Transfer Counselor Website (TCW)

San Diego State University Campus Specific Admission & Graduation Requirements

Last Updated: 11/10/11

 Please use the following symbols to refer to the appropriate reference.
◊ = CSU Conference Material: “2012/13 CSU Campus Admission Specific Practices and Enrollment Resources”
^ = System Office (CalState.edu)      o = CSUMentor.edu      □ = Host/institution publications

o ENROLLMENT: 33,790  

□ UPPER DIVISION TRANSFER REQUIREMENTS: San Diego State University will have a very limited number of fall 2012 new transfer enrollment slots due to the severity of the California state budget. All applicants are strongly encouraged to have alternate education plans.

All majors and pre-majors at San Diego State University are impacted and applicants should apply to a specific major or pre-major. Impaction requirements for SDSU majors are available on the Transfer Admission Planner (TAP) website (click on "Search for transfer courses to meet SDSU preparation for the major and required GPA") and on ASSIST.

Transfer admission is based on a specific set of requirements including major GPA, General Education, preparation for major courses and impaction criteria. Transfer students are admitted based on their intended major for a bachelor's degree at SDSU. Thus the policy for admitted transfer students is they cannot change their major as applicants, or as admitted and enrolled students. This policy is enforced throughout the student's academic career at SDSU.

□ Admission Priority #1- Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG): To be guaranteed admission to SDSU for fall 2012, local service-area transfer applicants must complete 100% of their transferable units from community colleges in SDSU’s service area* and meet the following Transfer Admission Guarantee requirements.

1. Units – Complete a minimum of 60 transferable semester units by the end of spring 2012. Transferable units are defined as course units that are applicable to a baccalaureate degree.
2. General Education (GE) – Complete a certified GE package of 39 units (CSU GE or IGETC) or any applicable lower division GE pattern listed in the SDSU General Catalog, including completion of the “Golden Four” General Education (GE) requirements in written communication, oral communication, critical thinking, and mathematics with a C or higher grade in each course by the end of spring 2012.
3. Major Preparation – Complete all major preparation courses listed in the SDSU General Catalog by the end of the spring term prior to fall admission. If a major preparation course is not offered at your community college, you must take it at another local community college or via Cross Enrollment or Open University at SDSU by the end of spring 2012.
4. GPA – Meet the grade point average (GPA) required for the major or 2.4, whichever is higher listed in the SDSU General Catalog. This GPA must be maintained throughout the admission process. See www.sdsu.edu/majorgpa to determine the GPA required for your major. Your GPA is based on all transferable units attempted.
5. Students with prior SDSU Regular Session, Special Session, Open University or Cross Enrollment, coursework must have a minimum SDSU GPA of 2.0 in addition to the cumulative GPA listed above.
6. Students who at the time of application have completed 100% of their transferable courses from Palomar or Mira Costa community colleges and apply for programs that are not available at CSU San Marcos will also have the first admission priority, as long as they completed the above requirements. Additional information on these programs can be found at http://arweb.sdsu.edu/admissions/apply.  

Note: Applicants to the School of Nursing, Music and Dance, or Television, Film and New Media have requirements beyond those listed above and therefore do not qualify for the Transfer Admission Guarantee.

Admission Priority #2 – The second admission priority is given to applicants who at the time of application have completed 50% of their transferable units from community colleges in SDSU’s local admission area* and meet requirements #1 – 5 above.
-  Students who at the time of application have completed 50% of their transferable courses from Palomar or Mira Costa community colleges and apply for programs that are not available
   at CSU San Marcos will also have the second admission priority, as long as they have completed requirements #1 – 5 above.

All Other Transfer Admission – All other transfer student applicants will be admitted on a space-available basis and must meet requirements (1) through (5) above. An additional overall GPA may be required. This GPA is determined based on the applicant pool and may be higher than the GPA required for the major.

^LOCAL ADMISSION AREAS: SDSU local admission area community colleges are Cuyamaca, Grossmont, Imperial Valley, San Diego City, San Diego Mesa, San Diego Miramar, and Southwestern. Per CSU Enrollment Policy, transfer admission priority is given to applicants whose previous coursework was completed at California community colleges.

Exam credits and military units are not counted for or against service-area determinations. Exam credits include Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, College-Level Examination Credit (CLEP), and DANTES Subject Standardized Tests.

IMPACTED STATUS: Impacted for first-time freshmen and upper division transfers, and in all and pre-programs as well as the undecided/undeclared programs. See http://www.calstate.edu/SAS/impactioninfo.shtml for more information. 

◊ UPPER DIVISION ADMISSION REQUIREMENTS: The following information for Upper Division Admission Requirements was extracted from the new 2012/13 CSU Campus Admission Specific Practices and Enrollment Resources Handbook. Links found in the Campus Enrollment Resources section of the handbook (page 16-21) are located on the TCW in each CSU campus section on the CSU Campuses page. To view the full handbook,CLICK HERE and select item 3 in the Guidelines, Handbooks & Resources Links section of the CSU Toolbox page.
 
Admission & Registration Status Prior to Receipt of ALL Official Transcripts(Page 7):
-Will issue conditional admission prior to receipt of transcripts.
- Final official transcripts and test scores are required for registration. The campus reserves the right to cancel an applicant’s admission for failure to submit timely transcripts verifying admission eligibility.
Completion Dates for Upper Division Transfers in Communication in the English Language & Quantitative Reasoning(Page 10):
- Fall 2012-complete by end of spring 2012.
- Spring 2013-complete by end of summer 2012.
Grades in Repeated Courses Taken From Different Colleges for Transfer(Page 9):
Will honor the grading policy as noted on the official transcript from the college where the course was taken. If there is no notation on the transcript, and the grade on the first attempt was less than a “C,” the grades will be averaged. If there is no notation on the transcript and the grade on the first attempt was “C” or better, the second attempt will not be included in the grade point average.
High Unit Majors with Authorized Exceptions to Admission & GE Breadth Requirements-Transfer Students (Page 11):
Not applicable to SDSU.
Orientation (Pages 3):
- Transfer students are strongly recommended to attend orientation.
- The orientation fee of $104.00($55.00-first guest/$25 each additional guest) is nonrefundable and subject to change without notice. **Students must check the full details of the Orientation fees with SDSU.
Registration Priorities for Upper Division Transfers (Page 12):
- Registration order occurs with continuing students.
- Registration grouping occurs at orientation.
Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) and Enrollment Deposit (Page 2):
The SIR and the required, nonrefundable enrollment deposit of $400 is due May 1.
Transfer Certification & Double-Counting of Courses for Major Requirements (Page 8):
-Double counting is permitted for lower division courses.
- SDSU will allow fully or partially certified transfer applicants to double count courses towards (1) the American Institutions Requirement, and (2) GE Certification (either GE Breadth or IGETC).
- SDSU will accept a DD-214 for elective units for all students and to clear Area E for GE-certified transfer students.
Transfer Credit Summary (Page 13):
Occurs at orientation for those who attend; otherwise, during the first semester of attendance.
Transfer Students With Learning Disabilities-Completion of Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning Requirements for Admission & GE Breadth
(Page 14): Must be reviewed and recommended by the SDSU’s Student Disability Services.

□ GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS:

• A second course in English is required unless a student is certified in Area A.
• There is a Multicultural/Ethnic Studies requirement for graduation, but it must be taken upper division.

• Major Specific foreign language requirements:
  -   Students whose majors lead to the Bachelor of Arts in liberal arts & sciences or a Bachelor of Music degree must satisfy a language requirement in a language other
      than English. See: http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/advising/gradreqlang.html.
  -   Students who are majoring in Music (except the specialization of Jazz) requires equivalent knowledge demonstrated in a test of reading knowledge administered by the
      foreign language department. See: http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/advising/gradreqlang.html. 
  -   Students who are majoring in art history, European Studies, Humanities, International Economics, and Linguistics should also read the section on language requirement
      under their respective majors for special conditions and limits pertaining to those majors.