California State University, Stanislaus (Stanislaus State, Stan State) is a public university in Turlock, Stanislaus County, California. It is part of the California State University system. It was established in 1957 and offers 45 bachelor's degree programs and 38 graduate programs, which include 22 master's degree programs, one doctoral degree (Doctor of Education), 10 certificate programs, and 5 teaching credentials. Stanislaus State is a Hispanic-serving institution.

In 1957, the California State Legislature established what was then called Stanislaus State College as the 15th campus of the CSU system. Because Turlock was better known at the time for its turkeys than its aspirations towards higher education, Clark Kerr highlighted this event in his memoirs as an example of how the state colleges had become vulnerable to pork barrel politics in the state legislature. This was one of several reasons behind the creation of the California Master Plan for Higher Education of 1960.

Classes began on the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds in September, 1960, and the college moved to its current location five years later. The college was first accredited in 1964. It gained university status and its current name in 1986.

In 1974, the university established an extension program at the campus of San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton in neighboring San Joaquin County. In 1998 the Stanislaus State-Stockton Center expanded and moved to its own permanent campus in downtown Stockton.

Sarah Palin's selection as the keynote speaker at Stanislaus State's main fundraising event in 2010. Sponsored by a school foundation, the event resulted in the most successful fundraiser in the campus's history. It provoked speculation and debate when the university refused to disclose her speaking fee. A resulting investigation by the Attorney General of California Jerry Brown found no violation of law, but recommended accounting and oversight improvements in the foundation's practices.

California State University, Stanislaus offers 45 undergraduate programs, 17 master's degree programs and 2 graduate certificate programs, 6 school credential programs and a doctoral degree program in Educational Leadership. Its academic disciplines are clustered within four colleges:

• College of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• College of Business Administration
• College of Education, Kinesiology and Social Work
• College of Science

Several individual programs, across the four colleges, have achieved and maintain accreditation by professional accreditation bodies. Stanislaus State's College of Business Administration is accredited by the AACSB. Its Human Resource Management program has the nation's top student testing success rate. In fall 2012, Stanislaus State launched an online Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program, the first fully online AACSB-accredited MBA program offered in the state of California.

The university library building was originally named for founding president Dr. J. Burton Vasché. The library currently holds over 370,000 volumes, 841 print journal subscriptions, access to 141 electronic databases, and a growing number of electronic journals, video recordings, and compact discs. The University Library also contains a Children's collection, which has more than 5,900 titles of children's literature. The library offers access to more than 70 electronic databases and also contains federal, state, and local documents.

As of fall 2017, the five most popular bachelor's degrees Programs are BS Business Administration, BA Psychology, BA Liberal Studies, BA/BS Biological Sciences, and BA Criminal Justice.

The university has several resources available for students. The Tutoring/Writing Center is located in the Vasche Library and offers individual and group tutoring. Some of the services available include essay planning, organization, development and revision, writing across the curriculum, ESL, and WPST test preparation. The university also has a bookstore that features marble herms by sculptor Andrew Wilson alongside other artwork, as well as a university police department and financial aid office. The New Stanislaus State Student Center is scheduled to open Spring 2020.

The 2023 U.S. News & World Report Best Regional Colleges West Rankings ranked Stanislaus 4 on Top Performers on Social Mobility, 9 on Top Public Schools, 12 on for best Colleges for Veterans, and 293 in Nursing (tie).

The 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Regional Colleges West Rankings ranked Stanislaus 6 on Top Performers on Social Mobility, 12 on Top Public Schools, 14 on for best Colleges for Veterans, and 332 in Nursing (tie).

In 2020, Cal State Stanislaus was ranked 1st by Washington Monthly for "Best Bang for the Buck" out of 215 schools in the U.S. western region.

Stanislaus State, in the Division II of the NCAA, competes in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). Stanislaus State fields 14 sports for men and women for the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Fall sports for men include soccer and cross country. Fall sports for women are soccer, volleyball and cross country. The winter sport for men is basketball and for women it is basketball and indoor track and field. Spring sports for men include baseball, golf, and track and field. Spring sports for women include softball, track and field, and tennis. Stan State also sponsors a competitive cheer team, which has competed at the NCA National Championships since 2017. Besides both being located in the east of California, but one in the south and the other in the north, Stanislaus and San Bernardino have competed heavily as conference rivals.

Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena (aka Warrior Gym) is a 2,000-seat multi-purpose, built in 1978, which is the home arena for the university's Warriors basketball and volleyball teams. It was also briefly the home of the defunct Big Valley Shockwave of the American Basketball Association. In the 2010–2011 season the name of the basketball arena was changed to Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2012)

Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2023

Race and ethnicity	Total
Hispanic	63%	63
White	18%	18
Asian	9%	9
Unknown	4%	4
Black	2%	2
Two or more races	2%	2
Foreign national	1%	1
Pacific Islander	1%	1
Economic diversity
Low-income	64%	64
Affluent	36%	36

The university has a Hmong Students Association. In 2004 the association and a former member led the Project Ready for School to help children arriving in the United States from a Thai refugee camp for preparing for school.

As of fall 2018 CSU Stanislaus had the third largest enrollment percentage of Mexican Americans in the California State University system.

Greek life at CSUS includes:

Fraternities	Music fraternities	Sororities
Alpha Sigma Phi Kappa Sigma Nu Alpha Kappa Omega Delta Phi Omega Nu Omega (co-ed) Tau Kappa Epsilon Theta Chi	Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Sigma Alpha Iota	Alpha Pi Sigma Alpha Xi Delta Alpha Phi Zeta Delta Phi Gamma Delta Sigma Theta Lambda Sigma Gamma Phi Lambda Rho Phi Mu Phi Sigma Sigma Sigma Omega Phi Upsilon Kappa Delta

• Susan Eggman – Currently serving in the California State Senate
• Nancy Stoyer - Scientist who assisted in the discovery of 5 elements
• Steve Andrade – Major League Baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals
• Gregorio Billikopf – professor and author
• Dennis Cardoza – U.S. Representative for California's 18th congressional district
• Gary Condit (B.A., 1972) – former Congressman from California, initially implicated in the Chandra Levy murder case, before being cleared
• Leo Dottavio – Reality television personality, actor, and comedian, known for his performance on The Bachelorette Season 14
• Carrie Henn – Child actress who starred in Aliens
• Rusty Kuntz – former Major League Baseball outfielder and 1984 World Series Champion; current Kansas City first base coach
• Rico Oller (1980) – former California State Senator
• Jasmine Sandlas – Indian-American playback singer, television personality, performer, and songwriter
• Joe Ryan (baseball) - Baseball pitcher for the Minnesota Twins
• Joel Stallworth — American sprinter, 2008 World Indoor track and field champion
• Robert J. Ulrich (casting director) - Emmy Award-winning casting director, producer and former host of the show The Glee Project
• Kim Johnston Ulrich - Actor who starred in shows including As the World Turns and Passions

• As'ad AbuKhalil – Professor of Political Science
• Richard Weikart – Professor Emeritus of History, fellow at the Discovery Institute

• Official website
• Cal State Stanislaus Athletics website

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