Requirements for Admission

A. Admission Requirements

In addition to the University requirements, the English department requires that students meet one of two conditions before being admitted into the department program:

1. Students with a B.A. in English must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 in upper division English courses. This GPA is determined by the cumulative GPA of all approved upper division English courses.
2. Students with a B.A. in a subject other than English must have a minimum of 24 semester units of approved upper division English courses or their equivalent (as determined by their disciplinary relevance) with a minimum 3.0 GPA in these courses. This GPA is determined by the cumulative GPA of all approved upper division English courses.

One of these two conditions must be met before a student may be admitted into the English department M.A. program. Applicants who, upon departmental evaluation, do not possess enough qualifying units or the required GPA need to take additional undergraduate upper division English courses to make up any deficits before admission into the program.

B. Classified Status

A classified student has fulfilled the following criteria:

1. A B.A. in English or has already completed 24 upper division-approved English or their equivalent (as determined by their disciplinary relevance) semester units (upper division English GPA minimum required: 3.0).
2. A GPA of 3.0 or greater in upper division English and a 3.0 in the last 60 units.

C. Denied Students

Denied students fall into one or more of these categories:

1. Do not have a B.A. in English.
2. Do not have 24 upper division approved English semester units and/or the equivalent, as determined by their potential to be offered in English department curriculum.
3. Do not have the required minimum GPA of 3.0 in upper division English units.

Denied students may not take any graduate level courses (500- to 600-level).

Note that the English department’s requirements for classification are more stringent than the University’s requirements.

Source: CSUN Catalog

International Applications

International applicants to CSUN’s English MA Program who received their bachelor’s degree at universities where the primary language of instruction is not English must meet the minimum score on one of the following English language fluency tests:

• Test of English as a Foreign Language Internet-Based Test (TOEFL iBT): 85
• International English Language Test System (IELTS) Academic: 7 overall score
• Cambridge C1 Advanced English (formerly CAE): 185
• Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic: 64
• Global Test of English Communication Computer-Based Test (GTEC CBT): 1275