Cal State Hayward Continues to be Popular Destination for International Students Seeking Higher Education


With its enrollment of international students increasing by 149 percent during the past five years, California State University, Hayward ranks among the most popular destinations for international students, attracting them from more than 80 countries.

This data is part of an annual survey that was released recently by the Institute of International Education, which said that CSUH ranks No. 8 among all master’s degree institutions in the United States for enrolling graduate and undergraduate international students.

Cal State Hayward ranks third in the California State University system behind only San Francisco State and Long Beach State for international students seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees.

With an overall student enrollment almost twice that of Cal State Hayward’s 14,000 students, SFSU’s increase in international enrollment was 3 percent as of the Fall 2002 while CSUH’s matriculated international enrollment increased by more than 8 percent. Cal State Hayward’s international enrollment stands at 837, an increase of 62 over the 775 enrolled for the fall of 2001. Its international enrollment in the fall 1997 quarter was 335.

CSUH continues to show “a pattern of positive growth” in the category, according to Ray Wallace, director of International Programs.

“We are especially proud of our continuing high level of enrollment of and interest from international students because this institution’s required score on the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) for admission of undergraduates is higher than that of either San Francisco State or Long Beach State,” Wallace said. “Their minimum score for admission is 500, while ours is 525.”

Wallace attributes the ongoing increase to more enhanced recruiting efforts and the excellent work done by the admissions office in processing international applications.

“Successful marketing and recruitment is always the product of team work and joint effort,” Wallace said. “That team work, which includes CSUH’s dedication to providing international students with more extensive support services, including counseling, appropriate student organizations and activities, and a thorough orientation program, has really had an impact,” said Wallace.

Along with specialized organizations to accommodate academic interests, there are a wide variety of cultural clubs on campus that reach out to students of European, Afghan, African, Asian Pacific, Chinese, Indonesian, Hong Kong, Indian, Hispanic, and Philipino backgrounds.
“We’ve established a positive reputation for Cal State Hayward throughout the world because of our high quality academic programs, ” Wallace said. “Those programs, combined with our services and the great weather that we enjoy here in the East Bay, along with the great diversity of our campus, makes us a popular destination for students from all parts of the world.”

Matriculated students do not include those enrolled through Cal State Hayward’s division of Extended and Continuing Education, its American Language program, or other short-term visitors, students and scholars.

Detailed nationwide data on international students is available online through the Institute of International Education’s Web site at: http://www.iienetwork.org.

Media Contact: Barry Zepel, Office of Public Affairs, (510) 885-3884