SDSU Ranks No. 14 in Nation for Most Bachelor's Degrees Awareded to Minorities

Contact: Gina Speciale
San Diego State University
Tel: (619) 594-4563 office; (619) 813-3581 cell
speciale@mail.sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO – (Friday, June 2, 2006)–San Diego State University ranks No. 14 in the nation for bachelor’s degrees awarded to minority students, according to an annual survey just released by the publication Diverse Issues in Higher Education.

San Diego State awarded 2,247 bachelor’s degrees to minority students during the 2004-2005 academic year, which was 37 percent of the total degrees awarded.  It also represented a 4 percent increase in degrees awarded to minority students from the previous year.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education based its survey on preliminary data for the 2004-2005 school year provided by the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).

San Diego State also ranked among the top 25 in the United States for awarding bachelor’s degrees to minority students in these academic programs: 

• No. 8    English Language and Literature/Letters
• No. 15  Social Sciences and History
• No. 20  Psychology
• No. 23  Business, Management and Marketing

By ethnic category, San Diego State also ranked in the top 25 for bachelor’s degrees awarded to Hispanics (No. 9), Asian-Americans (No. 20) and American Indians (No. 18).

The diversity of SDSU’s student body continues to grow.  Among first-time freshman admitted for the fall 2006 semester, 44.8 percent are students from minority groups, up from 43.4 percent of freshman admits for fall 2005.

SDSU is the oldest and largest institution of higher education in the San Diego region. Founded in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor’s degrees in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 and doctorates in 16. SDSU’s nearly 33,000 students participate in academic curricula distinguished by direct faculty contact and an increasingly international emphasis that prepares them for a global future. For more information, visit www.sdsu.edu.

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