What California Intercontinental University does

California Intercontinental University (CIU) is a private, online higher education institution founded in 1996 and headquartered in Irvine, California (with a secondary Sioux Falls, South Dakota address also referenced), serving working professionals and international students seeking undergraduate and graduate business credentials. The institution offers Associate ($30,525 for 20 courses), Bachelor's ($60,705 for 40 courses), and Doctor of Business Administration ($36,675 for 20 courses) programs, with a Master of Science in Accounting added in 2025. CIU's platform is a fully online asynchronous delivery model in which the Doctoral Research Project (DRP) replaces the traditional dissertation as a degree artifact.

CIU generates revenue primarily through tuition per program, with 93% of undergraduates utilizing financial aid and 78% receiving Pell Grants in 2022-2023, indicating a price-sensitive consumer base dependent on U.S. federal Title IV aid supplemented by institutional support. The institution holds dual programmatic accreditation (DEAC since 2009 and ACBSP since 2024), plus state authorization via the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education, NC-SARA multi-state authorization, and compliance with FERPA and PCI-DSS, which collectively underpin Title IV eligibility and credential portability across U.S. states.

Operationally, CIU is a small, lean institution with 11-50 employees that has produced approximately 1,200 graduates since founding, with an alumni network spanning 1,000+ graduates across 50+ countries. Founder Dr. Shaan Kaye continues to serve as Co-Chairman and CEO. Recent strategic activity — including the 2025 launch of an athletics program and Master of Science in Accounting, an October 2025 DIAZA College Series partnership, and a March 2026 partnership with the Jodhpur Industries Association for India-market FinTech education — points to incremental expansion of programs, geographies, and student-life offerings rather than a structural pivot.

Name

California Intercontinental University

Legal name

California Intercontinental University

Website

https://caluniversity.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

California Intercontinental University is a private, fully online higher education institution founded in 1996, serving working professionals and international students with Associate, Bachelor's, DBA, and MS Accounting programs through tuition-funded enrollment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Higher Education

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Online International & Cross-Border Universities (Global/Transnational Providers) (EDAHALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Polytechnic & Applied Sciences Universities (EDAHAEAB)

Keywords

• Higher education
• Online university
• Doctoral programs
• Distance learning
• Graduate degrees

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Program Fees: Revenue generated from tuition payments for degree programs. Students pay per course or through payment plans including Pay As You Learn ($1,779/course), Pay Per Month ($1,217), or full program tuition. Programs include Associate (20 courses), Bachelor (40 courses), and Doctorate (20 courses).
2. Application and Registration Fees: One-time fees including App Fee & Registration Fee ($170) and CCA Exam & Graduation Fee ($925) charged to students upon enrollment and graduation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

California Intercontinental University (CIU) is a private, accredited online higher education institution that delivers associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs with concentrations in business, healthcare, information technology, and education. The university is institutionally accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission and serves working professionals and adult learners through fully online instruction. Its degree catalog is structured around practitioner-oriented fields, including a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Doctor of Education (EdD), MBA, several Master of Science tracks, Bachelor of Science programs, and Associate of Applied Science degrees.

Product overview

California Intercontinental University offers a portfolio of accredited online degree programs at the associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels. The core academic offerings include Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Accounting, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Bachelor of Engineering in Information Technology, and Associate degrees in Business Administration and Information Technology. Programs are delivered 100% online through the LearnCenter LMS platform. The university also operates supplementary programs including CIU Athletics (intercollegiate sports) and E-Sports. All programs feature asynchronous delivery designed for working professionals, with specializations across business, healthcare, technology, and entrepreneurship domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Quantifiable outcome

• DBA graduates report average 24% salary increase post-graduation (Association of MBAs survey)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Jodhpur Industries AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026California Intercontinental University collaborated with the Jodhpur Industries Association in India to deliver a Management Development Program on FinTech for MSMEs in Jodhpur. The program, led by Dr. Vaishali Ojha, focused on practical financial technologies including UPI, digital payments, neo-banking, digital lending, and automated bookkeeping systems. This partnership represents CIU's strategy to expand its global footprint by connecting academic expertise with real-world industry application in emerging markets.
• DIAZA College SeriesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2025California Intercontinental University Athletics participated in the DIAZA College Series in Florida, competing in men's soccer matches. The collaboration provided competitive athletic opportunities and highlighted CIU's broader mission of combining academic rigor with athletic achievement.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Grand Canyon University: Large for-profit university with extensive online programs in business, IT, and healthcare. Competes for similar accreditation-sensitive, online professional-learner enrollment.
• National University: Private nonprofit university system with significant online degree offerings in business, IT, and education. Serves the same professional-learner base but with broader program breadth and scale than CIU.

Direct peers

• Western Governors University: Large, fully online nonprofit university focused on working professionals with competency-based programs in business, IT, and healthcare. CIU addresses the same professional-learner segment with similar asynchronous, accreditation-driven online degrees.
• Southern New Hampshire University: Major online university offering associate through doctoral degrees in business and adjacent fields, with strong financial-aid access and a similar working-professional target market. Operates at much larger scale but competes directly for the same students.
• Purdue University Global: Online-focused university offering accredited business, IT, and healthcare degrees to working adults. Matches CIU on online delivery, business program focus, and reliance on professional learners.
• Capella University: For-profit, fully online university with strong doctoral and business offerings, specialisations in IT and healthcare management. Closely mirrors CIU's DBA/MBA-heavy portfolio and online delivery model.
• Walden University: For-profit online university with doctorate-heavy offerings in business, education, and health sciences. Targets the same working-professional, doctoral-seeking population as CIU.
• Aspen University: Private, primarily online university offering business and doctoral programs with rolling admissions. Highly comparable operating model and student demographic to CIU.
• Liberty University Online: Large online program portfolio with associate through doctoral offerings in business and IT, aimed at working adults. Competes for the same accredited online degree-seeking demographic.

Emerging players

• University of the People: Tuition-free, accredited online university focused on global accessibility and workforce-aligned degrees. Overlaps with CIU's international, working-professional, and online-distance mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/caluniversity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/CalUniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/161321803895832
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/califonia-intercontinental-university
• Instagraminstagram.com/caluniversity_edu

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about California Intercontinental University