Transfer Students

Admissions Requirements

California State University, San Bernardino is an impacted CSU campus for Undergraduate First-Year and Transfer students. This means that, CSUSB receives more eligible applicants during our initial application filing period than can be accommodated in the incoming class. Our campus is impacted at both the Campus and Program Level. As part of campus level impaction additional admission standards have been set for students graduating from California high schools outside of our defined local area. 

Additional information about CSU Impaction, and how it can effect you can be found at the CSU, Chancellor's Office website.

CSUSB information, including Campus and Program Level Impaction can be found on our Transfer Impaction Criteria website.  

There are two paths to be eligible as a transfer student and transfer applicants must meet one of the two eligibility path requirements:

Lower Division

*The Lower Division transfer pathway is open to non-impacted programs only 

1. Applicant who has completed fewer than 60 semester (90 quarter) units of college credit is considered a lower division
2. Have achieved an overall college GPA of at least 2.00 
3. Have completed, with a grade of C- or better,
   • A course in Written Communication (GE Breadth Area A2)
   • A course in Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (GE Breadth Area B4)
4. Be in good standing at the last institution attended.
5. Have graduated from high school (received a high school diploma or general education development, or GED, certification)
6. Have completed “a-g” course requirements in high school

Upper Division 

1. Obtain upper division level by completing 60 semester (90 quarter) units of transferable course work taken at a regionally accredited* community college or university.
2. General Education: Have completed at least 30 semester units or 45 quarter units of courses in the general education requirements with a grade of “C-” or better.
3. Complete the Golden Four Courses: with a grade of “C-” or better 
   • Oral Communication (A1)
   • Written Communication (A2)
   • Critical Thinking (A3)
   • Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (B4)
4. Meet minimum GPA requirements for either Local Area or Out of  Local Area students depending on their status. 
5. Eligible to enroll: Students must be in good standing and eligible to enroll at the last institution they attended.

*Regional accreditation includes:

• Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges
• North Central Association of Schools and Colleges
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
• Southern Association of Schools and Colleges

Grade Point Average Requirements

California residents must have a transferable grade-point average of 2.0 (“C”) or better to be reviewed for admission. However, due to campus level impaction CSUSB will set the minimum qualified GPA requirement for admission based on the application pool for the term. Local and Non Local applicants will face different GPA minimums. Minimums will depend on the number of qualified applicants received at the end of the priority application filing period and enrollment limits. The required minimum qualified GPA will vary each term. 

CSUSB has defined its local area to include specific Community Colleges within San Bernardino and Riverside County. A list of local schools can be found on our Transfer Impaction website. All other institutions are considered outside our local area.

Students who attended more than one institution will be classified depending on where the majority of their coursework was completed.  

Local Area Students:

Local area non-impacted major transfer applicants will be given prioritized admission through lower minimum qualifying GPA requirements then those set for out of local area non-impacted major transfer applicants. Minimums will depend on the number of qualified applicants received at the end of the priority application filing period and enrollment limits. The required minimum qualified GPA will vary each term. 

Out of Local  Area Students:

Out of local area non-impacted major transfer applicant GPA minimums will depend on the number of qualified applicants received at the end of the priority application filing period and enrollment limits. The required minimum qualified GPA will vary each term.