CSUN has been ranked as the 10th largest institution in California in terms of the number of international students, according to an annual report on international educational exchange issued by Institute of International Education (IIE).

CSUN continues to grow to record numbers of international students each year and 1,963 international students enrolled for 2006-07 academic year.

CSUN popularity for international students comes from a variety of reasons.

‘The No.1 reason why many international students choose CSUN as their education is, may be, our programs,’ said Carol McAllister, assistant director of International Admissions. ‘They (international students) are looking for a major that they want.’

College of the Business and Economics is the most popular for international students. In fact, 567 international students enrolled for the fall 2007 semester. Recently, CSUN’s college of Business and Economics was listed as one of the best business schools in the ‘Best 296 Business Schools’ published by Random House.

‘I’m proud that my school was chosen as one of the best universities,’ said Aya Kudo, who graduated from CSUN with a bachelor’s degree in accountancy in spring 2008.

‘Studying was very hard because English is my second language, but I know I definitely got a lot of things other than a degree,’ said Kudo.

Other majors like music and engineering are also popular for international students, and engineering is popular for international students from India, said MacAllister.

CSUN’s Department of Music is ranked in the top 25 accredited university programs in the nation, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science is ranked 5th of 67 recognized U.S. institutions and first among all California Institutions in the number of master’s degree in Engineering Management.

There is a financial reason as well. School expenses for incoming international students can be pricey, but CSUN offers high-education for less.

‘Paying $30,000 a year for an education is ridiculous,’ said Mika Tanimura, 21, Communication major. She explained the tuition for international students for other schools like UC or USC would be around $30,000 a year.

‘I pay three times less tuition (for CSUN), but I think my studying here is awesome,’ said Tanimura. ‘There are up-to-date facilities, good professors, and good student services.’

Another factor possibly contributing to the number of international students is CSUN’s location. Takuya Suzuki, an international student from Japan, explained that Northridge is a good place to shelter from Japan’s cold winter and soggy summer.

Although CSUN’s international students are come from more than 100 countries, the largest number of CSUN’s international students actually comes from Asian countries like Japan, Korea, and China.

‘I can go surfing in summer in just one hour and also go snowboarding in winter just in two hours. That’s unbelievable,’ said Suzuki, 27, a kinesiology graduate student. ‘There are many things to do in this area like camping and swimming. We can also visit San Diego or Santa Barbara just in three hours on the weekends.’

The reasons why international students choose CSUN as their education vary from student to student, but the number of CSUN’s international student population continues to grow every year.