Long Beach State University Among Top in Nation Awarding STEM Degrees to Minority Students
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 13, 2018) – Long Beach State University is among the top U.S. universities awarding engineering and other STEM degrees to minority students.
The Long Beach campus issued the 14th-most bachelor’s degrees to minority students among U.S. universities during the 2016-17 academic year, according to the July 26 issue of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education.
“We appreciate the recognition for the work of our colleges’ leadership and faculty as they continue strengthening our STEM-related education offerings,” said Brian Jersky, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “The campus has a long history of success in educating a richly diverse population of students. It is because of our focus on inclusive excellence that we can provide a transformative education for all the outstanding students who come to us. This, in turn, benefits the many communities we serve.”
The magazine’s rankings are based on preliminary U.S. Department of Education data. The July 26 issue listed the nation’s Top 100 universities for awarding bachelor’s degrees to minority students in engineering; computer and information sciences and support services; and mathematics and statistics. The issue also listed the Top 50 institutions producing bachelor’s degrees for minority students in the physical sciences.
“The College of Engineering is committed to providing educational services to a diverse student population,” College of Engineering Dean Forouzan Golshani said. “Our dedication to the success of all of our students has resulted in a significant increase in the number of our graduates. Current projections indicate we should be able to continue our success in this area.”
The Long Beach campus awarded 426 bachelor’s degrees in engineering to minority students during 2016-17, according to the publication. That figure represented 62 percent of all students who earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
“It gives me great pleasure to see how highly we rank nationally in producing underrepresented STEM graduates,” College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Dean Curtis D. Bennett said. “We have wonderful faculty that are highly committed to helping all students succeed. These faculty seek out grants that provide students with the chance to work one-on-one with faculty on cutting edge research. In addition, our commitment to first-year learning communities helps students succeed in the early years of college. While these results are wonderful, we aspire to do even better in the future.”
The campus’ College of Business Administration also helps STEM-minded students reach their career goals. The college’s Department of Information Systems offers courses in such subjects as e-commerce, business application programming, and systems analysis and design.
“All of our students work hard to achieve success in classrooms and in careers. I am so proud of them because they know that they will have to earn any success that they will achieve,” College of Business Administration Dean Michael E. Solt said. “Our students don’t ask anyone to give them anything except the opportunity to compete and excel.”
The magazine’s annual Top 100 Degree Producers rankings, assessing degrees awarded to minority students at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels, is scheduled for its August 23 issue.
How Cal State Long Beach ranked in other STEM fields:
- Mathematics and statistics – 20th Place
- Physical sciences – 22nd Place
- Computer and information sciences and support services – 56th Place
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About the campus:Long Beach State University is a teaching-intensive, research-driven university committed to providing highly valued undergraduate and graduate degrees critical for success in the globally minded 21st century. Annually ranked among the best universities in the West and among the best values in the entire nation, the university’s eight colleges serve more than 37,500 students. The campus values and is recognized for rich educational opportunities provided by excellent faculty and staff, exceptional degree programs, diversity of its student body, fiduciary and administrative responsibility and the positive contributions faculty, staff, students and more than 300,000 alumni make on society.
