CSUMB operates under the direction of a president appointed by the CSU Board of Trustees as the chief executive officer of the campus. The president develops campus policy through broadly based consultative procedures that include students, faculty, staff, and administrators in decision making. The CSUMB Academic Senate and its Academic Senate Executive Committee, made up of elected representatives of the faculty, recommend academic policy to the president through a shared-governance process.
The university divides its operations into administrative divisions, each under the direction of a vice president.
Within the Academic Affairs administrative division, six colleges oversee CSUMB's academic operations. Each college includes several academic units that deliver degrees, minors, and other academic offerings. The university currently offers a total of 24 undergraduate degrees with over 30 included concentrations, more than 30 minors, eight graduate degrees, and several teacher certification options. These pages indicate the alignment between these offerings and the colleges and academic units that deliver them.