Humboldt State University - Academics

Academics

The university is divided into three colleges: the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; the College of Natural Resources and Sciences; and the College of Professional Studies. There are 44 undergraduate majors and 73 minors. The two largest majors are Biology and Art, both with over 20 faculty members and extensive facilities on- and off-campus. There are several credential programs and twelve Master's programs, of which Natural Resources and Social Work are the largest. The new Energy, Environment, and Society graduate program is unique to the CSU, and provides graduates with interdisciplinary training in engineering, economics, and climate policy.

Humboldt State is one of only two universities in California to offer a major in Botany, the other being Cal Poly Pomona. Its botany program is the nation’s largest undergraduate program. Humboldt State is the only university in California to offer a degree in Rangeland Resources and Wildland Soils. The Native American Studies major and the Oceanography major are also unique to the California State University system. The university offers unique minors including Multicultural Queer Studies, Scientific Diving, and Appropriate Technology. The university's location on the North Coast provides access to the Pacific Ocean, lagoons, marshes, estuaries, and the Fred Telonicher Marine Laboratory, which provides opportunities for "hands-on" experiences and research for the sciences.

Humboldt State University is one of the few universities in the nation with a state-of-the-art fire lab. Its fire science program teaches modern techniques for managing wildfire, and an advanced training program is offered for Forest Service employees and similar professionals.

Humboldt State University has an International student population that has quadrupled in the last five years. The International English Language Institute has worked alongside HSU for 22 years to help international students gain academic English language skills to further their academic pursuits and business careers.

The Office of Extended Education (OEE) is a self-supporting outreach department of Humboldt State University that provides a variety of academic, professional development and personal enrichment opportunities. While OEE programs are open to most everyone, there is an emphasis on providing access to those community members who are not matriculated students at the university. Non-matriculated students may take some regular university courses through the OEE Open University program. High school students may take regular HSU courses through the OEE High School Concurrent Enrollment Program. Also, those aged 60 and over may take regular HSU classes through the Over 60 Program. OEE also offers a wide range of diverse and eclectic programs. Examples include music and art programs for children, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for those aged 50 and over, foreign language classes, travel-study programs, continuing education for teachers, MFT/LCSW, nurses, and law enforcement, to name a few.

In 1998 Humboldt State University opened the HSU First Street Gallery in Old Town Eureka, expanding community access to the university’s cultural and fine arts programs. In 2007, the university further expanded its presence in Eureka with the opening of the HSU Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, a $4.5 million aquatic facility on the bay in Old Town Eureka. Future plans include a new HSU Bay and Estuarine Studies Center. This new facility will be closer to the Coral Sea (now docked at Woodley Island, Eureka), which is the only vessel in a US educational institution solely dedicated to undergraduate research. The new facility would be considerably larger than the other existing facility, the Fred Telonicher Marine Laboratory in Trinidad, twenty miles (32 km) north.

Humboldt State University Professor Steve Sillett has conducted groundbreaking research on redwood forest canopies and was featured in a 2009 cover story in National Geographic. He holds the Kenneth L. Fisher Chair in Redwood Forest Ecology, the only endowed chair in the world dedicated to a single tree species.