Transfer Student: Admission Requirements

An upper-division transfer applicant has completed at least 60 transferable units and met the standard CSU requirements described below. CSUN does not currently accept lower-division transfer applications.

Because of the pandemic, all California State University campuses have adjusted some admission requirements to assist incoming students. These adjustments are explained at Community College Guidance for Incoming Transfers. 

What are the Upper-Division Transfer Eligibility Requirements?

Complete all course work required for admission by the end of the following terms:

• Fall admission: Complete all requirements by the end of the spring term. No summer course work taken after you applied for admission to CSUN will be considered for admission. 
• Spring admission: Complete all requirements by the end of the fall term.

All upper-division transfer students need to meet the minimum criteria listed below:

1. Complete a minimum of 60 transferable semester units (90 quarter units) with a GPA of 2.0 or better.
   • Competitive Majors. Some majors receive more applications than CSUN has spots to offer. The CSU calls this impaction. Learn more at Transfer Impaction.
   • To qualify for admission to these majors, California applicants must meet or exceed higher GPAs. The GPA thresholds are set annually.
2. Be in good standing at the last college or university attended in a regular session.
3. Complete each of the CSU General Education courses (known as the "Golden Four" or "Basic Skills") in Written Communication, Mathematics (Quantitative Reasoning), Critical Thinking, and Oral Communication (Speech) with a grade of C- or better. Students applying as Engineering or Computer Science majors do not need to complete Critical Thinking prior to admission.
4. Submit all official college transcripts, including preliminary (work-in-progress) and final transcript with grades posted, to the Office of the Registrar before the deadline. If you have attended a California community college, save time with eTranscript California. Please do not send identical, duplicate paper and electronic transcripts!
5. Send us your AP, CLEP and IB test scores if any. Because of the pandemic, CSUN will honor all existing transferable credit articulation for spring 2020 and spring 2021 AP exams on which scores of 3, 4 or 5 are earned — regardless of the test delivery method.

Admission is provisional until all eligibility requirements and deadlines have been met, including those for applicants choosing an impacted major.