California State University-Los Angeles Reviews

"Very competitive program allows students to flourish within various counseling careers. Faculty are readily available and care about the success of each student. Program offers many opportunities to network including school campuses, therapists, and other counseling students. Programs also provides students with easy access to technology including iPads for recording therapy sessions, use of therapy clinics, and other school resources for students to utilize, in order for students to save finances and to receive optimum learning. Campus is considered a commuter school so meeting other students and getting to know them well is difficult. However, this graduate program provides very intimate settings so getting to know other students allows room for intimacy and camaraderie."

"When compared to the more expensive Social Work schools in the LA area, such as UCLA and USC, Cal State LA is the most bang for your buck! I did the math and here are the three schools in comparison. USC was by far the most expensive, almost double that of UCLA. Cal State LA's tuition is half of UCLA's tuition. The MSW degree nevertheless is the same after all. Think of it this way: Do you want to have a posh study environment, be able to say that you went to a prestigious school, and brag about it, but end up left with a student loan that you have to pay back immediately after you graduated? Or do you want to not have to stress about paying back your hefty student loan? Another reason I chose Cal State LA over the other two (and over other Cal State Universities) is that Cal State LA is the only social work program in Southern California that offers a forensic concentration. This concentration prepares those students interested in working with the offender population in a very thorough way. The faculty is absolutely A-class and very supportive of the student's needs. Furthermore, those students who chose to conduct their independent research projects for their thesis are being fully supported and encouraged by the faculty. The school made it possible that a professor who does not teach thesis class this year is going to be my thesis advisor, because she is very familiar with my topic. Finally, the MSW student population at Cal State LA is highly diversified in terms of racial and socioeconomic composition, which is an ideal environment to learn how to become a true social worker. If I had to chose again, I would choose Cal State LA again without hesitation."

"Pros: very friendly and cozy study environment Easily acess to faculty members The new student union is very nice and lots of activities going on around the campus Flexible schedule Cons: Only one Ph.D program"

"I am very pleased with the education I am receiving at CSULA. The professors are supportive and genuinely care about student success."

"Affordable, fast-paced program for graduates. Other schools offer free MS Office and essential software, while this school requires you to use the computer lab or purchase your own software in order to access some electronic resources."

"Everything is ok except for the quality of instructors. The instructors are people with extreme psychological problems which shows by their bitterness and contempt for their job."

"CSULA has a well established MSW program and offers many opportunities to grow skills in and out of the classroom."

"The program is pretty good and has exposed me to multicultural and global environment. The professors have extensive backgrounds in their field and they demonstrate a genuine desire to teach and help the students to achieve their goals. They would keep you updated with all the conferences and competitions (related to our field of study) happening across the country and encourage you to participate. The College of Business and Economics also gives Travel Awards for students who want to participate in out-of-state conferences."

"Classes are challenging and rewarding! All of the professors in the program are great as well."

"The K-12 Educational Leadership program has a very diverse student cohort, which provides for varied and rich class discussions and interests. The professors seem to be very supportive so far and also very knowledgeable."

"The pros about my graduate program is the Professors are great. They are always friendly and willing to answer any questions i may have. the Cons is registration. Schools are very impacted so depending on the amount of students, sometimes my registration is not good. However, i am still able to get into some classes without trying to add."

"The pros of graduate school at that once I complete the program I will be able to obtain a position in the Social Work field that will provide me with more experience and will allow me to eventually fullfill my dream of becoming a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. Masters Programs provide more subject specific education and allows for students to go into their field of study with more insight into their field of choice. The only con of a Master program that I see is that it costs a lot of money and makes it difficult for students to work during the program."

"The pros of the program is that i can do both my credentials for student teaching, and my masters at the same time. The cons of this program is the classes are specifically put in afternoons than mornings. It needs more options."

"I recently graduated with my M.A. in archaeology from CSULA with an emphasis in California coastal archaeology. Upon graduation I was accepted into UC Davis and am currently pursuing my Ph.D. The California Coastal Archaeology Lab (CCAL) at CSULA provided me with vital training in archaeological method and theory, research design, and even provided me support to publish in academic journals and present at professional conferences. I would not trade my experiences here for anything. In my opinion, CSULA has one of the best archaeology programs in the state."

"The sociology department is pretty small but I've got to learn under some of the greatest professors."

"The MS Counseling option in Applied Behavior Analysis at CSULA is a well known and respectable program locally and internationally."

"There are a number of areas that Anthropology at CalStateLA does very well. The first is providing opportunities for students to develop, present and publish original research. Second, is guidance and support for grant, scholarship, and graduate applications. Winning funding is one of the most difficult and necessary processes for academic success, and Anthropology is a model department in this area. Third, is the camaraderie that our field encourages and our faculty supports. I can best speak to archaeology which is, by nature, a team endeavor. We root for, compete against, and depend upon one another to succeed. The cons always come back to budgetary constraints that state schools across California suffer. Still, by being creative, our faculty continues to offer wonderful and unique opportunities for students. My time in the Anthropology program has been incredibly rewarding both academically and professionally."

"My education at CSULA could not have been better. The support and research opportunities available allowed me to get involved in professional archaeological investigations since I was an undergraduate student. I was able to work four seasons at Midnight Terror Cave in Belize, presented at the Society for American Archaeology on five occasion, as well as publish a number of papers. The mentoring at this institution was crucial in helping me win the Soros Fellowship for New Americans that gave me up to $90,000 over two years. Today, thanks to the supportive nature of the anthropology program at CSULA, I am at a PhD program at Boston University with full funding for six years."

"The professors try very hard to be supportive of the students, they also push us to expand our horizons by participating in our field as much as possible."

"When I started to look into potential graduate programs in Anthropology, Cal State L.A. immediately distinguished itself by having the most active Mesoamerican field program in Southern California. During a campus visit, I was impressed by the bulletin boards illustrating the many students participating in field schools, presenting papers at professional conferences, and winning awards. I saw students translating their academic achievements at Cal State L.A. into acceptance in Ph.D. program. The faculty in the Anthropology program is extremely supportive, encouraging students to not find only success academically, but to also to apply for scholarships and get involved in campus activities. They work to help their mentees transform from students into professionals, knowledgeable not only in their own sub-discipline of anthropology, but also in all four sub fields of anthropology."