California State University, Los Angeles

Established in 1947, the California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is located in the heart of Los Angeles.

The main hilltop campus is 175 acres and hosts the first Charter College of Education in the United States, one of the best business degree courses in the country, and the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center as well as several other leading departments and centres. Some on-campus housing is available for students although most choose to live off-campus.

There are eight main academic colleges – the college of arts and letters, the college of business and economics, the charter college of education, the college of engineering, computer science and technology, the Rongxiang Xu College of Health and Human Services, the college of natural and social sciences, and the college of professional and global education.

The university has competed in solar car races in the United States and Australia, winning in 1997. The university has received international recognition for its Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility, the first station in the United States to be certified to sell fuel by the kilogram to the public.

Among the famous alumni are former champion tennis player Billie Jean King, Rosario Marin, who served as the 41st Treasurer of the United States, economist Walter E. Williams and Alfonso Ribiero, who played Carlton in hit series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.