Sacramento State University will launch a new college in fall 2025 that aims to incorporate Native American culture into its programming and connect students with tribal governments.
Students in the inaugural cohort of the Sacramento State Native American College will be able to major in any field of study at the college to which they are admitted, but must minor in Native American Studies. The curriculum includes courses in tribal leadership. The college will also host Native American leadership events, speakers and trainings.
Students can apply to the college after being admitted to Sacramento State, according to a campus announcement. The college accepts freshmen, transfer students, and students entering their first year.
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Cal State aims to close graduation gaps
According to CSU data, only 833 American Indian or Alaska Native students attended the California State University system in fall 2023, including 79 students at Sacramento State. The number of American Indians or Alaskan Natives in the university system has fallen 44% from a ten-year peak in 2013.
Cal State has seen significant disparities in graduation rates between Native American students and their peers. The systemwide six-year graduation rate among new American Indian and Alaskan Native students entering in 2017 was about 47%, nearly 16 percentage points less than the rate for all students.
Sacramento State Native American College will follow a cohort model, in which students attending college are encouraged to take general education courses together, according to a Sacramento State website summarizing the program. Students are also paired with a faculty mentor and provided with a physical space with classrooms, computers, meeting space and access to faculty.
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The first dean will be Annette Reed, Ph.D., an enrolled member of the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation. Reed is currently chair of Sacramento State’s Ethnic Studies Department, according to the department’s website.
Sacramento State isn’t the only higher education institution in California looking to deepen offerings aimed at Native American students. Palm Desert-based California Indian Nations College, now affiliated with a local community college, is seeking full accreditation so it can operate as a standalone university and offer degrees to Native American students in California. If successful, it would be the only standalone tribal college in the state.
This article originally appeared in The Record: Sacramento State Launches New Native American College for Fall 2025
