Admissions

Fall 2012 Transfer Admission Criteria

The following information is provided for students who want to apply to San Diego State University as upper-division transfer, readmission and second bachelor's degree in nursing applicants.

Admission Eligibility

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.

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.

Transfer Admission Guarantee (TAG): To be guaranteed admission to SDSU for fall 2012, local admission area transfer applicants must complete 100% of their transferable units from community colleges in SDSU’s local admission 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. Prior Coursework—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.

Students who at the time of application have completed 100% of their transferable courses from Palomar or MiraCosta 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 have completed the above requirements.

Admission priority will be given to students who complete an Associate of Arts—Transfer or Associate of Science—Transfer (AA-T/AS-T) degree at a community college that is specifically designated "for Transfer" in the degree title and that SDSU has agreed to accept (visit www.c-id.net for a list of CSU campuses that accept AA-T/AS-T degrees).

Note: The Transfer Admission Guarantee does not apply to applicants in the School of Nursing, Music and Dance, Theatre (Performance), Theatre (Design & Technology), or Television, Film and New Media.

* SDSU local admission area community colleges are Cuyamaca, Grossmont, Imperial Valley, San Diego City, San Diego Mesa, San Diego Miramar, and Southwestern. Exam credits and military units are not counted for or against local admission area determinations. Exam credits include Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, College-Level Examination Credit (CLEP), and DANTES Subject Standardized Tests.

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

Per CSU Enrollment Policy, transfer admission priority is given to applicants whose previous coursework was completed at California community colleges.

Application Process

  1. Apply for admission on the CSUMentor Web site during the CSU application filing period, which is October 1–November 30 for admission the following fall.
  2. Create your SDSU WebPortal account after you have applied to SDSU and have received your RedID number. Your RedID will be e-mailed to you within two weeks of applying to SDSU.
  3. Submit the supplemental application within the WebPortal by January 20, 2012. The supplemental application will be available beginning in December 2011 under the "Admission Status" menu option.
  4. Fulfill the additional application required for certain majors.  
    • Music and Dance majors: Applicants who meet the CSU admissions requirements will be required to audition as part of the admission process. Auditions will be held in January and February 2012 for fall admission.
    • Nursing majors: Applicants must submit a separate application to the School of Nursing in addition to the CSUMentor application. Additional admission criteria are required for acceptance to the major and the university. The deadline to submit the Nursing application for fall 2012 admission was November 30, 2011. See the School of Nursing Web site for details.
  5. Make sure to report accurate information. Admission is provisional pending verification of the self-reported information on your CSUMentor and supplemental applications using your official transcript(s). Your admission may be rescinded if your GPA, completed courses, or course grades are lower than what is reported on the applications or if you miss any admission deadlines.

General Education (GE) Courses

Applicants are required to complete lower division General Education coursework by the end of spring 2012 by following one of three GE patterns:

  • GE Certification: Students transferring from a California community college can complete the CSU GE certification pattern to satisfy all lower division GE requirements.
  • Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC): The IGETC is a series of courses that California community college students can use to satisfy lower division GE requirements for any CSU or UC campus.
  • SDSU General Education Pattern: This option is commonly used by students majoring in Engineering, Liberal Studies and Nursing, and all students outside of the California community college system. See the SDSU General Catalog for details.

Be aware that a grade of C or higher is required in each of the following GE "Golden Four" courses:

  • Oral Communication: Basic public speaking course. Other communication courses that are certified by a California community college will be accepted.
  • Written Communication: Typically a freshman composition course that emphasizes essay writing or reading and writing concurrently.
  • Critical Thinking: Typically your second semester composition or writing course, or a course in reasoning and effective argumentative writing.
  • Mathematics: This course must be beyond intermediate algebra.

Use the SDSU Transfer Admission Planner to identify which courses at your college may be used to meet the GE requirements at SDSU.

Preparation for the Major Courses

You need to complete the major preparation requirements that are listed in the SDSU General Catalog by the end of the spring term prior to fall admission.

For fall 2012 admission, follow the fall 2012 course and GPA requirements listed on ASSIST or the Transfer Admission Planner (TAP). Graduation requirements may be different based on the catalog that is in effect at the time you enroll at SDSU.

The Supplemental Application

All transfer applicants must submit an additional online supplemental application through your SDSU WebPortal account. To ensure accuracy, refer to your college transcripts or education plan. We have created a tutorial to assist you in completing the supplemental application—download the PDF.

The deadline to submit the supplemental application is January 20, 2012.

Fall admission is based on self-reported information. Your admission is provisional pending verification of the self-reported information on your CSUMentor and supplemental applications using your official transcript(s).

Your admission may be rescinded if your GPA, completed courses, or course grades are lower than what is reported on the applications or if you miss any admission deadlines. Please make sure to report accurate information.

Online Resources

Use the following online systems to show how transfer course credits can be used to meet SDSU General Education and major preparation course requirements.

  • The Transfer Admission Planner (TAP) includes course equivalency information for colleges and universities throughout the United States. You can also use TAP to identify any specific grade requirements for individual courses or combination of courses. TAP is updated annually to reflect the most current SDSU General Catalog information.
  • The ASSIST Web site is the official repository of articulation for California’s public colleges and universities.