Academics

Marin Spalding, left, and Marcus Peoples, on the right, sit side-by-side in a classroom with laptops opened in front of them. Both are dressed in formal clothing, smiling widely and clearly amused.

Students Travel, Grow, and Build Friendships Through Speech and Debate Team

The speech and debate team, which doubles as a club and a course, offers team members space to grow far beyond the competition stage.

Rio Miner poses for the camera with a colleague in a corporate conference room.

In the Midst of a Successful Career of Catching Bad Guys, Military Vet Pursues Online MBA

After a long and successful career first in the military and then the financial industry, Rio Miner enrolled in Chico State's online MBA program to further his career and fill in the gaps in his business acumen.

Mateus Avalos, wearing a black polo shirt and khaki pants, sits on a bench in front of a brick building for a posed photo.

Construction Management Student Gets Solid Start to Future

Senior construction management major Mateus Avalos went from novice to leader in the program—securing three internships and helping lead community service projects in his hometown of Chico.

A group of young children stand in a circle with four older teachers crouching down to play a game with a ball.

Kinesiology Major Finds Groove in Adapted Physical Education

From hating PE to aspiring to change how it is taught, Drew Jones’ passion for adapted physical education has taken her on a journey of service-learning opportunities and to pursue her teaching credential.

Hands hold down a piece of fossilized bone.

Students, Faculty Embrace New Fossils from Ever-Growing ‘Miocene Zoo’ Site

Chico State continues to lead the way in making scientific determinations from the findings at a Northern California site.

A student (left), wearing an orange safety vest, kneels alongside Professor Mohammed Albahttiti (right) while the two work on installing pavers at the site of a community service project at the Chico Islamic Center.

Office Hours: Concrete Industry Management Professor Mohammed Albahttiti

CIM Professor Mohammed Albahttiti empowers students through hands-on service-learning projects that connect theory with real-world application.

A Chico State educator interacts with children using hulahoops on a playground at a school in the UAE.

Students Embrace Trip to UAE as Moment of Cultural Education, Community

A donor-funded trip to study adapted physical education and communication disorders was both educational and rewarding.

Madeline Litman, one of the 2022-2023 recipients of the Lieutenant Robert Merton Rawlins Merit Award, is photographed.

Introducing Madeline Litman: 2023 Lt. Rawlins Merit Scholarship Recipient

While at Chico State, Madeline Litman's work ethic, perseverance, and maturity have led to leadership roles in student clubs, a stellar academic career, and now a prestigious Rawlins Merit Scholarship.

A stop-motion animation character rests between takes

Digital Media Classes Cultivate Creativity

Blending stop-motion animation, film, and art, Josh Funk's digital media classes prove to be extremely popular—and fun.

Portrait of Theodore Greenfield who is wearing sunglasses, and a blue button up dress shirt.

Introducing Theodore Greenfield: 2023 Lt. Rawlins Merit Scholarship Recipient

Theodore Greenfield, a father of two and elementary school band instructor, hopes to become a high school math teacher to share his love for the subject.

Tal Slemrod and the newly converted Mobile Classroom.

School of Education Launches Mobile Classroom Project

The SOE's newly retrofitted classroom on-the-go RV makes its first trip into the community.

Joel Solis sits and smiles for the camera while holding a photograph he took. His painting of a Latina street vendor is seen in the background.

BFA Graduate Drawn to Chico State’s Art Program

Inspired by his culture, BFA graduate Joel Solis dedicated his culminating exhibition to Latino street vendors around Butte County.

Ty Weber, dressed in a suit, sits at a desk.

Can Psychedelic Drugs Treat Mental Illness? One Grad Student’s Quest to Find Out

Chico State graduate student Ty Weber is collecting data to research whether psychedelic drugs may be helpful in treating mental health disorders.

Cole Schmitt, a white cisgender male student, is perched on a log in the creek that runs through Chico State campus.

Biology Student Among First to Research Fish’s Unusual Schooling Pattern

Cole Schmitt has been working with the National Systemics Laboratory and the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, studying the vertical schooling behavior of the cutlassfish.

Ahart Herbarium Rooted in Goal to Study Plants Over Time

Boasting more than 125,000 dried and mounted specimens, the University’s Ahart Herbarium is the most complete repository of plant specimens from northeastern California and its collection is now available to naturalists around the globe.

A teacher stands in front of a classroom discussing what is displayed on the screen

‘Latinx and Immigration’ Class Dives Deeper into Lived Experiences

With a course as relevant and impactful as "Latinx and Immigration," MCGS faculty Gabby Medina Falzone is also preparing her students for their post-graduation goals.

Hands adjust the positioning of a roof on a small wooden model of a home, with the view cast toward the front entrance with a covered porch flanked by large windows.

Interior Architecture Students Design Free Floor Plans for Wildfire Survivors

Under the guidance of interior architecture professor Rouben Mohiuddin, 30 design students have worked on floor plans that have now been used to build more than a dozen homes in the Camp Fire footprint.

The front of an academic building is lit up, with the cloudless summer sky behind it.

Three-Year, $13.4 Million Grant for School of Education Will Help Ease Future Teachers’ Financial Burdens

The School of Education has received a three-year, $13.4 million grant to help ease the financial burden of North State students working toward their goal of becoming a teacher.

Farhan Rehman and Esteban Teran adjust the lasers that work to cool the atoms.

Ultracold Atom Lab Attempting to Cross ‘Unreachable’ Threshold

With the ultra-high vacuum chamber up and running, the University's ultracold atom chamber is ready to cool atoms to near absolute zero so they display their true quantum nature.

Nicholas Esparza looks through the high vacuum chamber in the ultracold lab.

Student Researchers Share Insight into Summer Projects

CSC² has supported nearly 300 students in undergraduate research projects across the three colleges.

A grid of diamond-shaped images shows students engaging in various kinds of research, from looking through a vaccum chamber to attaching wildlife cams to trees to working with mushrooms, to looking through a container filled with zebrafish.

Multimillion-Dollar Grants Provide Undergraduate Research Opportunities to Underserved Students in STEM

Since 2016, the Chico STEM Connections Collaborative has provided academic and other support services to historically underserved students in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and agriculture.

Manny Lopez stands in a field of sheep with a feed bucket.

Animal Science Major Embraces Role of Lead Shepherd in Sheep Unit

Since arriving at Chico State in fall 2019, Manny Lopez has been an integral part of the University Farm’s Sheep Unit and today serves as its lead shepherd.

The sun sets behind an academic building

Chico State Once Again Recognized as Fulbright HSI Institutional Leader

Chico State has been recognized as a 2022 Fulbright HSI Leader for its noteworthy engagement with the Fulbright Program during the 2021-2022 academic year.

Clouds laden in sunlight float behind an academic building with the words "Joy of Learning, California State University Chico" in the foreground

Joy of Learning Showcases Faculty Expertise

With topics ranging from neuroscience to animal nutrition to sustainable electronics, eight faculty members who reflect the top of their disciplines will present on their area of expertise.

Anthropology Faculty Reflects on Fulbright Experience in Jordan

Anthropology faculty Jesse Dizard shares about his experience as a Fulbright Scholar in Jordan.

Wearing a labcoat and safety goggles, Anna Vo reaches for a test tube while another student works in the lab behind her.

Natural Sciences Students Put Themselves Under the Microscope During Summer Research

The College of Natural Sciences’ Summer Research Institutes provide students with hands-on experience with a research topic in their field of study.

Karina Haddad walks through the woods in fall with a drip torch and shovel to conduct a prescribed burn.

Innovative Program Strives to Protect the Wildlands of the West

The first of its kind in the CSU, the interdisciplinary master's degree in wildland management is graduating students from its inaugural cohort.

Steven Dyer poses in front of a building

New Art Teacher Brings Professional and Personal Success to Chico State

Steven Durow enjoyed tremendous success as a professional artist—but teaching has always been at the heart of his craft.

Aubrey Miller holds a handful of tootbrush fibers in her hand in the concrete lab.

Students Set the Future in Concrete

Just one of five programs of its kind in the United States, our Concrete Industry Management Program is creating the workforce for a $200 billion industry. With a 100 percent job-placement rate and a cross-disciplinary approach that ensures our graduates can lead in the boardroom and at the job site, CIM students are solving some of the industry’s greatest challenges.