California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB or Cal State Monterey Bay) is a public university in Monterey County, California. Its main campus is located on the site of the former military base Fort Ord, straddling the cities of Seaside and

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

, about one mile inland from Monterey Bay along the

Central Coast of California The Central Coast is an area of California, roughly spanning the coastal region between Point Mugu and Monterey Bay. It lies northwest of Los Angeles County and south of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and includes the rugged, undeveloped ...

. CSUMB also has locations in the cities of Monterey and Salinas. Founded in 1994, CSUMB is part of the

California State University system The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public universi ...

and is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. The university is a Hispanic-serving institution.

History

CSUMB was founded in 1994 with a student enrollment of 654 students. Classes began August 28, 1995. The founding president was Peter Plympton Smith. It was the 22nd campus in the California State University system. The university offers 23 bachelor's degrees, 7 master's degrees, and teaching credentials. As of the fall 2020 semester, the university had 6,276 undergraduate students, 595 graduate students and 186 full-time faculty members. The university operates on the semester system. The president is Eduardo M. Ochoa, who was appointed in May 2012. CSUMB, in conjunction with

Hartnell College Hartnell College is a public community college in Salinas, California. Established in 1920 as Salinas Junior College, Hartnell is one of 115 schools that constitute the California Community Colleges, one of the three higher education systems in ...

, developed CS-in-3, a three-year computer science program funded in part by grants from the Foundation established by

Matsui Nursery Matsui Nursery is a California-based producer of potted orchids. History Toshikiyo Andy Matsui was born in Japan in 1935. He was raised on a small farm where his family grew starch products. Matsui decided to join a farm program in the U.S. and ...

. A donation of 210 acres of prime agricultural land to the Hartnell College Foundation, valued at US$20 million was granted thereafter.

Presidents

Demographics

Faculty

In the fall of 2020, of 482 teaching faculty, 262 held doctorates or another terminal degree, and 96 were members of minority groups. The faculty includes an American Book Award winner and six

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

Students

As of spring 2020, the student body was 62% female and 38% male. 33% of students enrolled were under 21 years of age, 45% between 21 and 24, 14% between 25 and 30, 8% were 31 or older. The most common majors were

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

(13%), psychology (11%), computer science (9%), kinesiology (8%), and biology (8%). 43% of students came from Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties (all California counties) while 53% came from other parts of California, 2% from other U.S. states and 3% from outside the U.S. Nearly one third (32%) of students were low-income and just over half (53%) were first-generation college students. Distributed across class levels, 14% of students are freshmen, 12% sophomores, 27% juniors and 35% seniors; CSU Monterey Bay has a large proportion of transfer students. Graduate students make up 9%; 2% were seeking credentials and 1% were post-baccalaureate students. As of fall 2018 Cal State Monterey Bay has the second largest enrollment percentage of Americans of unknown race or ethnicity in the California State University system. Approximately 50% of CSUMB students live on campus.

Academics

The five most popular majors for 2019 graduates *

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services at 15% * Liberal Arts and

Sciences Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, General Studies and Humanities at 12% * Psychology at 12% *

Computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

and Information Sciences and Support Services at 9% *

Parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...

, Leisure, and Fitness Studies at 9%

Rankings

The 2022-2023 USNWR Best Regional Colleges West Rankings ranks Monterey 4 on top performers on

social mobility Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, households or other categories of people within or between social strata in a society. It is a change in social status relative to one's current social location within a given society ...

, 7 on top

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

and 247 in Nursing (tie). In 2021 Monterey ranked 17 on best undergraduate Teaching.

Research

Under a cooperative agreement with the NASA Ames Research Center, the university performs remote sensing,

ecosystem model An ecosystem model is an abstract, usually mathematical, representation of an ecological system (ranging in scale from an individual population, to an ecological community, or even an entire biome), which is studied to better understand the re ...

ing, and geospatial research for earth system science and health. CSUMB researchers work in 10 areas, including coral reef monitoring, land use, carbon modeling and

disease transmission In medicine, public health, and biology, transmission is the passing of a pathogen causing communicable disease from an infected host individual or group to a particular individual or group, regardless of whether the other individual was previous ...

Athletics

The Cal State–Monterey Bay (CSUMB) athletic teams are called the Otters. The university is a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), primarily competing in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) for most of its sports since the 2004–05 academic year; while its women's water polo teams compete in the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA). The Otters previously competed in the California Pacific Conference (Cal Pac) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1996–97 to 2003–04. CSUMB competes in 14 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf and soccer; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, track & field (indoor and outdoor), volleyball and water polo. CSUMB also has a coed sailing team which competes in the fall and spring (although the spring season is more important). The sailing team competes in the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference (PCCSC).

Water polo

The NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship of Effective Division I sport is open to members of all three NCAA divisions. Only CSU Monterey Bay and

CSU East Bay California State University, East Bay (Cal State East Bay, CSU East Bay, or CSUEB) is a public university in Hayward, California. The university is part of the 23-campus California State University system and offers 136 undergraduate and 60 pos ...

from the CCAA participate in the Western Water Polo Association.

Golf

The Otters of CSU Monterey Bay earned 1 NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships in 2011.

Student life

Greek life

Fraternities and sororities in the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) include: *

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

African American interest sorority *

alpha Kappa Delta Phi alpha Kappa Delta Phi (), also known as aKDPhi, Kappa Delta Phi, KDPhi, is an international Asian-interest sorority founded at the University of California, Berkeley. alpha Kappa Delta Phi has 63 chapters located at numerous universities acros ...

Asian interest sorority * Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity * Gamma Zeta Alpha Latino interest fraternity *

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

African American interest sorority *Delta Omega Rho multicultural sorority *Epsilon Sigma Rho multicultural fraternity *Theta Alpha Sigma sorority * Kappa Alpha Psi African American interest fraternity *

Kappa Delta Chi Kappa Delta Chi Sorority, Inc. (), also known as K-D Chi (pronounced Kay-Dee-Kie) is a Greek letter, intercollegiate Latina founded sorority in the United States. KDChi is a 501(c)(7) organization that prides itself on graduating all of its memb ...

Latina Founded sorority * Kappa Sigma fraternity * Lambda Theta Nu Latina interest sorority *

Lambda Sigma Gamma Lambda Sigma Gamma Sorority, Incorporated () was founded at California State University, Sacramento, in 1986. History Lambda Sigma Gamma Sorority became a reality on October 24, 1986, when twenty-seven women sharing the same interest, beliefs, a ...

multicultural sorority *

Nu Alpha Kappa Nu Alpha Kappa (), is a Hispanic and Latino Americans, Latino-based Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity, which encompasses and values all cultures. Nu Alpha Kappa is the largest Latino-based fraternity on the west coast. Ofte ...

Latino interest fraternity *

Sigma Theta Psi Sigma Theta Psi () is a multicultural, academic, and social sorority. The sorority was founded at San Jose State University (SJSU) in 1991. Sigma Theta Psi is known for their significant contribution to breast cancer awareness throughout sisters' l ...

multicultural sorority *Sigma Omega Nu Latina interest sorority *

Omega Delta Phi Omega Delta Phi Fraternity, Inc. (), also known as O-D-Phi is a multicultural fraternity that was founded on November 25, 1987, at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Its seven founders known as the "Men of Vision" to fraternity members want ...

multicultural fraternity

Campus

The university's goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030, with a solar array, installed in 2010, currently meeting 16 percent of the university's needs. Additionally, the university's Dining Commons were awarded LEED Silver certification in 2011. The Dining Commons were designed to include water efficiency and natural and energy-efficient lighting.

Residence Halls

CSUMB offers housing in many areas around campus. On the main campus there are eight residence halls each renovated Army barracks. Willet, Cypress, Manzanita, Asilomar, Yarrow, Avocet, Tortuga, and Sanderling Halls surround the main quad on campus. Pinnacles and Vineyard Suites as well as Strawberry Apartments make up North Quad on the north end of campus. In fall of 2015, the university opened three new residence halls, called Promontory, all of which offering apartment size dormitories.

Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library

The Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library has of floor space. It is located at Divarty and Fifth streets, and diagonally across from the Chapman Science Center. A roundabout sits between the library and the science building. The Tanimura & Antle Family Memorial Library is certified LEED Silver and has been cited for a range of sustainable design strategies from daylighting and low-energy use to healthy carpets, water conservation, and high-recycled content materials. Aside from being the largest building on the CSUMB campus, it is the greenest in terms of energy usage. Up to 30% less electricity is needed, for example, because of floor-to-ceiling glass walls that let in natural light. Additionally, ventilation techniques operate through the floor instead of the ceiling, allowing cooler air to travel a lesser distance. The light let in from the atrium is indirect rather than direct sunlight.

Other locations

CSUMB has other locations within Monterey County, including CSUMB at Ryan Ranch (in Monterey), CSUMB at North Salinas, and CSUMB at Salinas City Center. The

National Steinbeck Center The National Steinbeck Center is a museum and memorial dedicated to the author John Steinbeck, located at the California State University, Monterey Bay#Other locations, California State University, Monterey Bay at Salinas City Center building at O ...

is located at CSUMB at Salinas City Center. CSUMB relies on

Monterey–Salinas Transit Monterey–Salinas Transit (MST) is a bus service operating in Monterey County, California. Service is primarily to the greater Monterey and Salinas areas, but extends as far south as Paso Robles and Big Sur and as far north as Watsonville and S ...

for transportation among its various locations.

Notable alumni

Davion Berry Davion Christopher Lamont Berry (born November 1, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Manama Club of the Bahraini Premier League. He played college basketball for the Weber State Wildcats where he was named Big Sky Conference ...

(born 1991) – basketball player in the Bahraini Premier League *

Jared Koenig Jared Tyler Koenig (born January 24, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. Amateur career Koenig grew up in Aptos, California and attended Aptos High School. Koenig began his college baseball career a ...

(born 1994) – baseball player for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

of Major League Baseball (MLB)

Notes

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{authority control Monterey Bay California State University, Monterey Bay Universities and colleges in Monterey County, California Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Educational institutions established in 1994 1994 establishments in California