California State University, Chico traces its history to 1887, when a benefactor donated an eight-acre cherry orchard for the establishment of a school. Today, its main campus covers 132 acres. The university also manages 800 acres of farmland and more than 7,800 acres of ecological reserves.
Chico State, as it’s commonly called, is recognized by many organizations as one of the country's greenest campuses. That’s largely thanks to the undergraduates who host one of the country's largest student-run sustainability conferences.
The university has a six-year graduation rate of about 73%, and about two-thirds of its nearly 13,600 undergraduates receive financial aid. Its diverse student body is a globally minded one, with study abroad programs available in over 200 locations around the globe, including Cuba, Czech Republic, Ireland and Italy.
Chico’s Division II athletics program also keeps students active, offering 13 intercollegiate sports. A party atmosphere is known to take over on the weekends, but classes held outside among the trees and lunches by the campus creek provide tranquility during the rest of the week. The campus, which is home to more than 200 species of plants, was officially dedicated as an arboretum in 1982.
