About Us

Campus Locations

San Francisco State University

Located at 19th & Holloway Avenue

Lam Family College of Business

1600 Holloway Avenue, Business Building
San Francisco, CA 94132

E-mail: cobus@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 338-1276
Fax: (415) 338-6237

Monday through Friday
8 a.m.–noon; 1–5 p.m.

San Francisco State University Downtown Campus

Graduate Business Programs

San Francisco State University
Downtown Campus
160 Spear Street, Suite 1230
San Francisco, CA 94105

E-mail: mba@sfsu.edu
Phone: (415) 817-4300
Fax: (415) 817-4340

Monday through Thursday:
10 a.m.–7 p.m.
Friday: 10 a.m.–3 p.m.

Innovate Sustainably. Lead Responsibly.

Welcome Message from the Dean

Eugene Sividas

Thank you very much for visiting the Lam Family College of Business virtually. We are a community of great teachers, respected scholars, and a dedicated staff. The Lam Family College of Business was named in recognition of a generous gift from alumnus Chris Larsen (B.S., '84), his wife Lyna Lam and Rippleworks Foundation.  Their donation was one of the largest gifts in the history of San Francisco State University. The Lam Family College of Business is named in honor of Lyna Lam’s father, Quang Lam. To learn more about this transformative gift, visit the University Development website.

We are one of the largest business schools in the country with a proud history and great tradition. Since 1964, we have been accredited by AACSB International—the gold standard for business school accreditation—an accreditation earned by less than five percent of business schools worldwide. Given our size, we can offer a wide array of programs from Economics to Hospitality and Tourism Management. Notwithstanding our size, we are a school known for our personalized student support and small class sizes. Our faculty and advisors build a personal relationship with you and are committed to your success. Our faculty have been trained at the leading doctoral programs in the world and have published their research in leading journals in their field and have authored widely used text books. We are proud of our mission to provide access to a world-class public education and take great pride in being able to provide a pathway to upward mobility.

Our college-specific Career Services Center helps our students prepare for internship and job interviews, and offers career counseling. Given our long history and size, we have an unmatched alumni base that is also very engaged with our college. And, one would be hard pressed to name a region that can match the San Francisco Bay Area in terms of the opportunities it offers our students for internship and job prospects. The city is a hub for the high tech, finance, and biotech industries, and offers recreational and entertainment options that rival any in the world.

We invite you to explore our many undergraduate concentrations, minors, and master's level offerings in Business Administration, Business Analytics and Accountancy, including several certificate programs. We look forward to engaging with you.

Sincerely,

Eugene Sivadas, Ph.D.
Dean
Lam Family College of Business

Read the University Development interview with Dean Sivadas, Ph.D.

Our College

The Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State is a leading institution of business education in the San Francisco Bay Area, with an emphasis on preparing students to succeed in an economy that is global in nature.

Our commitment to sustainable business, diversity, social justice and global partnerships echoes our core philosophy of responsible leadership. As one of the top-ranked public universities, we have been recognized worldwide for our investments in diversity, social responsibility, and visionary academics.

Our Graduate Business Programs, conveniently located at the San Francisco State University Downtown Campus in the heart of San Francisco, prepares leaders for careers in the growing innovative industries of the dynamic Bay Area and global marketplace.

Business Administration is the largest undergraduate major at San Francisco State. Approximately 20 percent of the undergraduate students major in business administration. The college confers about 1,200 undergraduate degrees and 225 graduate degrees each year.

To learn more about our undergraduate or graduate programs, please visit our Programs page.

Watch the video below to hear what Chris Larsen (B.S., ’84) has to say about the education he received at our college and why he recommended the ‘Lam Family’ for the college’s name:

Our Vision

The Lam Family College of Business aspires to be a leader in advancing transformative change globally and locally. We strive to be an inclusive place to learn, teach, create, innovate and work.

(adopted September 2022)

Our Mission

Embracing the diversity, global outlook, and entrepreneurial spirit of the San Francisco Bay Area, we provide access to quality education. We empower students to succeed and contribute to society through innovative teaching and learning, impactful scholarship, and engagement with businesses and the community at large.  

(adopted May 2022)

Our Seven Strategic Priorities

  • Curricular Innovation
    We develop curricular innovations that meet the changing demands of the business world and streamline the path to graduation, while ensuring that our students are well-rounded and prepared for the challenges of the workplace. We recognize and celebrate each faculty member for the long-lasting impact their teaching and service contributions have on our students.
  • Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
    We are proud of our University’s pioneering legacy in this space. We prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion in our classrooms and workplace to help our students, faculty and staff thrive and succeed. We commit ourselves to the continual, iterative process of removing systemic roadblocks in higher education.
  • Student Engagement
    We create an inclusive college community by engaging students in meaningful experiences that provide exciting and enlightening opportunities to network and build skills. Our students help inform and shape impactful activities, including dynamic student organizations, professional development events with alumni and industry partners, and leadership opportunities.
  • Research Activity, Productivity, Orientation and Approaches
    We invest in the scholarly work of our renowned faculty who have been trained in the leading doctoral programs and have published their research in leading journals in the field and authored influential books. Through faculty research, we generate new knowledge that impacts teaching, industry practices and society.
  • Community Engagement
    We develop strong and sustained connections, and work collaboratively with the business, academic and alumni communities to execute specialized programs, events, research projects and other engaging activities that expand the knowledge, skills, opportunities and networks of our students, faculty and staff.
  • Build the Lam Family College of Business Brand
    We invest in building our brand reputation to sustain a competitive advantage in the dynamic higher education market.  By increasing visibility and affinity for our brand, we attract new students, create new partnerships and maximize the success of our alumni and current students.
  • Friend-raising and Fundraising
    We cultivate relationships with alumni, friends and the business community.  We value their commitment and engagement, which enhances student experiences and broadens opportunities for them through unique partnerships and transformative philanthropic investments that enable us to elevate the execution of our mission to new heights.

Business Advisory Council

The Business Advisory Council supports the dean and the Lam Family College of Business in fundraising, business and corporate engagement opportunities, and general promotion in support of the mission of the college.

Specifically, the council enables effective partnerships between the business community and the college in integrating business education with real-world innovations, developing a pipeline for student careers and faculty research, and developing sources of investment in support of the goals of the college.

Our Faculty

Annual Reports

AACSB Accreditation

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International is the world’s premier accreditation body for business schools, recognizing high-quality institutions based on rigorous standards built around innovation, engagement, and impact. Institutions that bear the AACSB-accredited mark demonstrate commitment to upholding and advancing their undergraduate and graduate programs. This accreditation is not only a representation of the quality of our academic programs, but also a reflection of the hard work of our faculty, staff, and students.

AACSB Logo

Why should AACSB accreditation matter to you?

Attending an AACSB-accredited business school, like ours, ensures you are receiving a quality business education. You can feel secure about the value of your business degree from San Francisco State University, and confident about your ability to succeed in the workforce on a local or global level.

Accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International since 1964, the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University provides a high quality business education to a diverse learning community through innovative teaching, research, and support. We are one of just five percent of all business schools worldwide that meet the rigorous standards for this accreditation.

To learn why you should only attend a school with AACSB accreditation, see Why Accreditation Matters.

Visit the AACSB International website to learn more about this accreditation.

Other Recognition

  • The Lam Family College of Business made Princeton Review’s 2021 list of Best Business Schools in the country based on the high quality of our MBA program and student career outcomes.
  • Princeton Review - Ranked 8th by the Princeton Review in the category, Greatest Opportunity for Minority Students.
  • SF State Ranked in the Top 20 Universities for Economic Mobility - San Francisco State University ranked #16 in the nation for economic mobility in CollegeNET's 2022 “Social Mobility Index" (SMI). The annual SMI report measures the extent of a university's impact in providing opportunities for economically disadvantaged students to graduate into well-paying jobs. The methodology is based on factors like cost of attendance, economic background of the student body, graduation rates and early career salaries. This year's rankings also included a new metric called Ethos, which measures how well a school's messages and communications inform students and the public about its mission and the value of a college degree.

  • Ranked one of the 50 Most Transformative Colleges in the USA by Money magazine. Ranking based on a college’s value-add score, which scores graduation rates, earnings, and student loan debt, SF State is ranked # 30 in the 2020 list.
  • Ranked one of the 50 Best Colleges for Business Majors in the country - The Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University ranked 35th among the 50 Best Colleges for Business Majors in 2020 by Money magazine. Ranking based on “education quality, affordability, and the career payoff for undergraduate business majors.”
  • SF State is among the top 100 Master’s Universities in the country according to Washington Monthly’s 2020 Master’s University Rankings. Washington Monthly ranked “four-year institutions that award a significant number of master’s degrees but few or no doctoral degrees—based on their contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility, research, and promoting public service.”
  • Princeton Review also ranked our MBA program among the top 10 Best Green MBA programs in 2021. This ranking is based on MBA students’ assessments of how well we prepare them to address environmental, sustainability, and social responsibility issues in their careers.
  • Our Accounting program was ranked 5th among public universities for salary outcomes in the Wall Street Journal's (WSJ)  2023 “Best College for Your Dream Career in Accounting” ranking list (WSJ subscription required to read article).
  • Our Marketing program was ranked 12th among public universities for salary outcomes in the Wall Street Journal's (WSJ)  2023 “Best College for Your Dream Career in Marketing” ranking list (WSJ subscription required to read article).
  • In 2023, our Accounting Department was recognized as one of the Internal Auditing Education Partnership (IAEP) participating programs by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the global standard for internal auditing education, under the leadership of Professor Yao-Tien Lee. This endorsement not only highlights the quality and rigor of our academic offerings but also strengthens our connections within the professional community of internal auditors and expands opportunities for our students and faculty.

  • Our Hospitality and Tourism Management program was named one of the 25 Best Colleges for a Bachelor's in Hospitality Management by GradReports. Click to view the full list.
  • Our Master of Science in Accountancy program was ranked by GradReports as #16 on their list of the 25 Best Master’s in Accounting Programs in the U.S.A. based on median salary one year after students graduated. Click to view the full list.
  • Our MBA program was ranked 16th worldwide by the Aspen Institute’s Beyond Grey Pinstripes for our emphasis on integrating social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research.