California State University, Northridge

Home to over 41,000 students, California State University-Northridge (CSUN) is the biggest institution in the 23-member California State University system, as well as being one of the largest single-campus universities in the United States.

The university was established in 1958 as San Fernando Valley State College, and a year later it became the first State College with its own computer. During CSUN’s first years there were several anti-war protests and race relations were strained as a result of the low minority representation at the university, which resulted in a drive to diversify the student population.

In 1972, the university adopted its current name.

One of the most significant events in the university’s history was the 6.7-magnitude Northridge earthquake in 1994, which caused more than $400 million in damage to the campus. Fortunately, no one was killed in the event, but a lot of the campus had to be rebuilt over the following years.

Today there are nine CSUN colleges, offering 68 baccalaureate degrees, 58 master’s degree courses and two doctorate degrees. All colleges are located on the university campus in Northridge, just a short drive from downtown Los Angeles. Notable points of interest on campus include the CSUN Botanic Garden, the Oviatt Library, which contained more than 1.4 million volumes, and the National Center on Deafness, which serves around 200 deaf CSUN students.

There are a vast number of notable CSUN graduates, some of whom have become household names across the world. Among them are actresses Helen Hunt, Eva Longoria, and Alyson Hannigan, former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, artist and civil rights activist Judy Baca, astronaut Scott Horowitz, 50-billion-dollar man Dan Pena, and Chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Alex Yemenidjian.