Transfer to the California State University (CSU) System

Santa Monica College transfers an impressive number of students to the California State University system, which consists of 23 campuses located throughout the state. Admission representatives from local CSU campuses visit SMC’s Transfer/Counseling Center on a regular basis. Please check with the Center for more detailed information.

CSU Applications

Applications for admission to the CSU system are available online at www.csumentor.edu. Applications to impacted programs must be filed during the priority-filing period, which is the first month applications are accepted for a given term. Many CSU campuses are approaching capacity in a number of academic disciplines, and they are likely to stop accepting applications for admission after the first month of the filing period. Campuses that are less impacted may accept applications up to one month prior to the opening day of the term, although individual programs may close earlier. Applications should be filed as early in the filing period as possible to ensure priority consideration!

CSU Priority Application Filing Periods

Students are encouraged to attend an application workshop before beginning application procedures. The priority application filing periods are:

Admission Requirements for the California State University (CSU)

Transfer Applicants with 60 or More Transferable Semester Units

Transfer applicants with 60 or more transferable semester units must have a grade point average of 2.0 (C) or higher (2.4 for nonresidents) in all transferable semester units attempted, be in good standing at the last college or university attended, and meet any of the following eligibility standards:

   1.   Complete all subject requirements in effect at the time of high school graduation (both high school and college coursework may be used to meet the college preparatory course requirements), or

   2.   Complete with grade of C (2.0) or higher in each course a minimum of 30 semester (45 quarter) units selected from courses in English, arts and humanities, social science, science, and mathematics that are at least equivalent in level to courses that meet CSU General Education-Breadth or Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) requirements. All CSU general education requirements in communication in the English language (at least 9 semester units) and in mathematics (usually 3 semester units) must be completed as part of the 30-semester-unit requirement. The remainder of the units can be selected from any of the designated areas.

Applicants Who Graduated from High School Prior to 1988:

Applicants who graduated from high school prior to 1988 must meet any of the following eligibility standards:

   1.   Complete 4 years of high school English and 2 years of high school mathematics, with grades of C (2.0) or higher; or

   2.   Complete with a grade of C (2.0) or higher a baccalaureate course that meets CSU general education requirements in written communication and a course with a grade of C (2.0) or higher that meets the general education requirement in mathematics/quantitative reasoning; or

   3.   Complete IGETC requirements in English composition and mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning (course meeting the general education mathematics requirement must be above the level of intermediate algebra).

(Information Source: CSU Admissions Handbook. Go to www.csumentor.edu for more information.)

CSU General Education Certification Pattern

Students may follow the pattern of study outlined below or, in most cases, the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) to meet lower-division general education requirements for the CSU system.

SMC does not accept foreign coursework to meet CSU GE requirements.

To Transfer

A student must complete 60 or more transferable semester units with a minimum GPA of 2.0 (C) or higher (2.4 for nonresidents), be in good standing at the last college or university attended, and have completed or made up any missing college preparatory subject requirements.

In addition to the above, students who graduated from high school prior to 1987 may qualify for CSU admission by completing—with a grade of C (2.0) or higher in each course—the CSU general education requirements in Area A, Communication in the English Language; and Area B4, mathematics. Students who graduated from high school in 1988 and later may complete—with a grade of C (2.0) or higher in each course—a minimum of 30 semester (45 quarter) units of general education courses selected from the CSU GE pattern.

All CSU general education requirements in Area A, Communication in the English Language (at least 9 semester units) and in Area B4, mathematics (usually 3 semester units) must be completed as part of the 30-semester-unit requirement. The remainder of the units can be selected from any of the designated areas.

Certain “impacted” programs, which have more applicants than there are spaces available, have additional screening requirements. Please see an SMC counselor for details.

CSU Certification

“Certification” means that Santa Monica College has verified that a student has completed the lower-division general education requirements for the California State University system.

Certification from a community college is important, because without it, students will be held to the general education requirements specific to the CSU campus to which they are transferring. This typically involves additional lower-division coursework. Once a student is “certified,” however, the CSU campus of choice will identify the student as having completed the lower-division requirements that were spelled out in the articulation agreement established between the particular CSU campus and Santa Monica College. (Students should note that 9 units of upper-division general education courses must be completed after transfer).

Courses from other schools may be considered for certification by petition through a process called “pass along certification.” Please see an SMC counselor for assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to request certification. Petitions for certification may be filed in the Admissions Office from January 1 through July 31 for the Spring semester and October 1 through December 1 for students planning to complete requirements during the Fall semester. Certification petitions are available on those dates in the Admissions Office and online (go to www.smc.edu/admissions/forms.htm). Requests for certification will be processed ONLY during those periods.

CSU General Education Requirements

NOTE: Some courses are listed in two areas within the pattern. HOWEVER, a course can be used for credit in only one area, with the exception of courses listed in Areas A and B of the CSU graduation requirements.

Courses with a laboratory component are designated by underlined text in the lists below.

Students wishing to earn an AA degree must complete a Global Citizenship course. These courses are designated by bold underlined text in the lists below.

    A.   COMMUNICATION IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE – 9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units, one course from each group

   1.   Speech 1, 2Δ, 6, 11

   2.   English 1

   3.   English 2Δ, 31; Business 32; History 47, Philosophy 7

   B.   PHYSICAL UNIVERSE & LIFE FORMS – 9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units, at least one course from each group; one course must include a lab (courses with a laboratory component are underlined in this section and fulfill the lab requirement for Area B.):

   1.   Astronomy 1 (formerly 1A), 2 (formerly 1B), 3, 4, 5; Chemistry 9, 10 (formerly 3), 11 (formerly 1), 12 (formerly 2), (14), (15), (16), 21 (formerly 14), 22, 24 (both 22 and 24 must be taken to fulfill lab requirement), 31; Geography 1, 3, 5; Geology 1, 4, 5 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 31; Physics 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 14 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 21 (formerly 1), 22 (formerly 3), 23 (formerly 2), 24

   2.   Anatomy 1Δ, 2; Anthropology 1, 5, 9 (if completed Summer 2002 or later); Biology 2 (formerly 25) 3, 4, (6), 9Δ, 15, 15N, 21Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (formerly 6A), 22Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (formerly 6B), 23 (formerly 7), 75N (if completed Fall 2000 or later); Botany 1, 3; Microbiology 1; Physiology 3; Psychology 2; Zoology 5, 17

   3.   Math 2, 7, 8, [10], 11, 13, 15, 21, 22 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 26, 28 (formerly 23), 29 (formerly 24), 52; CS [10]; Philosophy 9 (if completed prior to Fall 1999);

   C.   ARTS, LITERATURE, PHILOSOPHY AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE – 9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units, at least one course in the Arts and one course in the Humanities.

   Arts: Architecture ([50])Δ (same as Art 6), ([51])Δ (same as Art 7); Art 1, 2, 3, (4), 5, [6]Δ (same as Architecture 50), [7]Δ (same as Architecture 51), 8, 9, (9A-9D), 10A, 10B, 13, 20A, 20B, 40A, 40B, 71, 72, [73]Δ (same as Photography 52), 79; Cinema (see Film Studies); Dance 2, 5; English [26]Δ (same as Humanities 26), 55; Entertainment Technology [61]Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (same as Graphic Design 74); Film Studies 1 (formerly Cinema 9), 2 (formerly Cinema 1), 5 (formerly Cinema 5), 6 (formerly Cinema 8), 8 (formerly Cinema 2), 9 (if completed prior to Fall 2007) (formerly Cinema 4), 11 (same as English 11); Graphic Design [74]Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (same as Entertainment Technology 61), Humanities [26]Δ (same as English 26); Interior Architectural Design 41; Music 1, 30, 31, 32, 33 (satisfies Global Citizenship requirement if completed Fall 2005 or later), 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 60A, 60B; Photography [52]Δ (same as Art 73), Theatre Arts 2, 5, [7], 41

   Humanities: American Sign Language 1, 2; Chinese 1, 2, 3 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 8 (if completed prior to Summer 1995); Cinema (see Film Studies); Economics [15]Δ (same as History 15); English 2Δ, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11Δ (same as Film Studies 11), (12), (13), 14, 15, (16), 17 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 18, (19), (25), [26]Δ (same as Humanities 26), (27A-Z), [32]Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (same as History 30), 34, 38, 39, 40, 41, 45, 50, [51]Δ (same as Religious Studies 51), [52]Δ (same as Religious Studies 52), 53, 54, [55], 56, 57 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 58, 59; Film Studies 7 (formerly Cinema 7), 11Δ (same as English 11); French 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; German 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; Hebrew 1, 2, (3), (4), 8; History 1Δ, 2Δ, 3Δ, 4Δ, 5Δ, 6Δ, 10Δ, 11Δ, 12Δ, 13Δ, [15]Δ (same as Economics 15), 16Δ, (17)Δ, (18)Δ, 19Δ, 20Δ, 21Δ, 22Δ, (23)Δ, 24Δ, 25Δ, 26Δ, 29Δ, [30]Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (same as English 32), 33Δ, 34Δ, (37)Δ, 38Δ (if completed prior to Fall 1998), 39Δ (if completed prior to Fall 1998), 41Δ, (42)Δ, 43Δ, 45Δ, 46Δ, [48]Δ (same as Philosophy 48), 52Δ, 53, 55Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 62Δ; Humanities [26]Δ (same as English 26); Italian 1, 2, 3 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 8; Japanese 1, 2, 3, 4, 8; Korean 1, 2, 3; Persian 1, 2 (if completed Fall 1999 or later); Philosophy 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 10 (if completed Fall 2001 or later), 11, [22]Δ (same as Religious Studies 22), [23]Δ (same as Religious Studies 23), 24 (if completed prior to Summer 1995), 41 (if completed prior to Summer 1995), [48]Δ (same as History 48), [51]Δ (same as Political Science 51), [52] (same as Political Science 52); Political Science [51]Δ (same as Philosophy 51), [52]Δ (same as Philosophy 52); Religious Studies ([22])Δ (same as Philosophy 22), ([23])Δ (same as Philosophy 23), [51]Δ (same as English 51), [52]Δ (same as English 52); Russian 1, 2, 8; Spanish 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 11 (if completed Fall 2004 or later), 20; Speech 2Δ (if completed Summer 2002 or later), 4 (if completed Fall 2002 or later); Theatre Arts [7]

   D.   SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INSTITUTIONS – 9 semester units or 12-15 quarter units, with courses selected from at least two categories:

   D0 – Sociology 1, 2, 4, 12 (if completed Fall 2003 or later), (22), 30 (if completed Fall 1998 or later), 31, 32, 33, 34

   D1 – Anthropology 2, 3, 4 (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 7, (13), 14, 20 (if completed Fall 1992 or later), 22; History 38Δ, 39Δ

   D2 – Economics 1, 2, [5], 6; History 1Δ, 33Δ, 34Δ, 38Δ, 39Δ; Political Science [5]

   D3 – Ethnic Studies (10); History 33Δ, 34Δ, 38Δ, 39Δ, (42)Δ, Nutrition 7Δ, Political Science 21; Sociology (22), 30 (if completed Fall 1998 or later), 31, 32, 34

   D4 – Anthropology 14; History 33Δ, 34Δ; Political Science 23; Sociology 33; Women’s Studies 10, 20

   D5 – Geography 2, [8] (if completed Fall 2001 or later), 11, 14; History 33Δ, 34Δ, 38Δ, 39Δ; Urban [8] (if completed Fall 2001 or later)

   D6 – Economics [15]Δ (same as History 15); English [32]Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (same as History 30), History 1Δ, 2Δ, 3Δ, 4Δ, 5Δ, 6Δ, 10Δ, 11Δ, 12Δ, 13Δ, [15]Δ (same as Economics 15), 16Δ, (17)Δ, (18)Δ, 19Δ, 20Δ, 21Δ, 22Δ, (23)Δ, 24Δ, 25Δ, 26Δ, ([28])Δ, 29Δ, [30]Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later) (same as English 32), 33Δ, 34Δ, 38Δ (if completed prior to Fall 1998), 39Δ (if completed prior to Fall 1998), 41Δ, (42)Δ, 43Δ, 45Δ, 46Δ, 52Δ, 55Δ (if completed Fall 2000 or later), 62Δ; Political Science [28]Δ

   D7 – Communication 1 (if completed Summer 2003 or later), 10; Early Childhood Education [18] (formerly Child Development 18) (same as Psychology 18); Environmental Studies [7] (if completed Fall 2001 or later); Geography [7] (if completed Fall 2001 or later); History 33Δ, 34Δ, 38Δ, 39Δ, [48]Δ (same as Philosophy 48); Nutrition 7Δ (if completed Fall 2003 or later), Philosophy [48]Δ (same as History 48); Psychology 11Δ, 18 (same as Early Childhood Education 18); Spanish 9, 20; Speech 7

   D8 – Economics [5], History ([28])Δ; Philosophy [51] (same as Political Science 51), [52] (same as Political Science 52); Political Science 1, 2, [5], 7, 8, 11 (if completed Spring 2002 or later), 14, 21, 22, [28]Δ, 47, [51]Δ (same as Philosophy 51), [52]Δ (same as Philosophy 52)

   D9 – Home Economics (6); Psychology 1Δ, 3, 6, 11Δ (formerly Child Development 11), 13, 14 (if completed Fall 1997 or later), 19 (if completed Spring 2007 or later), 25 (if completed Fall 1997 or later)

   E.   UNDERSTANDING AND SELF DEVELOPMENT – 3 semester units or 4-5 quarter units:

      Anatomy 1Δ (does not satisfy Area E if completed Fall 1999 or later); Bilingual Studies 1; Biology 2Δ (formerly 25), 9Δ; Counseling 12 (formerly Human Development 12), 20 (formerly Human Development 20) (if completed Fall 2002 or later), 30; English 31 (does not satisfy Area E if completed Fall 1999 or later); Health 10 (if completed Summer 1999 or later); Home Economics (6), (11); Human Development 12 (see Counseling 12); Nutrition 1, 4, 9 (if completed Fall 2002 or later); Physical Education Activity Courses (2 unit limit), KIN PE 2, 13 (if completed Fall 2007 or later); Psychology 1Δ, 3, 5, 6, 11Δ (if completed Fall 2005 or later), 13, 19 (if completed Spring 2007 or later), 25; Speech 5; VAR PE – all courses

CSU Graduation Requirements

The CSU graduation requirements listed below are NOT part of the CSU GE Requirements, but may be completed prior to transfer. (For key to symbols, see above)

      AMERICAN HISTORY AND INSTITUTIONS – 6 semester units or 9-12 quarter units, with one course selected from each group (American History and Institutions courses may also be credited toward satisfying GE requirements from Areas C and D):

   1.   History 10 (if completed Spring 2007 or later), 11, 12, 15Δ (same as Economics 15), 41 (if completed prior to Summer 2008), 41 (if completed Spring 2007 or later), 45 (if completed prior to Fall 2008), 46 (if completed prior to Fall 2008); Economics [15] (same as History 15) (if completed prior to Summer 2008)

   2.   Political Science 1

Advanced Placement Examination in CSU General Education – Breadth Certification

The following Advanced Placement examinations may be incorporated into the certification of completion of CSU General Education-Breadth requirements by any participating institution. Students must have scored 3, 4 or 5 on an Advanced Placement examination listed below to receive the credit indicated. All CSU campuses will accept the minimum units shown below and apply them toward fulfillment of the designated General Education-Breadth area if the examination is included as part of a full or subject-area certification. Though a score of 3 on the English Language or Literature AP will satisfy Area A2, the score will NOT waive students into English 2 or 31. A score of 4 or 5 is required for this waiver. Please note that individual CSU campuses may choose to accept more units than those specified below toward completion of General Education-Breadth requirements. The CSU campus to which the student is transferring determines the total number of units to be awarded for successful completion of Advanced Placement examination(s) and how the exam scores may apply to other graduation requirements.

Art: History of Art – 3 semester units toward area C1
Biology – 4 semester units toward area B2 and B3
Chemistry – 6 semester units toward area B1 and B3
Economics: Macroeconomics – 3 semester units toward area D2
English: English Language and Composition – 3 semester units toward area A2
English: English Literature and Composition – 6 semester units toward area A2 and C2
Environmental Science – check with CSU to determine semester units awarded toward area B1 and B3
French: French Language – 6 semester units toward area C2
French: French Literature – 6 semester units toward area C2
German: German Language – 6 semester units toward area C2
Government and Politics: United States – 3 semester units toward area D8 (NOTE: Does not clear the CSU Graduation Requirement)
Government and Politics: Comparative – 3 semester units toward area D8
History: European History – 3 semester units toward area D6
History: United States History – 3 semester units toward area D6
History: World – check with CSU to determine semester units awarded toward area D6
Human Geography – check with CSU to determine semester units awarded toward area D5
Italian: Italian Language & Culture – check with CSU to determine semester units awarded toward area C2
Japanese: Japanese Language & Culture – check with CSU to determine semester units awarded toward area C2
Latin: Virgil – 3 semester units toward area C2
Latin: Latin Literature – 3 semester units toward area C2
Mathematics: Calculus AB – 3 semester units toward area B4
Mathematics: Calculus BC – 3 semester units toward area B4
Music Theory – 3 semester units toward area C1
Physics B – 6 semester units toward area B1 and B3
Physics C (mechanics) – 3 semester units toward area B1 and B3
Physics C (electricity and magnetism) – 3 semester units toward area B1 and B3
Psychology – 3 semester units toward area D9
Spanish: Spanish Language – 6 semester units toward area C2
Spanish: Spanish Literature – 6 semester units toward area C2
Statistics – 3 semester units toward area B4

Please be aware that the following courses have been (or will be) removed from the CSU GE Certification Pattern just prior to the terms listed:

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