What is a CSU?
The California State University system is one of two public university systems in California. Made up of 23 CSU campuses, serving over 400,00 students, it is the largest, most diverse, and one of the most affordable university systems in the country.
The CSU offers Bachelor's and Master's degree programs in about 240 subject areas, and a variety of teaching credential programs. Select doctoral degrees are also offered jointly with the University of California or with Private universities in California.
The following information can help you learn more about how to meet requirements to enter a CSU campus as a transfer student, where the campuses are located, which academic programs are offered by campus, and how to apply for transfer.
CSU Transfer Admission Information
Minimum CSU Transfer Eligibility Requirements |
Recommended CSU Transfer Preparation |
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*Both plans look similar and can become confusing. Make an appointment with a COM Counselor to make an Education Plan that works for your goals and satisfies all requirements needed. Call (415)485-9671 or log into your MyCom Portal.
Students should place the highest priority on:
- Completing major preparation courses. Note that major preparation requirments can differ across the CSU campuses. When CSU campuses receive more applications than they have room to admit, they typically select the applicants who are most prepared for their majors. Learn which campus and majors require prerequisites (major prep) on assist.org.
- Completing General Education requirements, as oulined in the CSU Breadth worksheet. A minimume of 30 units of GE is required for admission, including Composition, Math, Communications, and Critical Thinking
- Strength of grades
Students should work with a COM counselor and a CSU advisor to understand how to prepare for their majors. This consultation will guide students to take the appropriate general education and major prep course work. Make an appointment with a College of Marin counselor by calling (415)485-9432 or make an appointment through the MyCOMportal.
Assist.org helps you find community college courses that are transferable to a UC or CSU campus, how those transferable courses might be used to satisfy major preparation or general education, and helps you understand which courses are required or recommended for transfer according to major and campus.
*Written instructions PDF
The goal when applying for college admission is to make yourself as competitive as possible. When applying to the CSU system, this is especially important if the school or major you want is impacted.
Impacted programs and campuses are those that receive far more applications than there is space for. When campuses and porgrams are impacted, they will be more selective when admitting students and may use supplementary admissions criteria to screen applicants.
Currently, Fullerton, Long Beach, San Diego, San Jose, Fresno, and San Luis Obispo are all impacted campuses. An impacted campus means every major at that campus is impacted.
Other campuses often have certain impacted majors, even if the whole campus is not impacted. View the impacted undergraduate majors and campuses information at calstate.edu for more information.
To be a more competitive applicant to impacted programs and campuses, students should: |
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CSU General Education-Breadth
California State University (CSU) General Education-Breadth 2023-2024
Students transferring to a CSU may complete their general education in one of several ways: |
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*Meet with a counselor to find out which is best for you.
Please note: CSU Breadth and IGETC are not an admissions requirement and are not recommended for all majors. Students majoring in STEM fields such as Engineering, Biological and Physical Sciences or majors that require extensive lower division preparation are not encouraged to follow IGETC.
Associate Degrees for Transfer: AA-T and AS-T
The Associate of Arts for Transfer (AA-T) and Associate of Science for Transfer (AS-T) allow students to earn an associate degree and a bachelor's degree at a CSU, with no wasted units. They are intended to make it easier for CSU-bound students to successfully transfer by having universal lower division major prep requirements for all 23 CSU campuses.
The AA-T and AS-T degrees offer a simple and direct path to transfer to the CSU system.
Other benefits include:
- Guaranteed admission to a CSU, but not necessarily to a particular campus;
- GPA bump of .10 or .20 when applying to an impacted campus or major;
- Students can receive priority admissions to their local CSU campus to a major deemed similar to the AA-T or AS-T major;
- After transfering into a CSU, guaranteed degree completion within 60 semester units.
Requirements for an AA-T or AS-T include:
- Completion of required general education coursework;
- Completion of the courses required for the specific AA-T/AS-T major;
- Completion of 60 CSU-transferable units;
- 2.0 GPA (Note: student’s GPA will need to be more competitive if applying to an impacted campus or major)
- Completion of all requirements by the end of the Spring semester if transferring in Fall
College of Marin currently offers the following AA-T and AS-T degrees: |
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