About

San Diego State University Imperial Valley is a branch campus of San Diego State University serving Imperial County, California, and its population of approximately 180,000 people. Established in 1959 by an act of the State legislature, the campus is accredited as an integral division of SDSU and operates under the same academic calendar.

The campus has two locations: Calexico and Brawley. The Calexico site, six blocks from the Mexican border, allows for involvement in a truly bicultural environment. Just across the border is Mexicali, the capital of Baja California, a city of more than one million people. The Brawley site, located 24 miles north of Calexico amidst rich agricultural lands, is fast becoming a research focus and a centerpiece for Imperial County’s rapidly expanding renewable energy industry.

SDSU-Imperial Valley offers four-year undergraduate education. The campus also offers the last two years of undergraduate education to transfer students, as well as graduate programs and fifth-year teacher credential programs.

Given the campus’s proximity to Mexico, many members of the faculty are transnational in their classroom orientation and research interests. Smart classroom technology provides students the opportunity to take courses online, and to participate in classes broadcast live from the campus in San Diego. While many classes are offered on a traditional university schedule, a number are offered in the evenings in three-hour blocks enabling students to work full-time while pursuing their degrees. Student clubs, student government, lectures and colloquia, art exhibits and musical events enhance education for the approximately 1,000 students at the Imperial Valley Campus.

SDSU-Imperial Valley is within easy driving distance of San Diego, Yuma, and Palm Springs. With its desert climate, low rainfall, and mild winters, our area is an ideal location for hiking, bicycling, horseback riding, and off-road recreation. Nearby recreational areas include the Colorado River, the Sea of Cortez, the Pacific Ocean, the Laguna Mountains, the Glamis dunes, several state and national parks, and the Salton Sea – California’s largest inland lake.