Feels like family.

Imagine a big family—one that’s warm, welcoming, smart, and fun. That’s California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI), a four-year, public university in Camarillo, California. Established in 2002, we’re the youngest of 23 campuses in the CSU family.

Location

While our name suggests we’re surrounded by water, relax. You won’t need a ferry to get here. Camarillo is midway between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles and just 25 miles from Malibu. CSUCI is nestled against the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains—and close to the Pacific Ocean and the Pacific Coast Highway.

Economic Impact

As the only public four-year university in Ventura County, CSU Channel Islands is a unique institution in the region. Its economic and fiscal impacts benefit the economies of the Local Area, Ventura County, and the entire State. These impacts generate significant benefits in the form of increased employment, labor income, and economic output. Moreover, CSUCI’s operations generate millions in tax revenue — money that goes toward important public services.

Rankings

CollegeNET –has ranked CSUCI 20th out of 1,449 universities in the nation in the “Social Mobility Index” (2020). The SMI measures the extent to which a college or university educates more economically-disadvantaged students at a lower tuition rate, then graduates them into promising careers.

College Magazine – has ranked CSUCI 6th among the "Top 10 Colleges for Surfers" across the nation (2018) by College Magazine, a national guide and quarterly magazine edited by students.

MONEY Magazine – has ranked CSUCI 4th as "Best College for Transfer Students" in the nation (2018) for transfer student success. MONEY selected colleges from the 727 institutions listed in their 2018 Best Colleges ranking, eliminating colleges that ranked in the bottom half and anywhere transfer students in the fall of 2017 comprised less than 15% enrollment.

Additionally, MONEY named CSUCI as the 15th "Most Transformative College" (2020) in the nation. Money states, "What's impressive is when students beat the odds by doing better than would be expected from their academic and economic backgrounds. Money calls it 'value-added' based on graduation rates, earnings, and student loan repayment.

RegisteredNursing.org– has ranked CSUCI’s Nursing program as the 11th best program (2020) in the state of California out of 126 nursing schools by analyzing current and historical pass rates of students who take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). CSUCI’s Nursing program NCLEX pass rate is frequently 100%, or in the high 90th percentile for each graduating class.

U.S. News & World Report– CSUCI's ranking in the 2021 edition of Best Colleges is  20th among "Top Public Schools" based in part on graduation rates, faculty resources, admissions selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving, location, campus life; a range of academic offerings, activities, and sports; and cost and the availability of financial aid.  Additionally, in the Regional Universities West category, CSUCI placed 43rd.

In the category of "Top Performers on Social Mobility," which measures how well schools graduate students who are Pell Grant recipients, CSUCI ranked 21st.

Washington Monthly – has ranked CSUCI for 2020 as 19th for "Best Bang for the Buck – West." Best value based on cost, graduation rate, Pell performance, first-generation performance, and earnings performance.