Sonoma State University
public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, United States
Sonoma State University (SSU, Sonoma State, or Sonoma) is a public university in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system and has three academic colleges: the College of Education, Counseling and Ethnic Studies; the College of Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts; and the College of Science, Technology and Business. The school offers 62 bachelor's degree programs, 13 master's degree programs, and 24 teaching credentials.
Sonoma State's enrollment in fall 2025 was 5,000, including 4,392 undergraduate students and 608 post baccalaureate/graduate students. The university is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission and is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution.
History
Founding
Sonoma State University was established by the California State Legislature in 1960 to be part of the California State College system, with significant involvement of the faculty from San Francisco State University. As with all California State Colleges, Sonoma State later became part of the California State University system. Sonoma opened for the first time in 1961, with an initial enrollment of 274 students. Classes offered took place in leased buildings in Rohnert Park, where the college offered its first four-year Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education. The small first graduating class received their degrees in the parking lot of the temporary campus.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Sonoma State University” is public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Sonoma, State and University, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “public university in Rohnert Park in Sonoma County, California, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q624571. VIAF identifies the subject as 134221057. The Library of Congress control number is n81132713. Authority coordinates are 38.340, -122.675. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2025, 1960 and 1961.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Sonoma State University”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Sonoma State University primary sources, Sonoma State University archive and Sonoma research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Sonoma State University”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Sonoma State University” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.