California offers more than 100 public state colleges.
California manages three major systems of public higher education: the University of California, California State University and California Community Colleges. As of 2011, the UC system operates 10 campuses, the CSU system has 23 campuses and the community college system includes 112 campuses. The northern part of the state is home to five UC, nine CSU and 50 community college campuses.
University of California
Northern California colleges that are part of the UC system include UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, UC Merced and UC San Francisco. Founded in 1869, the system started with 38 students and 10 faculty members. As of 2011, the system educates more than 220,000 students and employs more than 170,000 faculty and staff. The University of California manages three national laboratories for the U.S. Department of Energy, including one that was founded on the campus of UC Berkeley in 1931. Five UC schools operate medical centers, including UC San Francisco and UC Davis.
California State University
The California State University system's roots go back to 1857, when it was founded as the Weekly Normal School, a training school for teachers. In 2011, CSU has nine schools in northern California, including Humboldt State University, CSU Sacramento, San Francisco State University and Sonoma State University. The system went through several name changes, including Teachers Colleges and State Colleges, before settling on its current designation in 1982. In the fall term of 2010, CSU campuses statewide enrolled more than 400,000 students, including more than 130,000 at the northern California campuses.
California Community Colleges
Officially, the community college system was born in 1907, when the California legislature passed the Upward Extension Law to allow high schools to offer post-diploma, college level courses, though some programs may already have been in place at that time. The legislature soon followed up with a funding plan and the formation of college districts to govern the schools. As of 2011, more than 2.9 million students attend California's public community colleges.
Tuition and Financial Aid
For the 2010-11 academic school year, UC full-time undergraduate tuition and fees for California residents is $29,450 if living on campus and $27,136 if living off campus. CSU full-time undergraduate tuition is $2,115 per semester and $1,410 per quarter. Tuition at all of the community colleges is $26 per credit-hour for California residents. All California state colleges offer financial aid assistance in the form of grants, scholarships, federal work study and loans.
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