For a railway station that serves the campus, see Cal State San Marcos (NCTD station). California State University San Marcos (also CSUSM or Cal State San Marcos) is a public, coeducational university and one of the 23 general campuses of the California State University system. located in San Marcos, California, a suburban town in north San Diego County. It was founded in 1989 as the 20th CSU campus and was the first after nearly 30 years. The first class was admitted in 1990. CSU San Marcos offers 44 undergraduate programs, 10 graduate programs and 1 Doctorate in Education in three colleges and one nursing school. Efforts by community and political leaders to attract a state university to North County date back to 1968. In 1978, state legislator William A. Craven (1921–1999) won state funding for a North County satellite campus of San Diego State University. In 1989, Gov. George Deukmejian signed another Craven bill which established a CSU campus in San Marcos. The state purchased land in San Marcos, including the former Prohoroff Poultry Farms chicken ranch.