Out of all of the students who transfer to the California State University (CSU) system, nearly 94% transferred from a California Community College.
To be admitted to a CSU as an upper-division transfer student (with junior standing and to receive priority admission over high school seniors), you must:
- have completed a minimum of 60 semester units of transferable coursework
- have an overall college GPA of at least 2.0. Your GPA is calculated using all your transferable level coursework. For impacted majors and campuses, a GPA of 2.0 may not be sufficient for admission.
- be in good standing at the last college or university attended. In simple terms, “good standing” means you are eligible to re-enroll at your last college or university
- have completed 10 general education courses (30 semester units), with a grade of C- or better, and, specifically, four courses completed in the following areas (in either column):
| General Education-Breadth | Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum* (IGETC) |
|---|---|
| Area A - English Language Communication and Critical Thinking | Area 1 - English Communication |
| A1 - Oral Communication | 1A - Written Communications |
| A2 - Written Communications | 1B - Critical Thinking |
| A3 - Critical Thinking | 1C - Oral Communications |
| Area B - Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning | Area 2 - Mathematical Concept and Quantitative Reasoning |
| B4 - Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning |
California Community Colleges can certify up to 39 lower-division GE-Breadth semester units. Certification means that the CSU will accept these courses to meet the CSU GE-Breadth areas designated by West Valley.
Students who are certified with 39 semester units of lower-division GE-Breadth units will only be required to complete a minimum of nine semester (13.5 quarter) units of upper-division general education work after they transfer, just like other students attending their CSU campus.
If you are applying to a high-unit major such as science, technology, engineering and some math-based fields, be sure to check with the CSU campus for their requirements in this area or make an appointment to speak with a counselor.
If you plan to complete all of your GE requirements at West Valley (either by following the CSU GE or IGETC), you need to request a GE certification through the transcript ordering system, available on your student portal. When you place an order, make sure you select either the “CSU GE” or “IGETC” option.
Visit Assist to see which courses the campus you are applying to require (or recommend) you complete at West Valley prior to transferring. You should also check each school’s individual website if you are applying to an impacted major. Many CSUs prefer that you follow the AA-S/AA-T/ADT if it is available for your major. However, you should still check Assist to see if there are any additional requirements. To see which ADTs are offered at West Valley, visit our ADT page.
You need to apply to transfer between October 1-November 30 of the year PRIOR to the fall you want transfer to the CSU. If you want to transfer for the Spring semester, you should apply between August 1-31. Not all CSU campuses accept students for the spring semester, and if they do, they are sometimes open only for certain majors. It also changes from year to year. To find out if a CSU campus is open for spring admission or to apply to transfer, visit Cal State Apply.
You can schedule an appointment to meet with a counselor at any time should you need individual assistance in completing your application. The Transfer Center also offers application workshops during the fall semester. Visit our Transfer Calendar to see when we are offering these workshops.