The purpose of this page is to highlight the colleges and universities in California (and Arizona because of its proximity to San Diego County) that meet the following criteria: the institutions have an American Indian (AI) community on their campus, they offer cultural support for their native students, and they graduate a good percentage of their tribal youth undergraduates.

We know from research and experience that it is important for American Indian youth to stay connected to other tribal students for friendship and mentoring. Many tribal youth are the first in their family to enter a college or university, so finding kinship and support can help them transition to higher education and complete their degrees successfully. It also helps to have mentors among the university faculty and in support service personnel, and also to connect with elders in surrounding tribal communities while in college.

San Diego tribal youth should consider the services of San Diego-based American Indian Recruitment Programs (www.airprograms.org) and College Horizons (www.collegehorizons.org).

The List: 

In the California State University (CSU) system, the following 14 campuses (of 23) meet our criteria:

1. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (www.calpoly.edu) –about 150 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all students; AISES chapter, AISA (American Indian Student Association).
2. CSU Bakersfield (www.csub.edu) – about 75 AI undergraduates, representing about 1.5% of all undergrads.
3. CSU Chico (www.csuchico.edu) – about 140 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all undergrads; AI Studies minor, Native American (NA) banner project, NA collection, NA Music Awards.
4. *CSU Fresno (www.csufresno.edu) – about 145 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all undergrads; AI orientation, AI minor, AI club, AI Financial Aid Office coordinator, annual Powwow.
5. *CSU Fullerton (www.fullerton.edu) – about 120 AI undergraduates, representing about .5% of all undergrads, NA resource list in Career Center, Inter-Tribal Student Council, annual Powwow, NA month.
6. CSU Long Beach (www.csulb.edu) – about 160 AI undergraduates, representing less than 1% of all undergrads. AI Student Council, AI studies program, Powwow, AI study center.
7. *CSU Sacramento (www.csus.edu) – about 185 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all undergrads; NA Studies Program, NA Indian Alliance.
8. *CSU San Bernardino (www.csusb.edu) – about 85 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all undergrads. NA counselor on campus; NA Studies Program.
9. *CSU San Marcos (www.csusm.edu) – about 80 AI undergraduates, representing less than 1% of all undergrads; Native Studies Program, AI Student Alliance, NA Advisory Council, Tribal Task Force, CA Indian Culture & Sovereignty Center, Native youth conference, annual Powwow.
10. *CSU Stanislaus (www.csustan.edu) – about 45 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all undergrads. AI Alliance on campus, annual Powwow.
11. Humboldt State (www.humboldt.edu) – Unique among the CSU for the breadth of its programs, Humboldt State has about 145 AI undergraduates, representing about 2.5% of all undergrads. AISES chapter, Powwow on campus. Designated AI scholarships. Academic programs include a major in AI Studies; the Indian Natural Resource, Science and Engineering Program; Indian Teacher and Educational Personnel Program; and a minor and certificate program in AI Education. Humboldt’s Library has a strong collection on North American Indians. On the first Thursday of every November, the university hosts the American Indian College Motivation Day with “instant admission,” one of the program highlights. Since 1966, the campus has been home to the Center for Indian Community Development and recently (2007) opened the office of Indian Economic & Community Development. They also offer the Coalition for American Indians in Computing, a summer program for high school and community college students.
12. *San Diego State (www.sdsu.edu) – about 160 AI undergraduates, representing about .6% of all undergrads. NA Student Alliance, AI mentor, AI Studies Program, AI recruitment program, AI Youth Empowerment Conference, designated AI scholarship, AI Community Advisory Board, annual Powwow.
13. *San Francisco State (www.sfsu.edu) – about 120 AI undergraduates, representing about .6% of all undergrads. AI clubs and organizations on campus. Annual Powwow.
14. Sonoma State (www.sonoma.edu) – about 50 AI undergraduates, representing about .7% of all undergrads; NA Studies Program, Raza-NA Council, NA Career Resources.

In the University of California (UC) system, the following 8 campuses (of 9) meet our criteria:

1. *UC Berkeley (www.berkeley.edu) – about 120 AI undergraduates, representing about .5% of all undergrads. AISES chapter, Inter-Tribal Student Council, NA Studies Program, NA Recruitment and Retention Center. UCB’s AI advisor Bridget Wilson(Acoma Pueblo) was awarded the Native American Outreach Person of the Year in 2010. Annual Powwow.
2. *UC Davis (www.ucdavis.edu) – about 160 AI undergraduates, representing about .7% of all undergrads. AISES chapter, AI Financial Aid counselor, AI retention program, NA language center, NA Student Union, degree in NA Studies, annual Powwow.
3. *UC Irvine (www.uci.edu) – about 75 AI undergraduates, representing about .5% of all undergrads. AI Resource Program, AI Center, AISES chapter, AISA, NA studies program, annual Powwow.
4. *UCLA (www.ucla.edu) – about 100 AI undergraduates, representing about .5% of all undergrads. AISES chapter, AI student association, AI Center, AI journal, AI faculty, annual Powwow.
5. *UC Riverside (www.ucr.edu) – AISES chapter, NASA (Native American Student Association), NA student programs office, NA summer program, annual Powwow.
6. *UC San Diego (www.ucsd.edu) – about 95 AI undergraduates, representing less than .1% of all undergrads. Cross-cultural center, annual NA Day celebration, Ethnic Studies department.
7. UC Santa Barbara (www.ucsb.edu) – about 130 AI undergraduates, representing about .7% of all undergrads. AISES chapter, AI Student Association, AI Cultural Resource Center, AI Student Mentor Association, Society for Advancement of Chicano & Native Americans in Science.
8. *UC Santa Cruz (www.ucsc.edu) – about 120 AI undergraduates, representing about 1% of all undergrads. AI Resource Center, AI Mentor Program, Student Alliance of North American Indians, NA Affinity Group.

*The CSU and UC campuses listed above that are marked with an asterisk (*) are universities that have developed support programs for former foster youth, in addition to cultural support for their AI community (see our “CA Universities with FY Support Programs” page for additional information on campus support programs for former foster youth).

The following independent college & universities in California meet our criteria:

1. Pepperdine University (www.pepperdine.edu) – about 40 AI undergraduates, representing about 1.5% of all undergrads; NA Student Organization (NASO), NA Heritage Month.
2. Stanford University (www.stanford.edu) – about 150 AI undergraduates, representing about 2.5% of all undergrads. AISES chapter, NA mentor & programs, NA summer program, AI residence hall.
3. University of San Diego (www.sandiego.edu) – about 65 AI undergraduates, representing about 1.5% of all undergrads; NASO, AI Recruitment Program, AI mentor program.
4. University of Southern California (www.usc.edu) – about 120 AI undergraduates, representing just less than 1% of all undergrads.
5. Westmont College (www.westmont.edu) – about 30 AI undergraduates, representing about 2.3% of all undergrads; AI Studies Program.

I would like to give special acknowledgement to AISES (American Indian Science & Engineering Society) Publishing, Inc. for some of the preceding information. Data was derived from AISES survey results and Department of Education statistics, as reported in the 16^th annual “Winds of Change” College Guide. Information was corroborated and expanded (including statistics from individual college websites) in May, 2010; but programs and numbers are always subject to change.  In particular, I am indebted to the staff at Tribal STAR in the Academy for Professional Excellence, administered through SDSU’s School of Social Work, for their training, encouragement, and input.

A note about Tribal Colleges and Universities:

There are 36 tribal colleges and universities in the U.S. and one in Canada, but none is located in California. The closest tribal colleges are located in Arizona, and there are two: Diné College (www.dinecollege.edu) in Tsaile, a Navajo Nation community college; and Tohono O’odham Community College (www.tocc.cc.az.us) in Sells. Both campuses serve the residents of their respective tribal nations primarily; however, students of all nations are welcome. Because they are both two-year community colleges, students must transfer to a university in order to complete their undergraduate degree, and housing availability must be a consideration for prospective students. For a list of all the tribal colleges and universities in the United States, see the American Indian Higher Education Consortium website: http://www.aihec.org/colleges/index.cfm.

Additional university considerations for college-bound tribal youth from SD County:

1. Arizona State University (ASU), Tempe AZ (www.asu.edu): ASU offers a Bachelor of Science degree in American Indian (AI) Studies and has a large number of resources and programs that support Native youth on their campus, including the American Indian Student Support Services (AISSS), an AISES chapter, the Center for Indian Education (CIE), the AI Policy Institute (AIPI), and a number of other AI student associations in various academic programs. ASU also has an Office of the Special Advisor to the President on AI Affairs, designed to foster open communication between ASU and AI tribes, 22 of which are located in the state of Arizona. ASU is 4^th in the nation for the number of Bachelor degrees awarded (209) each year to American Indians (the top three are all in Oklahoma: Northeastern State, Oklahoma State, and the University of Oklahoma). ASU has more than 600 AI undergraduates at its main campus in Tempe representing 2% of all undergrads.
2. University of Arizona (UofA), Tucson AZ (www.arizona.edu) – AISES chapter, NA Student Affairs, NA dormitory, NA mentor program, AI graduate degrees, NA designated scholarship. U of A enrolls almost 600 AI undergraduates, accounting for almost 3% of all undergrads.
3. Northern Arizona University (NAU), Flagstaff AZ (www.nau.edu) – NAU is ranked 7^th in the nation for the number of Bachelor degrees (140) awarded each year to American Indians. NAU enrolls almost 750 AI undergraduates, representing more than 60 tribal affiliations and 6% of their total undergraduate student body. NA Student Services, NA Cultural Center, NA Leadership Series, NA Scholars Program, AI Heritage Month.
4. Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado (www.fortlewis.edu/) – Although located farther from San Diego County, our list would not be complete without making mention of Fort Lewis College. About 750 Native American students receive a full tuition scholarship here (the College offers a tuition waiver to all qualified Native American students)! Those students represent 121 American Indian tribes and Native Alaskan villages. Fort Lewis College is ranked 10^th highest in the nation for the number of Bachelor degrees (110) awarded each year to American Indians, and is 5^th highest in the nation for the percent of full-time AI undergraduates (19% ). A degree in Native American & Indigenous Studies is offered, they have an NA Center on campus and 11 NA clubs and organizations.