Admission Requirements

The following information applies generally to all 23 campuses of the California State University system. For information specific to CSUN graduate and post-baccalaureate admission requirements, please refer to the Graduate Studies section of this Catalog and to the Prospective Students website.

Graduate and post-baccalaureate applicants may apply for a degree objective, a credential or certificate objective, or where approved, may have no program objective. Depending on the objective, the CSU will consider an application for admission as follows:

• General Requirements — The minimum requirements for admission to graduate and post baccalaureate studies at a California State University campus are in accordance with university regulations as well as Title 5, Chapter 1, Subchapter 3 of the California Code of Regulations.
• Specifically, a student shall at the time of enrollment:

1. Have completed a four-year college course of study and hold an acceptable baccalaureate degree from an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association, or shall have completed equivalent academic preparation as determined by appropriate campus authorities;
2. Be in good academic standing at the last college or university attended;
3. Have earned a grade point average of at least 2.5 on the last degree completed by the candidate or have attained a grade point average of at least 2.5 (A=4.0) in the last 60 semester (90 quarter) units attempted; and
4. Satisfactorily meet the professional, personal, scholastic, and other standards for graduate study, including qualifying examinations, as appropriate campus authorities may prescribe. In unusual circumstances, a campus may make exceptions to these criteria.

• Students who meet the minimum requirements for graduate and post-baccalaureate studies may be considered for admission in one of the four following categories:
  • Graduate Classified – To pursue a graduate degree, applicants are required to fulfill all of the professional, personal, scholastic, and other standards, including qualifying examinations, prescribed by the campus; or
  • Graduate Conditionally Classified – Applicants may be admitted to a graduate degree program in this category if, in the opinion of appropriate campus authority, deficiencies may be remedied by additional preparation; or
  • Post-Baccalaureate Classified, e.g. admission to an education credential program – Persons wishing to enroll in a credential or certificate program, will be required to satisfy additional professional, personal, scholastic, and other standards, including qualifying examinations, prescribed by the campus; or
  • Post-Baccalaureate Unclassified – To enroll in undergraduate courses as preparation for advanced degree programs or to enroll in graduate courses for professional or personal growth, applicants must be admitted as post-baccalaureate unclassified students. By meeting the general requirements, applicants are eligible for admission as post-baccalaureate unclassified students. Admission in this status does not constitute admission to, or assurance of consideration for admission to, any graduate degree or credential program (Most CSU campuses do not offer admission to unclassified post-baccalaureate students).

(These and other CSU admission requirements are subject to change as policies are revised and laws are amended. The CSU website www.calstate.edu and the CSU admissions portal CSUMentor are good sources of the most up-to-date information.)

Graduate-Post-Baccalaureate English Language Requirement

All graduate and post-baccalaureate applicants, regardless of citizenship, whose native language is not English and whose preparatory education was principally in a language other than English must demonstrate competence in English. Those who do not possess a bachelor’s degree from a postsecondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction must receive a minimum score of 79/80 on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Some programs may require a higher score. Several CSU campuses may use alternative methods for assessing fluency in English including Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and the International Test of English Proficiency (ITEP).

CSU minimum TOEFL standards are:

Related Topics

International (Foreign) Student Admission Requirements