CAL State Long Beach is a diverse, student-centered, globally-engaged public university serving to provide highly-valued undergraduate and graduate education through superior teaching, research, creative activity and service for the people of California and the world.

Founded as Los Angeles-Orange County State College in 1949, the university welcomed its first group of students, which contained 169 juniors and seniors. The schedule listed 25 courses in five undergraduate majors taught by 13 faculty members. Two decades later the rapidly growing institution had earned designation as a university and became the largest single campus in the California State University system.

Academics
Repeatedly ranked as “One of the Top Five Public Comprehensive Universities in the Western United States” by U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges Guide, California State University, Long Beach is a diverse, student-centered, globally engaged university providing highly valued undergraduate and graduate programs of study through superior teaching, research, creative activity, and service for the people of California and the world.

In addition to colleges of Education and Business Administration, CSULB developed a nationally recognized College of the Arts, a College of Engineering, and a College of Health and Human Services that prepares a wide range of skilled personnel for the health care industry. At the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Natural Science and Mathematics, students receive asolid foundation in general education.

Apart from the majors offered on-campus, students can profit from taking online degrees and certificate programs as well as certain classes in order to receive credits they need and save their time.

Financial Aid
The financial aid opportunities are numerous and include grants, loans, scholarships and student employment options:

•    Grants are given by such institutions as the Federal Government, California Student Aid Commission, and CSULB. They are awarded to students with great financial need and do not have to be repaid.
• Loans are usually federally funded but they have to be repaid. Types of loans may be the following: Federal Perkins Loan, Stafford Loans, and Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).
• Scholarships are funds given to individual students from various local community groups and corporate donors. There is no need for a student to repay a scholarship, the latter however usually requires a separate application.
• Student Employment opportunities include Federal Work-Study program, which is federally funded and provides employment opportunities to students with the highest financial need. Placement is limited.