Humboldt State University, a California State University Campus

Humboldt State University (HSU) is the northernmost California State University campus. HSU is located in Arcata, California – minutes from the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by redwoods, and a quick 1-hour flight from San Francisco. Every year, students from around the world come to HSU for a high quality education and to live in a friendly, safe and welcoming environment. 

Quick facts

• Founded: 1913
• Total Enrollment: 6,983
• Majors: 48
• Student-Faculty Ratio: 20:1

Recent Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report—"A Top Western University"
• Princeton Review—"Best in the West" college
• Princeton Review "Green College"
• President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll
• G.I. Jobs magazine—Military Friendly School
• PETA—A Top Vegan-Friendly School
• Campus Pride—A Top LGBT-Friendly School

Why Humboldt State

At Humboldt State, you’ll find faculty who get to know you by name, and plenty of opportunities for hands-on learning. You’ll be part of a close-knit campus community that cares about your success, and is committed to social justice and the environment. And you’ll be surrounded by an amazing natural environment of redwood forests, pristine coastline and wild rivers.

Personal Attention

College is a time to expand your horizons and find out who you really are, and we are here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you set foot on campus, you’ll find that your professors, staff and fellow students are ready to help. 

Most of our classes are small, and we boast a student-faculty ratio of 20:1. That means at HSU, you’ll get to know our professors, who are some of the leading educators and researchers in their fields. You won’t just watch them from the back of a massive lecture hall. They’ll challenge you, and you’ll develop critical thinking skills and a passion for learning that will take you far in life.

And when it comes to deciding what field to study, we have plenty of choices, with 48 majors and 61 minors. We also have numerous graduate programs.

HSU consistently ranks as a top regional university by U.S. News & World Report and a Best in the West College by Princeton Review.

Our professors are among the best in their fields. Examples? We’re a leading regional university for faculty selected to be Fulbright scholars, and our redwood forest researchers have had their work featured in two National Geographic cover stories.

Hands-on Learning

At Humboldt State, learning isn’t limited to sitting in a classroom and taking notes. From academic internships to service learning projects, our students apply what they learn in the real world.

Students at HSU do their own seismic readings, art exhibitions, wildlife research, health studies, social work projects and so much more. They study marine life at beaches where they also surf, and observe tree growth patterns in the same forests where they go out hiking.

Why does that matter? Because success in the job market, whether you wind up in business or zoology or any field in between, requires practical experience and strong critical thinking skills. Our approach to combining classroom learning with hands-on experience gives our graduates a head start after college.

Committed to Sustainability

Humboldt State is a nationally recognized leader in sustainability. We care about protecting the natural environment and building a more just society. It’s a commitment you’ll find throughout our curriculum and across our campus community, and that's embodied by our students and alumni.

• We are consistently ranked as a leading “Green College” by Princeton Review.
• Following Humboldt State’s lead, more than 100 schools from around the country have adopted our Graduation Pledge of Social and Environmental Responsibility.
• We were recently the first public university in the state to ban plastic water bottle sales on campus, and we’ve also stopped using plastic shopping bags. This prevents the use of 50,000 plastic bottles and 3,000 plastic bags each year.

Perfect Place to Learn and Live

We're surrounded by a stunning natural environment that serves as both a natural laboratory and a great place for adventure. Our area features 177 km of coastline, 1.5 million acres of forest and 680,000 acres of local, state and national parks.

That means that within just a few minutes of campus, you can bike, camp, canoe, climb, hike, kayak, surf and much more.

We've been called 'America's Most Scenic Rural County' by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. And National Geographic Adventure magazine calls our hometown of Arcata one of its "50 next great adventure towns."

The 2,350-acre Arcata Community Forest is just behind campus, offering easy access to trails for hiking and mountain biking.