Established in 1897, San Diego State University (SDSU) is one of the largest and most diverse universities in the state of California. Highly regarded for its contributions to minority education and commitment to serving the richly diverse San Diego region, SDSU ranks among the top universities nationwide in terms of ethnic, racial and economic diversity among its student body.

Student life at San Diego State is as plentiful as its academics. Students have access to over 200 student organizations, NCAA Division I athletics, Greek life and the nationally renowned student radio station.

The most visible evidence of SDSU's growth is in the physical additions to its San Diego campus and its continued commitment to providing a state-of-the-art learning environment for students, faculty and staff. The university has reimagined and renovated academic buildings and complexes, the library, labs and residence halls. A new Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex houses instructional areas and provides ample capacity for collaborative space and labs for interdisciplinary teams and SDSU's entrepreneurship centres.

The Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union serves as the centre of SDSU university life. It contains many sustainable and energy-efficient features and has obtained LEED-certified platinum status for both building features and operations. 

San Diego, widely referred to as “America’s Finest City”, is less than an hour’s flight from Los Angeles. The city is famous for its long white sandy beaches, parks, temperate climate and proximity to Tijuana, Mexico as it shares an international border. With a city population of 1.42 million and 3.34 million in greater San Diego county, San Diego is the second largest city in California and eighth largest city in the US.

The United States of America, commonly known as the United States, US, USA or simply America, is a country in North America. Most of the country is located between Canada and Mexico, but also includes places such as Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The capital is Washington D.C., but the most populous city is New York City.

At 9.8 million square kilometres, the US is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area, only slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. It is the world's third most populous country, with an estimated population of over 327 million people.

You're likely already familiar with some aspects of the US such as cross-country road trips, hearty food portions and the massive scale of everything. It is near impossible to run out of things to discover in this country! Every one of the 50 states is incredibly different, so depending where you go within the US you might feel you’re in a different country. This a very diverse nation, as people immigrate from all over the world, bringing in different religions, races, cultural traditions, and political beliefs.

You can visit one of over 35,000 museums, check out the major cities, visit small towns and farmlands, and explore the massive and beautiful national parks such as Yellowstone and Zion. You could also visit neighbouring Canada or Mexico if you want to travel more. The US is a hub of industry and culture for nearly every aspect of modern life, so having the chance to study here can really expand your networks and open you up to future possibilities abroad.

Did you know?

A small community in the Grand Canyon still receives their mail via mule service as motorized delivery is not possible. The service runs six days a week with at least two mule trains daily so that animals and riders don’t have to make the trip down to the village and back without an overnight stop.

Believe it or not, scientists at the Utah State University have proven at millimetre scale that the topography of the state of Kansas is actually flatter than a pancake!

All students must meet standard exchange selection criteria and any host institution restrictions.

Only one place is available per Study Period. GPA of 5.0 or higher is required. Students exchanging to SDSU will be required to pay the SDSU Campus Fee of USD989.00*  

Due to California State Law, SDSU is unable to accept exchange applicants who are US citizens or US permanent residents (Green Card holders) residing in a foreign country.

The following majors have restrictions placed on many of their classes, therefore only limited courses are available:

• Journalism and Media Studies Television

The following majors are not available for exchange:

• Nursing
• Production courses for television and film studies
• Construction Engineering

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS: Courses at 500 level are introductory graduate level courses, and are open to exchange students. Courses at 600 and above are not available for exchange students. 

• UniSA academic transcript
• Passport
• English proficiency evidence (if applicable)
• Financial statement form - must show evidence (e.g. bank statement) of at least US$11,619 which represents 4.5 months of basic living cost in San Diego
• CV (to include all education history)
• Personal statement (500 words) – Postgraduate students only. Please address how undertaking exchange at SDSU will further your academic goals.

Courses at US partner universities are generally valued at 3 credits each. Students are required to undertake a minimum of 12 credits per semester, equal to 13.5 UniSA units. 15 credits are equivalent to 18 UniSA units.

Therefore we recommend that:

• 15 US credits = 5 US courses (@ 3 credits each) is equivalent to 18 UniSA units
• 12 US credits = 4 US courses (@ 3 credits each) is equivalent to 13.5 UniSA units

The TOEFL or IELTS is required of all applicants who have not attended secondary or post-secondary institutions where English is the language of instruction for a period of at least three years of full-time study.

Required minimum scores:

• Paper-based TOEFL: 550 or higher
• Internet-based TOEFL: 80 or higher
• IELTS (academic version): 6.5 or higher
• Pearson: 58 or higher

Scores should be less than two years old at the time of application to SDSU.

Find courses at San Diego State University

Detailed course outlines by Department can be downloaded here. 

SDSU offers complimentary airport pick up from San Diego Airport if you are travelling alone. To book this service, please contact the International Student Centre (ISC).

Alternative means of getting to the campus can be found here.

Students may apply for on-campus housing once they have been admitted to SDSU and issued a “Red ID” (student number). On-campus housing is not guaranteed and very limited. You may add your name to an Interest List, however looking for off-campus options is highly recommended. SDSU can send more information on off-campus housing options that are comparable to on-campus in pricing and minutes walking distance from campus.

Additional information on housing options at SDSU can be found here.

As an exchange partner with the University of South Australia, you do not have to pay tuition fees to San Diego State University, instead you will pay tuition as you would normally at UniSA. Travel and living expenses are at your own cost. The table below gives an indication of costs you will incur:  

More information can be found here.

UniSA offers a generous travel grant of up to $2500 for a full semester exchange. You may also be eligible to receive an OS-HELP loan of up to $8000. For more information please see funding and scholarships website.

UniSA offers travel insurance as part of your exchange for up to 270 days (can be extended up to 365 days). For more information please see travel insurance website.  

Please click here to read the travel insurance policy. 

A list of Frequently Asked Questions can be found here. 

If you have any further questions about travel insurance, please contact the UniSA Insurance Office on 08 8302 1678.