The 175-acre (71 ha) hilltop campus core is home to the nation's first Charter College of Education, the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs, the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center, the Hydrogen Research and Fueling Facility, and the Luckman Fine Arts Complex.

The college then moved to its present campus in the northeastern section of the City of Los Angeles, 5 miles (8 km) east of the Civic Center.

In 1980, new university president James Rosser adopted a new mascot, Eddie the golden eagle, designed to be more reflective of the campus' highly diverse community.

[27] Cal State LA departments of Social Work and Nursing, located within the university's College of Health and Human Services, were granted the status of School in Winter 2002.

A statue of Cal State LA alumna and world champion tennis legend Billie Jean King was installed on the grassy area in front of the Physical Education building.

Near the edge of the city of Los Angeles, adjacent to the western San Gabriel Valley cities of Alhambra and Monterey Park, the campus affords views of the mountains to the north, the San Gabriel Valley to the east, metropolitan Los Angeles to the west, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Catalina Island to the south.

Cal State LA is one of only eight institutions in North and South America selected as a Rockefeller Foundation humanities fellowship residency site.

It is a peaceful space that features a meditative walking path, artwork, and more than 50 types of plant life that promote relaxation, healing, and transcendence.

"Student teams repeatedly imagined the creation of a space on campus defined by natural beauty where they could reflect, recharge and come together," said First Lady Covino said at the garden dedication.

Mika M. Cho is a faculty member at Cal State LA and the director for the Ronald H. Silverman Fine Arts Gallery at the university.

Unlike other components of the Cal State University system being developed in the 1960s, the residence halls were privately financed by Louis Lesser Enterprises, Inc.

With the nation's first Chicano Studies department (established in 1968), Cal State LA is a top source of bachelor's and master's degrees for Hispanic students in California.

The Television, Film and Media Studies Center houses the Cal State LA Studios part of the College of Arts and Letters.

[66] In September 1996 chemistry professor Carlos G. Gutiérrez was among the first honorees named by President Bill Clinton to receive the newly established annual Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring, at a White House ceremony.

Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs 2023-2024 USNWR Best Regional Colleges West Rankings[60]

Washington Monthly's 2020 College Ranking Guide named Cal State LA 10th out of 614 schools nationally in the Master's University category.

The Equality of Opportunity Project followed 30 million students enrolled at over 2,200 colleges and universities, from 1999 to 2013, and concluded that the institution with the highest "mobility rate" was Cal State LA.

[89] In 2014 Cal State LA was listed as one of Time magazine's top 100 colleges and universities, according to new criteria proposed by the White House that is based solely on accessibility, affordability, and graduation rate.

Cal State LA's Solar Eagle, the first solar-powered electric car designed and built by Engineering and Technology students, placed fourth in the nation and is first among California competitors in the transcontinental GM Sunrayce USA.

In April 2011 Cal State LA was chosen to become part of the 3-year AVTC[97] EcoCAR2: Plugging into the Future competition managed by Argonne National Laboratory and sponsored by the US Department of Energy and General Motors.

[99] The EcoCar3 team will have four years (2014–18) to redesign and re-engineer a Chevy Camaro in an effort to reduce the energy consumption and greenhouse emissions of the vehicle, while maintaining consumer acceptability, performance, utility and safety.

The unmanned aerial vehicle was developed by a team of mechanical engineering students working in Cal State LA's Multidisciplinary Flight dynamics and Control Laboratory (MFDCLab).

[10] After a preliminary interview with the EEP director, prospective students must also undergo a rigorous assessment period called a Provisional Quarter (or "Provie Summer") before final admission.

It is home to one of the few and the longest-operating graduate Criminal Justice and Criminalistics program west of the Mississippi River,[103] located in the new Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab.

[107] In 2003, Civil engineering professor Mark Tufenkjian led Cal State LA to receive over half a million dollars in grant money.

Prior to January, 1981, Cal State LA was known as the Diablos; the change to Golden Eagles was made by then-President James Rosser to create a more inclusive, less stereotypical mascot.

Development project plans for the complex include a new gym, athletic field and the Rosie Casals / Pancho Gonzales tennis center.

LAFC trains on the site at the northern gateway of the campus, though it plays its games at BMO Stadium, which opened in 2018 in Exposition Park in South Los Angeles.

On Monday July 22, 2024 The Cal State LA Golden Eagles 2023 Women's volleyball team, along with other national champions from the previous academic year, was honored at the White House as part of NCAA Sports Day.

Shelby Grubbs, a senior member of the Golden Eagles, reflected on the event's significance, highlighting the team's historic achievement of securing their first national title despite entering the playoffs unranked.