, providing direct access to state and federal agencies in the state capital.
- Sacramento State’s Guardian Scholars Program for former foster youth is California’s fastest growing, providing academic, financial, housing, and career support to help students graduate.
- Sacramento State supports $737 million in wages earned in the Sacramento region and 49,000 jobs statewide, according to the CSU Economic Impact Report (2025).
- Sacramento State is the first California university to pilot Asian Pacific Promoting Educational Excellence, a cohort program supporting Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) first-year students with culturally responsive academic, wellness, and career resources.
- In a first for the Department of Ethnic Studies, a student-led team is preserving and archiving a donated collection of 600+ African cultural artifacts, expanding access to African history while gaining hands-on experience.
- Sacramento State’s Interactive Belonging Maps connect Hornets to campus and regional resources reflecting Sacramento’s diversity, launching with Muslim and Latine communities and expanding to others.
- Hornet Speech and Debate earned a Top 10 finish at the National Forensics Association Tournament, highlighting Sacramento State’s strength among the nation’s top collegiate teams.
- Sac State Model UN was named Top Delegation at the 2025 National Model United Nations Conference, earning multiple honors, including Overall Outstanding Delegation.
- Sacramento State Marching Band members and alumni performed in Dublin and Galway after an invitation from Dublin’s Lord Mayor to appear in the city’s three-day New Year’s Festival. It marked the band’s first international performance.
College Highlights
Arts and Letters
The College of Arts and Letters launched new degree programs in Architectural Studies and Interior Architecture, hosted more than 350 performances and exhibit-ions, and expanded career-ready certificates in Arts Entrepreneurship and Spanish for Healthcare.
Business
The College of Business has 50,000 alumni. Approximately 70% live in the greater Sacramento region and support student success through an active 20-member Business Advisory Council. They also raise roughly $1 million annually, primarily for scholarships.
Continuing Education
On behalf of academic departments, the College of Continuing Education served over 3,200 adult learners in academic year 2024-25, through the administration of seven undergraduate degree-completion programs, 10 graduate programs, and more than 60 credentials, certificates, professional certifications, exams, licenses, travel study, youth programs, and other courses.
Education
The College of Education received more than $4 million in grants for student support and community-based research, houses the Center for Counseling and Diagnostic Services, which serves 500+ community members annually, and supports the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community through the American Sign Language Lab.
Engineering and Computer Science
The College of Engineering and Computer Science opened three state-of-the-art teaching and research labs—an Autonomous Aerial and Mobile Robotics Lab ($355K), a Virtual Design and Construction Lab ($77K), and a Transportation Mobility Lab ($53K)—funded almost entirely through private, grant, and philanthropic support.
Health and Human Services
The College of Health and Human Services Clinical Education Community Clinics and the mobile healthcare initiative continue to expand as a hub for teaching, research, and service—engaging more than 1,000 community partners and placing over 2,000 interns in field and clinical placements.
Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Sacramento State Physics received an $800,000 U.S. Department of Energy grant to launch its first formal partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, providing paid nuclear science research internships and advanced training for undergraduate students.
Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies
The Institute for Social Research, part of the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies, partnered with the California Department of Public Health to develop the California Public Health Roadmap for Firearm Violence Prevention Report, a research- and community-informed guide that helps public health leaders advance evidence-based, locally tailored strategies.
2026 Highlights
Supporting Students’ Basic Needs
Sacramento State opened its new Basic Needs Resource Center to help students struggling with housing and food insecurity. The center, located in The WELL, offers free groceries, including meat and fresh produce, easy-to-prepare meal kits, dairy products, toiletries, and other necessities. Students can come in once a week to choose groceries and supplies and have access to recipes and cooking demonstrations in a kitchen nearby.
Student Housing Projects Take Shape
Construction on new student housing is underway at Sacramento State. Mt. Whitney Hall, a five-story on-campus residence hall for 335 students is slated to open in August 2026 and will add 285 affordable housing beds. Crews also broke ground on Hornet Place, a campus-affiliated community for 352 students at 7700 College Town Drive. Hornet Place is scheduled to open in fall 2027 and was designed with amenities fostering connection and well-being such as a pool, fitness center, yoga area, and community gathering spaces.
New Degrees for a Changing World
Sacramento State continues to innovate and grow through the degrees it offers students. The University recently began offering a new Bachelor of Fine Arts in Architecture Studies through the College of Arts and Letters Department of Design. The program focuses on diverse career paths in architecture, including design, advocacy, research, and space habitat design. The College of Business also launched an innovative, AI Management concentration looking at the practical application of artificial intelligence. Undergraduate students will also be able to minor in AI Management.
A New Era for Hornet Basketball
Sac State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams have left the Nest. The teams moved from their longtime home, an outdated 1,000-seat arena, to a renovated venue at The WELL fitness and recreation center. The new venue morethan triples fan capacity for games and features a new floor, shot clocks, and video boards. The men’s team is led by beloved former Sacramento King Mike Bibby and boasts nationally recognized roster additions in 2025-26, including NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal’s son, Shaqir. The women’s team is led by head coach Aaron Kallhoff. The Nest remains a practice venue and is used for other sports.
Sac State Earns R2 Research Status
While research activity remains a priority at Sacramento State, the University has been nationally recognized as a leader in research and scholarly activities. In February 2025, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching recognized Sacramento State for its “high research activity” and number of awarded research doctoral degrees by designating the University as an R2 institution. The recognition is a point of pride for Sacramento State, signaling its ongoing commitment to scholarly work and its desire to attract top faculty, offer students research opportunities, and impact the larger community.