CSU Eligibility Requirements

• 1. Earn enough units to reach Junior standing (upper division transfer)

  • Complete 60 or more transferable semester units or 90 or more quarter units. No college freshmen, sophomores, or applicants seeking a second bachelor’s degree (except for those entering the nursing program) will be admitted.

    To learn how course credits earned at one public California college or university can be applied when transferred to another, use ASSIST, an online student-transfer information system, or transfer.sjsu.edu 

    Also note, that while all courses on ASSIST and transfer.sjsu.edu are transferable, not all are required prior to transfer. See Impaction link below.

• 2. Complete the four basic skills courses as part of 30 semester units (45 quarter units) of general education

  • To be eligible for fall admission, you must meet all CSU admission requirements by the end of the spring term prior to fall enrollment. You must earn a “C-” or higher grade in each basic skills course. Please submit your transcripts as early as possible and by the deadline. You will not be allowed to register until we have received your official transcripts from all institutions attended. 

    To be eligible for spring admission, you must meet all CSU admission requirements by the end of the fall term prior to spring enrollment. You must earn a “C-” or higher grade in each basic skills course. Please submit your transcripts as early as possible and by the deadline. You will not be allowed to register until we have received your official transcripts from all institutions attended.

    Area	Course
    A1	One course in oral communication
    A2	One course in written composition
    A3	One course in critical thinking
    B4	One course in college-level mathematics or quantitative reasoning, with intermediate algebra as a prerequisite

    There are a select group of high-unit majors with an authorized exception for the A3 requirement at SJSU. The list of those majors can be found under "San José" on the CalState website.

    Note that SJSU will accept grades of “credit” or “pass” in courses completed during the Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall 2020 terms and in Winter, Spring and Summer 2021 terms, including courses taken to satisfy:

    -The four basics skills course requirement
    -All other General Education courses; and
    -Major prerequisite courses

    You must earn a "C-" or better in courses completed in all other terms to meet the above requirements.

• 3. Earn a minimum college grade point average of 2.00 or better in all transferable courses
  • Note: The minimum grade point average does not guarantee admission to your major. See Impaction link below.
• 4. Be in good standing at the last college or university that you attended
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• 5. Meet impaction GPA and supplemental coursework

  • Admission to San José State is competitive in all majors because SJSU continues to have more qualified applicants than available new student spaces. This situation is called “impaction” and it means that meeting the minimum academic requirements does not guarantee admission to San José State.

    CSU eligible transfer applicants will be ranked in each major based on their self-reported GPA (as reported in the required supplemental application).

    Select majors (degree programs) give preference to applicants who have completed program-specific preparatory courses. These programs will give preference to students based on a combination of their self-reported GPA and the completion of program-specific, lower-division coursework. 

    For example, if two applicants to the same program have the same GPA, preference will be given to the applicant who has completed the greater number of program-specific preparation courses. Similarly, if two applicants have completed the same number of program-specific preparation courses, preference will be given to the applicant with a higher GPA.

    NEW for Fall 2024: Applicants to designated majors within the College of Engineering will be required to complete program-specific preparation courses to be eligible for admission.

    The program-specific courses that will be considered are listed at sjsu.edu/admissions/impaction/

SJSU Admission Selection Process (Impaction)

Once we determine you are CSU eligible, you will be reviewed through our admission selection process, called Impaction.