SDSU provides an environment that fosters advanced training and original scholarship across all disciplines. That commitment to graduate education and research is carried out by the Division of Graduate Affairs and the Division of Research Affairs, which together constitute the Office of Graduate and Research Affairs.

Thomas R. Scott, Vice President for Research

San Diego State University was chartered as a Normal School in 1897, was named a College in 1935 and a University in 1971. With this progression has come an increasing emphasis on original scholarship, on attracting a faculty whose members embrace not only the teaching of established information, but also the creation of new knowledge. That effort now represents a core value of our University, one manifested in some $130 million in annual extramural research support, and in significant recognition for scholarly achievement by professional societies.

The elevated quantity and impact of our faculty's research has been enabled by the rising quality of the University's graduate programs. Sixteen doctoral programs offer testimony to the advanced training SDSU provides, while 76 Master's programs serve California's advanced work force needs and prepare students for further study. Our students from pre-baccalaureate to post-doctoral are engaged in close collaboration with leading faculty scholars in the effort to understand our natural world and the social, economic and interpersonal forces that define our lives.

In a career now divided almost equally among teaching, research and administration, I can look back on a few instances of sudden and convincing discovery as my moments of greatest professional satisfaction. Through graduate training and research, I invite you to the setting of your own such moments.