SFSU School of Engineering
SFSU School of Engineering is the only ABET-accredited four-year engineering program in San Francisco, part of the CSU system. Founded in 1959, it serves approximately 1,240 students across Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering disciplines with a 1:21 student-to-faculty ratio.
- Company typePublic
- Founded1959
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What SFSU School of Engineering does
SFSU School of Engineering is a public university department within San Francisco State University, part of the California State University system, founded in 1959. It is the only ABET-accredited four-year engineering program in San Francisco, serving approximately 1,240 students across four undergraduate engineering disciplines (Civil, Computer, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering) plus graduate programs and the SF State Scholars BS+MS blended pathway. The school operates from a $150 million Science & Engineering Innovation Center (opened January 2024) housing ten modern teaching labs, seven shared research labs, maker spaces, a student-training machine shop, and specialized facilities including a strong wall/strong floor, engine room, HVAC training systems, and wind tunnel. The 26 tenure-line faculty include three NSF CAREER Award recipients (2018, 2023, 2025), and 38.5% of tenure-line faculty are women — double the national average of 18.5%.
The school's core technology emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning anchored by industry-grade tools and equipment supplied through partnerships with Keysight Technologies, Instron, MTS Systems, Computer and Structures Inc., Quanser, Synopsys, and Cadence. Specialized research labs include the AI Lab for Augmented Multimodal Perception (AI-LAMP), Intelligent Computing and Embedded Systems Laboratory (ICE Lab), CARE Lab for assistive and rehabilitation robotics, and a mobile/remote laboratory that won the 2022 GOLC International Online Laboratory Award. The school holds five U.S. patents in VLSI circuit design through faculty research and has secured major federal grants (NSF CAREER Awards, NSF MRI awards of $749,304, NIH R01 of $1.2M, DoD HBCU/MI awards of $599,684).
Revenue mechanics are structured as a public institution: primary funding comes from California State University state appropriations and student tuition set at the system level, supplemented by sponsored research grants from NSF, NIH, DOE, and DoD, plus private philanthropy and corporate partnerships (Apple Next-Generation Innovators Program 2025, Sony since 2022). The school's GTM motion is community-led and event-driven, leveraging the MESA Program for first-generation and underrepresented student recruitment, a 1:21 student-to-faculty ratio, and regular career fairs connecting students with Bay Area employers including Caltrans, Stantec, and Kimley Horn. The school serves multiple customer segments: undergraduate students (primary), graduate students, first-generation/underrepresented students via MESA and HSI Engineering Success Center, and industry partners seeking talent pipeline access.
SFSU School of Engineering firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SFSU School of Engineering
- Legal name
- School of Engineering | San Francisco State University
- Website
- https://engineering.sfsu.edu
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 1959
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- SFSU School of Engineering is the only ABET-accredited four-year engineering program in San Francisco, part of the CSU system. Founded in 1959, it serves approximately 1,240 students across Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering disciplines with a 1:21 student-to-faculty ratio.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SFSU School of Engineering industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Higher Education Engineering
- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Engineering & Technology Institutes (Comprehensive) (EDAHAEAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Cooperative Education (Co-op) Technical Universities (EDAHAEAF)
Keywords
Where SFSU School of Engineering is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
SFSU School of Engineering business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- State Funding and Tuition: As a public university school, primary funding comes from California State University system state appropriations and student tuition.
- Sponsored Research Grants: Faculty receive grants from NSF, NIH, DOE, DoD, and other federal agencies for research. Notable grants include NSF CAREER awards ($549,760 Zhang, $1M+ Wong), NIH R01 ($1.2M Jiang), NSF MRI awards ($749,304), DoD HBCU/MI awards ($599,684).
- Private Philanthropy and Corporate Partnerships: The School relies on external support including undesignated gifts, designated gifts for specific educational goals, equipment donations, project sponsorships, and endowed scholarships to maintain mission and quality.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Standard undergraduate/graduate tuition for California residents and non-residents |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels6 records
SFSU School of Engineering product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The SFSU School of Engineering is a public university department that delivers ABET-accredited undergraduate degree programs in Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering, plus blended BS/MS pathways. It emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning supported by research labs, industry-grade equipment from partners such as Keysight, Synopsys, and Cadence, and student support services including the Engineering Success Center and MESA program. The school operates from the $150 million Science & Engineering Innovation Center (SEIC) opened in January 2024.
Product overview
SFSU School of Engineering is an educational institution offering four ABET-accredited undergraduate engineering degree programs (Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering) along with accelerated BS+MS pathways. The school operates from the $150 million Science & Engineering Innovation Center and provides student support services including the Engineering Success Center and MESA program. The programs emphasize hands-on, project-based learning with capstone projects and undergraduate research opportunities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering
- Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering
- SF State Scholars (BS+MS Blended Program)
- Engineering Success Center
- MESA University Program
Quantifiable outcome
- 38.5% women among tenure-line faculty - double the national average of 18.5%
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use SFSU School of Engineering
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
SFSU School of Engineering technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability9 records
Feature5 records
SFSU School of Engineering partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Appleflagship10 SFSU engineering students were selected for the inaugural Apple Next-Generation Innovators Mentorship Program. SFSU is one of 22 campuses selected by Apple to support students in STEM careers.
- SonyflagshipSFSU Engineering team won Sony's Spresense Developer Challenge 2022 Grand Prize. Sony provides funding and equipment resources for the MIC Lab and ICE Lab to develop neural-controlled bionic arm and support senior design projects.
- Skyline College and Canada CollegecoreNSF HSI grant collaboration with Skyline College and Canada College for Summer Research Internship Program, Transfer Advising Days, and Strengthening Pathways to Success in STEM (SP2S) project.
- Keysight TechnologiescoreKeysight Technologies provides industry-grade equipment and tools for engineering laboratories, creating modern training environments for students and supporting internship pipelines for students.
- Instron CorporationcoreInstron Corporation provides materials testing equipment for teaching and research laboratories, enabling hands-on education in mechanical and civil engineering.
- MTS Systems CorporationcoreMTS Systems Corporation provides testing equipment for engineering laboratories, supporting structural and mechanical engineering education.
- Computer and Structures Inc.coreCSI provides structural engineering software for teaching and research, supporting civil engineering education with industry-standard tools.
- Quanser Inc.coreQuanser provides control systems and robotics equipment for teaching and research laboratories.
- SynopsyscoreSynopsys provides electronic design automation software for computer and electrical engineering programs, enabling chip design education.
- Cadence Design SystemscoreCadence provides EDA software for circuit design and verification, supporting electrical and computer engineering curriculum.
- UC Berkeley Civil & Environmental EngineeringminorUC Berkeley CEE hosts webinars exclusively for CSU engineering students about their Master's program and reimburses application fees for CSU graduates.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights2 records
SFSU School of Engineering competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- California State University, Long Beach — College of Engineering: Largest CSU engineering school outside Cal Poly/SJSU. Direct system peer with ABET-accredited BS programs, similar industry partnership model, and comparable size; useful benchmark for program breadth and graduate offering expansion.
- San Jose State University — Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering: Sister CSU engineering school serving the Bay Area. Closest direct peer: same CSU system tuition/regulatory framework, comparable ABET-accredited BS programs in civil, computer, electrical, mechanical engineering, and similar size and industry-partnership model.
- Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — College of Engineering: Another CSU polytechnic engineering school. Direct peer sharing the CSU public-university model, ABET-accredited programs across the same four core disciplines, hands-on learn-by-doing pedagogy, and similar industry partnership approach.
- California State University, East Bay — College of Science: CSU Bay Area peer offering engineering-adjacent programs. Comparable in scale, public-sector funding model, and underrepresented-student focus; competes with SFSU for transfer and commuter students in the East Bay.
- Santa Clara University — School of Engineering: Regional Bay Area private engineering peer offering ABET-accredited BS programs in civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering. Comparable program mix and industry-partnership orientation, but private tuition and Jesuit mission differ from SFSU's public/HSI model.
Broad incumbents
- UC Berkeley — College of Engineering: Premier Bay Area public engineering institution. Direct geographic competitor for top students and faculty, but operates at a far larger scale with doctoral programs, deep research output, and stronger brand pull across all four SFSU disciplines.
- Stanford University — School of Engineering: Top-tier private Bay Area engineering school. Competes for the same regional talent pool and industry partners, but with substantially greater research capacity, doctoral programs, and selectivity — setting the upper-bound benchmark SFSU's students and faculty measure themselves against.
- University of California, Davis — College of Engineering: UC public engineering school with ABET-accredited BS in mechanical, civil, electrical and computer engineering. Competes for California-resident students and offers doctoral programs, providing a benchmark for SFSU's potential graduate-program expansion path.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks4 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
SFSU School of Engineering social profiles
Digital presenceSFSU School of Engineering compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
SFSU School of Engineering financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SFSU School of Engineering leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
SFSU School of Engineering funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SFSU School of Engineering M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SFSU School of Engineering
What does SFSU School of Engineering do?
The SFSU School of Engineering is a public university department that delivers ABET-accredited undergraduate degree programs in Civil, Computer, Electrical, and Mechanical Engineering, plus blended BS/MS pathways. It emphasizes hands-on, project-based learning supported by research labs, industry-grade equipment from partners such as Keysight, Synopsys, and Cadence, and student support services including the Engineering Success Center and MESA program. The school operates from the $150 million Science & Engineering Innovation Center (SEIC) opened in January 2024.
Is SFSU School of Engineering a public or private company?
SFSU School of Engineering is a public company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was SFSU School of Engineering founded?
SFSU School of Engineering was founded in 1959. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SFSU School of Engineering based?
SFSU School of Engineering is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does SFSU School of Engineering make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. State Funding and Tuition is the primary driver. The others are sponsored Research Grants and private Philanthropy and Corporate Partnerships.
Who are SFSU School of Engineering's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are California State University, Long Beach — College of Engineering, San Jose State University — Charles W. Davidson College of Engineering, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo — College of Engineering, California State University, East Bay — College of Science and Santa Clara University — School of Engineering. Broad incumbents are UC Berkeley — College of Engineering, Stanford University — School of Engineering and University of California, Davis — College of Engineering.
Does SFSU School of Engineering have an API?
No public API is recorded for SFSU School of Engineering.
What industry is SFSU School of Engineering in?
SFSU School of Engineering's product category is Higher Education Engineering. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHAEAA, Engineering & Technology Institutes (Comprehensive), with a secondary code of EDAHAEAF, Cooperative Education (Co-op) Technical Universities. Its NAICS code is 6113 and its SIC code is 8200.