San Diego State University has more than 70 robust and active centers and institutes
that serve as collaborative and innovative nuclei of research, scholarship, and action.
Many of our centers and institutes work in partnership with Southern California governments,
agencies, non-profits, corporations, and universities. Others have a global reach
that spans five continents.
Center For Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film
Computational Science Research Center
×
Researchers with the Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience framework for
San Diego State University study brain-based language and cognitive processing and
disorders. The center aims to enhance teaching and research mentoring in clinical
and cognitive neuroscience.
×
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film is home to the longest running
and most comprehensive studies of women in film and television. Dedicated to producing
extensive and timely research, studies generated by the Center provide the foundation
for a realistic and meaningful discussion of women’s on-screen representation and
behind-the-scenes employment.
×
The Computational Science Research Center promotes the development and advancement
of the interdisciplinary discipline of computational science by fostering research;
developing educational programs; and promoting industrial interaction, outreach, and
partnership activities. The CSRC facilitates the interaction between applied mathematics,
biology, computer science, statistics and other scientific and engineering disciplines.
The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs
Institute for Behavioral and Community Health
Center for Research on Sexuality and Sexual Health
×
The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs promotes critical thinking about moral
issues that are often complex in nature. The Institute is a resource to members of
the campus community, the larger community of scholars, and the greater San Diego
community who wish to pursue thoughtful discussion and research as a means of clarifying
moral problems. It also aims to raise the profile of the moral implications of current
events. The Institute organizes and sponsors a variety of programs on applied and
theoretical moral issues. Among these programs are colloquia, community outreach talks,
and lectures.
×
Institute for Behavioral and Community Health aims to build the evidence-base of behavioral,
social, cultural and built environmental factors associated with health disparities,
and methods for ameliorating these factors through innovative interventions. It works
collaboratively with partners and their organizations, and uses these opportunities
to train the next generation of researchers and practitioners.
×
The Center for Research on Sexuality and Sexual Health (SASH) seeks to reduce disparities
and inequities related to sexuality and sexual health through multidisciplinary, community-engaged,
and collaborative research, training, and health promotion that focuses on diverse
populations.
Coastal and Marine Institute
South Bay Latino Research Center
Watershed Science Institute
×
The Coastal and Marine Institute refers to the consortium of researchers, visiting
scientists and students at SDSU who perform basic and applied coastal research and
share knowledge of the marine environment. Its researchers offer interdisciplinary
solutions to coastal zone problems in the San Diego Region.
×
The South Bay Latino Research Center is a tri-lateral collaboration between SDSU,
UCSD, and San Ysidro Health that seeks to promote and expedite research to improve
chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity) outcomes in Latinos
living in the border region of San Diego. The center conducts rigorous, community-based
epidemiologic, behavioral, and genetic research in an effort to reduce disparities
for disadvantaged populations, and at the same time provide improved service to the
community, answer important biomedical questions, build research capacity in the community,
and stimulate and train investigators. An exemplar of this effort is the landmark
Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.
×
The Watershed Science Institute promotes collaboration among SDSU researchers and
communities involved in the management and regulation of land and water resources.
It aims to improve the integration of science, policy, and management of watersheds
by aligning research questions with critical management needs. The institute is focused
on critical challenges related to water resources and water quality in Southern California,
including drinking water supply shortages, climate change, water quality deterioration,
impaired surface water bodies, soil erosion, and coastal contamination.
Young People’s Environments, Society and Space Research Center
The Center for Surf Research
Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age
×
The Young People's Environments, Society and Space Research Center (YESS Center) promotes
high quality scholarship and theory development; enhances the capacity of the Department
of Geography and College of Arts and Letters to implement qualitative and interpretive
research methods; and provides a community consulting program that partners with youth
serving organizations and policy-makers to inform policies and improve programs that
impact children and young people.
×
The Center for Surf Research is a non-profit research and teaching center housed in
SDSU’s Sustainable Tourism Program that provides leadership in the struggle for sustainability
in surf tourism in two primary ways: shaping responsible citizens through life-changing
experiential learning opportunities for students and the wider community; and creating
and disseminating specialist knowledge to governments, the surf industry, tourism
developers, destination communities, nonprofits, and tourists.
×
The Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age is a research institute at San Diego
State University that focuses on research questions and analytical software development
for Big Data and human dynamics problems—such as disaster responses and recovery,
disease outbreaks, public health disparities, and urban dynamics—by monitoring information
from mobile technologies, mobile devices (including GIS, social media and GPS datasets),
and big data resources (sensor webs, census data, cancer registries, web data, and
electronic health records).
Center for Excellence in Aging & Longevity
Language Acquisition Resource Center
Social Policy Institute
×
The Center on Aging is a focal point for multidisciplinary education, research, and
community service in gerontology and geriatrics. For about forty years, SDSU has played
a key role in developing gerontological knowledge and improving services to older
people. These comprehensive efforts by the Center on Aging have significantly contributed
to a better understanding of the elderly in their physical, economic, cultural and
psychosocial environment.
×
The Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) is a national Language Training Center
that delivers language and culture training for active duty military, ROTC students,
and reserve personnel to respond to the cross-service need for demonstrable communicative
competence in world languages and cultures. LARC helps enhance partners’ linguistic
and cross-cultural mission readiness, providing language enhancement, conversion or
initial acquisition training. LARC also supports the teaching and learning of foreign
languages in the United States through research, technology integration, and resource
development. Particular attention is paid to less commonly taught languages, cross-cultural
competence, language skills assessment, and teacher professional development.
×
The Social Policy Institute aims to increase child, family and community well-being
by engaging, working with and inspiring our partners, community stakeholders and policy
makers. For example, it partners with the Child Abuse Prevention Center and the Children’s
Bureau of Southern California to support the professional development of California’s
family strengthening field.
Academy for Professional Excellence
The Center for Communication, Health, & the Public Good
The Visualization Center
×
The Academy for Professional Excellence was established in 1996 with the mission to
provide exceptional learning and development experiences for the transformation of
individuals, organizations and communities. Serving over 20,000 health and human service
professionals annually, the Academy creates experiences that transform the heart,
mind, and practice.
×
The Center for Communication, Health, & the Public Good is one of the newest centers
at SDSU. It is an innovative hub for investigating critical relationships between
communication and health that shape the human social condition in contemporary society.
×
The "Viz Center" specializes in organizing and delivering geospatial data over small
networks for emergency response and disasters. By linking emerging technologies, innovative
back-end processing, and operational needs especially for disaster, the Viz Center
community is attempting to assist our community, region, nation, and world in responding
to difficult situations with critical information, knowledge, and decision-support
tools.
Center For Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience
×
Researchers with the Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience framework for
San Diego State University study brain-based language and cognitive processing and
disorders. The center aims to enhance teaching and research mentoring in clinical
and cognitive neuroscience.
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film
×
The Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film is home to the longest running
and most comprehensive studies of women in film and television. Dedicated to producing
extensive and timely research, studies generated by the Center provide the foundation
for a realistic and meaningful discussion of women’s on-screen representation and
behind-the-scenes employment.
Computational Science Research Center
×
The Computational Science Research Center promotes the development and advancement
of the interdisciplinary discipline of computational science by fostering research;
developing educational programs; and promoting industrial interaction, outreach, and
partnership activities. The CSRC facilitates the interaction between applied mathematics,
biology, computer science, statistics and other scientific and engineering disciplines.
The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs
×
The Institute for Ethics and Public Affairs promotes critical thinking about moral
issues that are often complex in nature. The Institute is a resource to members of
the campus community, the larger community of scholars, and the greater San Diego
community who wish to pursue thoughtful discussion and research as a means of clarifying
moral problems. It also aims to raise the profile of the moral implications of current
events. The Institute organizes and sponsors a variety of programs on applied and
theoretical moral issues. Among these programs are colloquia, community outreach talks,
and lectures.
Institute for Behavioral and Community Health
×
Institute for Behavioral and Community Health aims to build the evidence-base of behavioral,
social, cultural and built environmental factors associated with health disparities,
and methods for ameliorating these factors through innovative interventions. It works
collaboratively with partners and their organizations, and uses these opportunities
to train the next generation of researchers and practitioners.
Center for Research on Sexuality and Sexual Health
×
The Center for Research on Sexuality and Sexual Health (SASH) seeks to reduce disparities
and inequities related to sexuality and sexual health through multidisciplinary, community-engaged,
and collaborative research, training, and health promotion that focuses on diverse
populations.
Coastal and Marine Institute
×
The Coastal and Marine Institute refers to the consortium of researchers, visiting
scientists and students at SDSU who perform basic and applied coastal research and
share knowledge of the marine environment. Its researchers offer interdisciplinary
solutions to coastal zone problems in the San Diego Region.
South Bay Latino Research Center
×
The South Bay Latino Research Center is a tri-lateral collaboration between SDSU,
UCSD, and San Ysidro Health that seeks to promote and expedite research to improve
chronic disease (cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity) outcomes in Latinos
living in the border region of San Diego. The center conducts rigorous, community-based
epidemiologic, behavioral, and genetic research in an effort to reduce disparities
for disadvantaged populations, and at the same time provide improved service to the
community, answer important biomedical questions, build research capacity in the community,
and stimulate and train investigators. An exemplar of this effort is the landmark
Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos.
Watershed Science Institute
×
The Watershed Science Institute promotes collaboration among SDSU researchers and
communities involved in the management and regulation of land and water resources.
It aims to improve the integration of science, policy, and management of watersheds
by aligning research questions with critical management needs. The institute is focused
on critical challenges related to water resources and water quality in Southern California,
including drinking water supply shortages, climate change, water quality deterioration,
impaired surface water bodies, soil erosion, and coastal contamination.
Young People’s Environments, Society and Space Research Center
×
The Young People's Environments, Society and Space Research Center (YESS Center) promotes
high quality scholarship and theory development; enhances the capacity of the Department
of Geography and College of Arts and Letters to implement qualitative and interpretive
research methods; and provides a community consulting program that partners with youth
serving organizations and policy-makers to inform policies and improve programs that
impact children and young people.
The Center for Surf Research
×
The Center for Surf Research is a non-profit research and teaching center housed in
SDSU’s Sustainable Tourism Program that provides leadership in the struggle for sustainability
in surf tourism in two primary ways: shaping responsible citizens through life-changing
experiential learning opportunities for students and the wider community; and creating
and disseminating specialist knowledge to governments, the surf industry, tourism
developers, destination communities, nonprofits, and tourists.
Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age
×
The Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age is a research institute at San Diego
State University that focuses on research questions and analytical software development
for Big Data and human dynamics problems—such as disaster responses and recovery,
disease outbreaks, public health disparities, and urban dynamics—by monitoring information
from mobile technologies, mobile devices (including GIS, social media and GPS datasets),
and big data resources (sensor webs, census data, cancer registries, web data, and
electronic health records).
Center for Excellence in Aging & Longevity
×
The Center on Aging is a focal point for multidisciplinary education, research, and
community service in gerontology and geriatrics. For about forty years, SDSU has played
a key role in developing gerontological knowledge and improving services to older
people. These comprehensive efforts by the Center on Aging have significantly contributed
to a better understanding of the elderly in their physical, economic, cultural and
psychosocial environment.
Language Acquisition Resource Center
×
The Language Acquisition Resource Center (LARC) is a national Language Training Center
that delivers language and culture training for active duty military, ROTC students,
and reserve personnel to respond to the cross-service need for demonstrable communicative
competence in world languages and cultures. LARC helps enhance partners’ linguistic
and cross-cultural mission readiness, providing language enhancement, conversion or
initial acquisition training. LARC also supports the teaching and learning of foreign
languages in the United States through research, technology integration, and resource
development. Particular attention is paid to less commonly taught languages, cross-cultural
competence, language skills assessment, and teacher professional development.
×
The Social Policy Institute aims to increase child, family and community well-being
by engaging, working with and inspiring our partners, community stakeholders and policy
makers. For example, it partners with the Child Abuse Prevention Center and the Children’s
Bureau of Southern California to support the professional development of California’s
family strengthening field.
Academy for Professional Excellence
×
The Academy for Professional Excellence was established in 1996 with the mission to
provide exceptional learning and development experiences for the transformation of
individuals, organizations and communities. Serving over 20,000 health and human service
professionals annually, the Academy creates experiences that transform the heart,
mind, and practice.
The Center for Communication, Health, & the Public Good
×
The Center for Communication, Health, & the Public Good is one of the newest centers
at SDSU. It is an innovative hub for investigating critical relationships between
communication and health that shape the human social condition in contemporary society.
×
The "Viz Center" specializes in organizing and delivering geospatial data over small
networks for emergency response and disasters. By linking emerging technologies, innovative
back-end processing, and operational needs especially for disaster, the Viz Center
community is attempting to assist our community, region, nation, and world in responding
to difficult situations with critical information, knowledge, and decision-support
tools.