College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
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The San Diego State University Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition

What is the faculty composition at SDSU ?

Check out the information on class structures and faculty to get a feel for the academic life at SDSU .

Student to Faculty Ratio Here is Low

San Diego State University , with 27 students for every instructional faculty member, ranks among the lowest in comparison to the national average of 15 :1. This ratio indicates that the number of students split between the same faculty is much higher than normal, and could mean students will experience larger class sizes and fewer opportunities to connect with professors, especially in introductory courses.

Instructional Staff at the College

The following table shows all the employees the school considers instructional, and therefore, part of the above student-to-faculty ratio. These include both those employees designated as either "primarily instructional" or as "instructional combined with research/public service". It does not include employees that have been identified by San Diego State University as primarily performing research or public service.

TotalFull TimePart TimePercent Full Time
Total of Instructional Employees1,85895490451.3%
Total of Those With Faculty Status1,84295488851.8%
Tenured Faculty5895533693.9%
On Tenure Track213209498.1%
Not on Tenure Track1,04019284818.5%
Without Faculty Status16-16-
Graduate Assistants542-542-

Average Use of Full-Time Teachers

At San Diego State University ,51.0% of the teaching staff are full time, which is on average when compared nationally.

This School Hires an Average Number of Adjuncts

47.0% of the teaching staff at San Diego State University are part-time non-faculty or non-tenure track faculty. This use of adjuncts is on par with the national average of 51.4% .

Colleges often use part-time professors and adjuncts to teach courses, rather than full-time faculty. This hiring practice is primarily a way to save money amid increasingly tight budgets. However, it is a controversial practice with strong views on either side. We encourage you to understand this topic more deeply, and how the colleges you are interested in approach faculty hiring. It's your education and your money on the line. Make sure you know what you are getting for it.

Additional Information

Grad Assistants May Teach Classes

San Diego State University has 542 instructional graduate assistants that teach or provide teaching-related duties. These responsibilities could range from entirely teaching lower-level courses themselves, to assisting professors by developing teaching materials, preparing or giving exams and grading student work. We suggest you ask the college to what extent graduate assistants are relied on for instruction, so you know what you are paying for.

Additionally, the school has 161 non-instructional graduate assistants.

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