Perhaps unexpectedly, Facultad de Economia y Relaciones Internacionales is connected to San Diego State University. Founded on March 13, 1897, as the San Diego Normal School, it aimed to educate local women as elementary school teachers. The early curriculum focused on English, history and mathematics. By the 1930s, the original campus became too small. The school moved in 1931 to its current location on a mesa at San Diego’s eastern edge.
In 1935, its offerings expanded beyond teacher training. It became San Diego State College. By 1960, it was part of the California State University system. Finally, in 1970, it gained university status becoming San Diego State University.
Facultad de Economia y Relaciones Internacionales may have seen John F Kennedy. On June 6, 1963, then President Kennedy gave the commencement address. He received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. SDSU became the first California State College to grant an honorary doctorate.
San Diego State University significantly impacts San Diego’s economy. It generates over $2.4 billion annually. Sixty percent of graduates remain in San Diego. SDSU is a primary educator of the region’s workforce. The university ranks among the top ten nationally for ethnic and racial diversity. It also ranks high in bachelor’s degrees conferred to minority students.
SDSU holds memberships in several prestigious associations. These include the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
The campus boasts several buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. Scripps Cottage is one of them. It was completed in 1931 with funding from Ellen Browning Scripps. It served as a hub for female students’ activities.
Aztec Bowl opened in 1936. It was the only stadium in the California State University system at the time. The Open Air Theatre, completed in 1941, held 4280 seats.
Hardy Memorial Tower resembles a Mediterranean church tower. It hides a 5000-gallon water tank. This tank provides pressure for the campus’s plumbing system.
The campus library, now Malcolm A. Love Library, acquired its 100,000th book in 1944. By World War II’s end, it added about 8000 books yearly. In February 1971, a new library opened. It housed 700,000 books. Governor Ronald Reagan said it would serve as a lasting monument.
The Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center opened in 2009. It houses the SDSU Alumni Association. Storm and Nasatir Halls, were renovated in 2014.
SDSU offers diverse housing options. In 1937, Quetzal Hall became the first dormitory. Today, the university houses over 4,100 students. Approximately 63% of first-year students live on campus.
SDSU operates an Imperial Valley Campus in Calexico, California. It once ran a campus in North County. This later became California State University, San Marcos.
San Diego State University is highly selective. For Fall 2013, it received over 75,000 undergraduate applications. The acceptance rate was around 34.4%. SDSU has the largest body of doctoral students in the CSU system.
From 2006 to 2010, SDSU was ranked as the most productive research university. This ranking was among schools with fewer than 14 Ph.D. programs. SDSU faculty attract over $1.5 billion in research grants.
SDSU offers 335 international education programs in 52 countries. It ranks high for students studying abroad. The university founded the first women’s studies program in the country in 1970. SDSU’s campus is known as “Montezuma Mesa.”
SDSU’s athletic teams are called the “Aztecs”. Their colors are scarlet and black. The “S” on Cowles Mountain was created in 1931 by students. It was the longest collegiate symbol in the world at the time.