SDSU breaks enrollment record, launches new AI major as fall semester begins
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- San Diego State University is kicking off the 2025-26 academic year with record-breaking enrollment numbers, new academic offerings, and a historic milestone in student population.
- The FOX 5/KUSI video above explains how artificial intelligence learns
As classes began Monday, Aug. 25, officials at SDSU announced it is on pace to surpass 40,000 enrolled students across its San Diego and Imperial Valley campuses for the first time in university history. Including SDSU Global Campus, which offers online degrees and professional certificates, the university expects fall enrollment to exceed 43,000 students.
More than 6,600 first-year students are joining the Aztec community this semester — another record for the university — selected from a highly competitive applicant pool of over 95,000. In total, SDSU received more than 123,000 applications for the new academic year. Official enrollment figures will be confirmed in October during the Fall 2025 Census.
Among the university’s newest academic additions is a first-of-its-kind degree in the California State University system: a Bachelor of Science in Artificial Intelligence and Human Responsibility. Offered through the College of Arts and Letters, the program opens for applications this fall and will officially welcome its first students in fall 2026. The degree takes an interdisciplinary approach to AI, combining technical literacy with social science and humanities — a contrast to more conventional tech-centric AI programs.
Additionally, SDSU has introduced a new Special Education minor, designed for students pursuing teaching credentials, as well as those majoring in social work, psychology or speech-language pathology.
According to university officials, these additions reflect the SDSU’s continued expansion and commitment to addressing emerging fields and workforce needs.
SDSU, a Carnegie-designated R1 public research institution, offers 97 undergraduate degrees, 88 master’s degrees, and 29 doctoral programs. The university is nationally recognized for its global initiatives, diversity programs, and Division I athletics.
