Admissions Requirements

Transfer students are eligible for admission to CSUDH if they meet the following requirements. Applicants must apply via the online Cal State Apply application:

• Spring 2025: August 1, 2024 - September 30, 2024
• Fall 2025: October 1, 2024 - December 2, 2024

Admission Requirements

1. Have completed 6 transferable semester units (8 quarter units) of general education courses, graded C- or better in each course including:
   • Have completed 1 course of 3 semester (4 quarter) units in written communication
   • Have completed 1 course of 3 semester (4 quarter) units in mathematics/quantitative reasoning. The mathematics course must be above the level of intermediate algebra.Go to ASSIST.org for listings of CCC courses that meet the general education requirements.
2. Have achieved an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 or better in all transferable college units attempted. This GPA is calculated using all your transfer units attempted.
3. Be in good standing at the last college or university attended (i.e. eligible to re–enroll at that college or university).

Spring 2025 start term: Applicants who will transfer less than 60 semester units by Summer 2024 are required to submit an official high school transcript by the deadline listed on the To Do List. This transfer plan clears all course deficiencies that might have occurred in high school.

Fall 2025 start term: Applicants who will transfer less than 60 units by Spring 2025 are required to submit an official high school transcript by the deadline listed on the To Do List. This transfer plan clears all course deficiencies that might have occurred in high school. 

BSN applicants refer to the School of Nursing for additional admission criteria. Organizational Leadership applicants refer to Organizational Leadership for additional admissions criteria.

Discover the possibilities with our majors and programs.

If you have questions or need help completing the Cal State Apply admissions application, register for a virtual workshop.

Before you start your application to CSUDH, please have these items ready:

1. Unofficial Transcripts

On your application, you’ll be asked to enter all the courses you’ve completed, in-progress, or plan to take. Admission decisions are based on self-reported information from your application and if needed, we’ll request official transcripts.

• Spring 2025 applicants: All in-progress coursework must be completed by Summer 2024.
• Fall 2025 applicants: All in-progress or planned coursework must be completed by Spring 2025.

2. Social Security Number

If you have a US Social Security number, you are required to include it on the admission application.

3. Personal Email

Use your personal email address. Do not use your school or iCloud email, because it may mark our emails as spam, and you may not receive important information.

4. Annual Income

To determine if you qualify for an application fee waiver, you will be asked to enter your parents’ income. If you are an independent student, you must provide information about your household and income.

5. Payment Method

If you don’t qualify for a fee waiver, a $70 non-refundable application fee must be paid with a credit or debit card at the time of application submission.

If English is not your native language, or you have not had three years (full-time) of your secondary education (or higher) taught in English, you will need to provide proof of your English proficiency. Since most classes are taught in English, you will need to demonstrate your ability to read, write, and speak English. For more information, please review the English Proficiency Requirement.

*For detailed information about the CSU Admission requirements please refer to the CSU Admission Handbook.

Completing the Cal State Apply application accurately is a very critical step in being considered for admission. We understand that you may have questions as you go through the application. To help you with completing the application, please review the tips below.

1. Use the Cal State Apply Applicant Help Center

The Cal State Apply Applicant Help Center can be accessed in either of these two ways:

• Applicant Help Center
• After logging into the Cal State Apply application, click the blue question mark icon in the upper right-hand corner of the screen, and select "Help Center" from the dropdown list.

In the Cal State Apply Applicant Help Center, you will be able to access pages and sections detailing various parts of the application, from creating an account, to clarifying how to answer specific questions in the application, through to submitting your application. A link to a "Live Chat" is also available in a blue box located on the lower right corner of the page.

2. Filling Out Your Cal State Apply Application

The California State University system has created comprehensive guides for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle (Fall 2025, Spring 2026, Summer 2026 applications).

For more information, please click on the specific section of the application:

• Personal Information
• Academic History
• Supporting Information
• Program Materials 

3. Email Communications

Cal State Dominguez Hills uses email as the official means of communication with applicants. To ensure that you receive all communications regarding your application, please use a personal email address rather than an email address provided by your current school. Some schools may have blocked University email communications or may restrict or terminate access to your school email once you are no longer attending. If you do not already have a personal email address, please considering using a free email service such as Google's Gmail, Yahoo Mail, or Microsoft Outlook.

4. Online Application Fee Waiver

In case of financial hardship, the CSU allows for a limited number of undergraduate application fee waivers for residents of California. If you file the admission application via Cal State Apply, the fee waiver request is included in the online system as part of the application process. You will be notified at the time you apply online if you qualify for the fee waiver. If granted a fee waiver, it may be used for up to 4 campuses for each application term. To check if you qualify for an online fee waiver in Cal State Apply, click the "CHECK MY FEE WAIVER STATUS" link in the Submit Application page.

To be considered for the application fee waiver, you must be:

• An undergraduate student (you cannot be in an extension program)
• A California resident for more than one year
• A U.S. citizen, or someone without lawful immigration status who qualifies for an AB540 non-resident tuition exception.

Application fee waivers are not available for residents of other U.S. states, international students, and Graduate/post-bac program applicants. The CSU does not accept College Board fee waivers, nor any other external waiver form.

5. Mistakes to Avoid

The following common information reporting errors may cause an eligible applicant not to receive an application fee waiver:

• If you report yourself as a dependent applicant with a family size of one
• If you report the same dollar amount in the Adjusted Gross Income field as well as in the Untaxed Income field
• If you select "None" in answer to "What U.S. State/Possession do you regard as your permanent home?" 

Applicants who incorrectly report any of the items above will not be granted an application fee waiver.

For more information about the CSU Application Fee Waiver for undergraduate applicants, view the Application Fee Waiver Checklist.

6. Residency

Select the US state which you regard as your permanent home, regardless of your legal capacity to establish residency. If you select 'California,' indicate whether you claim California residency and, if so, whether you have lived in California continuously since birth. 

DACA, undocumented, or AB540 students:

• In your Cal State Apply Extended Profile, select "No" when it asks if you require an F1 or J1 visa.
• Select "California" as the state of residence if you consider California to be your permanent home.
• In the Citizenship/Residency Information section of the application, select "None" for your U.S. citizenship.

Be aware that missing or inaccurate information will result in you being considered a non-California resident for CSU tuition purposes.

1. How to Find Your College

Accurately finding your colleges and universities from the list of available schools in the Cal State Apply application is very important. Doing so will result in a smoother application process by making it easier for you to complete the College Coursework section.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when adding a college or university:

• Never abbreviate. The college search cannot locate institutions by acronyms or abbreviations. The following are some examples:
  • East Los Angeles College: Not found under East LA College or ELAC
  • Pasadena City College: Not found under PCC
  • California State University - Los Angeles: Not found under Cal State LA or CSU Los Angeles
  • University of California - Los Angeles: Not found under UCLA
  • University of Southern California: Not found under USC
• Several schools have different entries for their main campuses and extension programs. Please make sure to pick the correct "location" based on where you completed the courses.
  • For example: University of California - Los Angeles vs University of California - Los Angeles (Extension)

2. College Coursework

• To learn how to complete the College Coursework area of the Academic History section, review the Transcript Entry/College Coursework Instructions.
• Don't forget to also enter course credit awarded for AP, IB, CLEP or other exams noted on your college transcript as coursework. Add test credit to your first term of college attendance. You must report test credit in both the College Coursework and Standardized Test Sections.

3. Check your Calculated Transfer GPA and Units

• To view the Calculated Transfer GPA and Units based on your entered college coursework, go to the College Coursework area of the Academic History section of the Cal State Apply Application, and click the "Calculate my Transfer GPA" button.
• After clicking the button, it will display the calculated Transfer GPA and Transfer Credit Hours (i.e., the total number of completed transferable semester units).
• If the Transfer GPA or Transfer Credit Hours look incorrect (too high or too low), please double check your course entry, including repeats, grades, unit counts, and transferable flag for each course.

4. Check your Calculated Transfer GPA and Units

• To view the Calculated Transfer GPA and Units based on your entered college coursework, go to the College Coursework area of the Academic History section of the Cal State Apply Application, and click the "Calculate my Transfer GPA" button.
• After clicking the button, it will display the calculated Transfer GPA and Transfer Credit Hours (i.e., the total number of completed transferable semester units).
• If the Transfer GPA or Transfer Credit Hours look incorrect (too high or too low), please double check your course entry, including repeats, grades, unit counts, and transferable flag for each course.

1. Report your Returning Student Status

If you were previously admitted and earned units at CSUDH, please create your Cal State Apply profile as follows:

Degree Goal

• What degree, credential or certificate are you applying for?
  • Select "First Bachelor's Degree (Seeking your first bachelor's degree and have not earned a prior bachelor's degree)"
• Which of the following best describes your current educational status?
  • Select "Transferring from a community college or four-year institution.”
• How many college credits will you have earned when you enroll at the CSU campus to which you are applying?
  • Select the option based on the total number of semester units you have earned at CSUDH and from other colleges/universities you have attended (if any)

Returning

• Are you applying to return to the CSU campus which you previously attended, and intend to complete the same major?
  • Select "Yes"
• Which CSU Campus did you previously attend?
  • Select "CSU Dominguez Hills"
• What was your Student ID?
  • If known, enter your CSU Dominguez ID number.
• Select the scenario that applies to you:
  • I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus – Select this option if you have previously attended CSU Dominguez Hills but are also interested in applying to other CSU campuses, and you have not attended any other colleges since leaving CSU Dominguez Hills.
  • I attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU – Select this option if you previously attended CSU Dominguez Hills but attended other colleges since leaving.
  • I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus AND I attended other colleges or universities since attending CSU – Select this option if you previously attended CSU Dominguez Hills but are also interested in applying to other CSU campuses AND you have attended other colleges since leaving.
  • I have not attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU and am only applying to my original campus – Select this option if you previously attended CSU Dominguez Hills and have not attended any other college or university since leaving.

 2. CSU Dominguez Hills Coursework: To Report or Not Report?

Returning Student: Only Re-Applying to CSU Dominguez Hills (Do Not Need to Report)

• If you selected "I have not attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU and am only applying to my original campus" as the Returning Student scenario in your Extended Profile (see the "Report your Returning Student Status" section above), you will not need to enter in any college coursework information into Cal State Apply.
• Under the College Coursework section of the Cal State Apply application, please opt-out of reporting coursework by selecting “I am Not Adding Any College Transcripts”.

Returning Student: Applying to Multiple CSU Campuses (Must Report)

• If you selected "I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus" as the Returning Student scenario in your Extended Profile (see the "Report your Returning Student Status" section above), you are considered a Returning Student at CSU Dominguez Hills. However, because you are also applying to other CSU campuses, you must complete the College Coursework section to ensure that they receive all the information they need to perform an accurate assessment of your admission eligibility to their campus. Therefore, please report coursework from all colleges attended, including CSU Dominguez Hills.

Returning Transfers (Must Report)

• If you selected "I attended other colleges or universities since leaving CSU" or "I previously attended a CSU campus and am now applying to an additional campus AND I attended other colleges or universities since attending CSU" as the Returning Student scenario in your Extended Profile (see the "Report your Returning Student Status" section above), you are held to the transfer admission requirements and must complete the College Coursework section of the application. Please report coursework from all colleges attended, including CSU Dominguez Hills.