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Cal State San Bernardino, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, is among the nation’s top colleges and universities in economic mobility for Hispanic students, according to the 2026 ranking of higher education institutions by the magazine Washington Monthly.

Collaborating with Excelencia in Education for the second year, the publication placed CSUSB at No. 7 on its Best Hispanic-Serving Colleges. This analysis used to develop the list combines the accessibility focus of Washington Monthly’s college rankings with the deep knowledge that Excelencia has built over more than 20 years of listening to, learning from, and working with institutions.

In addition, Washington Monthly included the university in its Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, West, ranking CSUSB at No. 8.

“This recognition reflects Cal State San Bernardino’s commitment to creating meaningful pathways to opportunity and economic mobility for Hispanic and Latino students,” university President Terri Gómez said. “Our ranking among the nation’s leading Hispanic-Serving Institutions, along with our Seal of Excelencia certification, affirms the intentional, data-informed work taking place across our university to help students thrive. We are proud to provide an accessible, affordable education that prepares our graduates to succeed and strengthens the communities we serve.”

In 2024, CSUSB earned the Seal of Excelencia, a rigorous, student-centered, data-informed certification that holds colleges and universities accountable for showing momentum leading to continuous improvement in student outcomes. Institutions earn this standard of excellence through an intentional alignment of data, evidence-based practices, and leadership — all resulting in student success. There are 45 institutions that have earned the seal, spanning three progressive levels of three-year certification: Certified, Recertified, and Intentionally Thriving Institutions.

Deborah Santiago, Excelencia in Education co-founder and CEO, explained the importance of being designated with the seal. “The Seal of Excelencia recognizes and drives excellence at institutions serving Latino students because intentional, mission-driven investment in serving this population ensures all of our students, communities, and country are served," she said. “For students and families, the seal is a clear signal that an institution creates the conditions needed for them to thrive before and beyond graduation. That’s why seal-certified institutions feature prominently in this year’s Best Colleges for Hispanic Students."

Washington Monthly’s ranking focuses on Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), using Excelencia’s data on the transfer and graduation rates of Latino students to provide unique insight. Excelencia gathers this information and more on institutional efforts and policies from the hundreds of institutions that apply for the Seal of Excelencia. 

Institutions also submit data about diversity among faculty and staff, along with other metrics and descriptions of their programming, communications, and long-range planning around Hispanic education. To reflect those nuanced evaluations, Washington Monthly includes in its ranking whether an institution earned the seal. To those metrics, it adds two accessibility measures: net price (the annual amount students pay when factoring in aid), and the percentage of students who receive Pell Grants.

Colleges and universities that have earned the seal account for 34 of the top 100 two-year and four-year colleges and universities educating Latinos nationwide. Seal-certified institutions lead the nation in closing degree attainment gaps, representing less than 1% of colleges/universities yet graduating 17% of Latino, and 7% of all, students.

California State University campuses were listed throughout the Best Four-Year Hispanic Serving Colleges list of 100 institutions. Joining CSUSB on the list are Cal State Los Angeles at No. 4; Fresno State, No. 12; Cal State Northridge, No. 17; Cal State Channel Islands, No. 18; Cal State Dominguez Hills, No. 20; Cal State Bakersfield, No. 22; Sacramento State, No. 24; Cal State Fullerton, No. 29; Cal State Long Beach, No. 30; Cal State Stanislaus, No 37; Cal State East Bay, No. 48; Cal State San Marcos, No. 50; Cal State Monterey Bay, No. 85; San Francisco State, No. 89; and Cal Poly Humboldt, No. 91. 

CSUSB: A Best College for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, West

In its Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars, West ranking, CSUSB, in addition to being ranked No. 8 in the West region, was placed at No. 23 on the publication’s national list.

In producing these lists, Washington Monthly considered:

  • Access: How well institutions provide access to nonhealthy students. “Among other metrics, it tracks how many students are on federal Pell Grants for low-to-middle-income families and compares that to how many Pell recipients those schools might be expected to enroll based on test scores, admission rates, and statewide family income.”
  • Affordability: This includes “the net price of the institution, or the amount that students with family incomes below $75,000 pay, minus aid,” and how much debt graduates leave with.
  • Outcomes: This considers an institution’s “academic and financial outcomes they provide to students. It tracks the percentage of students graduating within eight years and compares that to statistical predictions. It compares graduation rates between wealthy and non-wealthy students. It also tracks the incomes that students make in their early careers and compares that to their peers’ early-career incomes.”

Joining CSUSB on this list in the top 50 are CSU campuses Northridge (No. 1), Los Angeles (No. 2), Fresno (No. 3), Long Beach (No. 4), Sacramento (No. 6), Fullerton (No. 7), Dominguez Hills (No. 16), Chico State (No. 18), Cal Poly Maritime (No. 20), San Marcos (No. 23), Monterey Bay (No. 24), Bakersfield (No. 25), Cal Poly Pomona (No. 27), San Francisco (No. 31), San Diego (No. 37) and Cal Poly Humboldt (No. 44).

About Excelencia in Education
Now in its 20th year of service to accelerate Latino student success in higher education, Excelencia in Education leads a national network of results-oriented educators and policymakers to tap the talents of the Latino community and address the U.S. economy’s needs for a highly educated workforce and engaged civic leaders. With this network, Excelencia accelerates Latino student success in higher education by promoting Latino student achievement, informing educational policies with a Latino lens, and advancing evidence-based practices. For more information, visit EdExcelencia.org.