Editing California State University (section)

== Campus naming conventions ==
The UC system follows a consistent style in the naming of campuses, using the words "University of California" followed by the name of its declared home city, with a comma as the separator. Most CSU campuses follow a similar pattern, though several are named only for their home city or county, such as San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, San Diego State University, or Sonoma State University.<ref name=":0" />

The Fresno and Sacramento campuses formally follow the standard naming pattern, but respectively market themselves as "Fresno State"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://brand.fresnostate.edu/editorial-style/editorial-style-guide.html |title=Editorial Style Guide |publisher=University Marketing and Communications, Fresno State |access-date=May 17, 2024 |quote=California State University, Fresno is the official name, but should only be used for specific academic audiences or international audiences.}}</ref> and "Sacramento State", and use those terms for their athletic programs. Chico, Long Beach, and Stanislaus also formally use the standard naming pattern, but use "''Location'' State" for athletics only. Northridge brands its athletic program as "CSUN", and uses that term alongside its formal name in marketing. CSU Bakersfield started the process of rebranding its athletic program, though not the university, as "Bakersfield" in 2023–24.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://gorunners.com/documents/2023/9/11/Brand_Style_Guide.pdf |title=Brand Guidelines |publisher=Bakersfield Roadrunners |date=September 11, 2023 |access-date=November 28, 2023}}</ref>

In addition, the California Maritime Academy is the only campus whose official name does not refer to a city or regional location within California.<ref name="CampusNames">{{cite web |title=Campus Names |url=https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/csu-branding-standards/editorial-style-guide/Pages/campus-names.aspx |work=calstate.edu |publisher=California State University}}</ref> Channel Islands, Maritime, and San Marcos are the only campuses whose names do not include a comma.<ref name="CampusNames" /> Some critics, including Donald Gerth (former President of [[California State University, Sacramento|Sacramento State]]), have claimed that the weak California State University identity has contributed to the CSU's perceived lack of prestige when compared to the University of California.<ref name=Gerth>{{cite book| last = Gerth| first = Donald R.| author2 = James O. Haehn| title = Invisible Giant: The California State Colleges| publisher = Jossey-Bass, San Francisco| year = 1971| isbn = 0-87589-110-1| url-access = registration| url = https://archive.org/details/invisiblegiantth0000gert}}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" caption="Cal Poly Names">
File:CalPoly72.jpg|[[California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo|California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly)]]
File:Cal Poly Pomona campus 1.JPG|[[California State Polytechnic University, Pomona|California State Polytechnic University, Pomona  (Cal Poly Pomona)]]
File:Jolly Giant Commons, July 2022.JPG|[[California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt|California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt  (Cal Poly Humboldt)]]
File:TS Golden Bear.JPG|In 2025, [[California State University Maritime Academy]] will become both Cal Poly, Maritime Academy and Cal Poly, Solano Campus<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cal Poly Maritime Academy {{!}} Cal Poly |url=https://www.calpoly.edu/maritime |access-date=2025-01-03 |website=www.calpoly.edu |language=en}}</ref>
</gallery>