Direct Entry Graduate
Program Summary
Where sunshine drives success on California’s coast.
Students experience academic excellence and professional opportunities at California State University San Marcos (CSUSM). Our 304-acre hillside campus is minutes away from North San Diego County’s sunny beaches and just an hour from the mountains, offering a unique educational setting.
Beyond the classroom, CSUSM collaborates with local industries to provide sought-after internship opportunities. Students gain hands-on experience, practical skills, and forge invaluable professional connections.
CSUSM is conveniently located near Orange County, San Diego, and Los Angeles, all vibrant employment hubs. Whether they’re drawn to Silicon Valley’s tech innovations or San Diego’s healthcare advancements, CSUSM’s location positions students in thriving job markets.
CSUSM graduates go on to work at companies like
- Amazon
- General Atomics
- Northrup Grumman
- Qualcomm
- Thermo Fisher Scientific
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| Graduate Direct Admit | |
| Minimum GPA | 3.0 (Business Administration MBA and Computer Science MS) 2.50 (Biotechnology, Mathematics, Public Health) |
| Borderline GPA | N/A |
| General Admissions Requirements | Conferral of a Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. |
| Three-Year Degrees from India | Accepted if considered equivalent to a US Bachelor's degree based on WES criteria |
| Backlogs | No backlog limits and students can attempt a course 3 times; should they fail the 3rd time, it will count towards their GPA |
| GPA calculation rules | Study Group prepares a course-by-course credential evaluation for the last 60 credits and reviews pre-reqs |
| Level | IELTS | TOEFL (iBT) | Duolingo | Pearson (PTE) Academic | SAT/ACT | IGCSE English | IB English | Cambridge English | Global Test of Communication (GTEC) | |
| Direct Admit (Graduate) | Graduate | 6.0 (min 6.0 Writing and no subscore below a 5.5) | 80 | 110 | 65 | n/a | n/a | n/a | C1 Advanced (CAE), C2 Proficiency (CPE)–certificate awarded with a Cambridge English score of 180 or higher | n/a |
| English Waiver Policy by study | 1) Completion of at least three years of secondary education from a high school based in the United States or abroad with full curriculum of instruction in English Completion of at least three years of secondary education from a high school based in a country where English is the majority native-speaking language, or where English is the primary language of instruction starting in the primary grades (see list below) 2) Completion of at least sixty (60) post-secondary credits or an associate degree or higher from a U.S. regionally accredited postsecondary institution or from a recognized post-secondary institution abroad with full curriculum of instruction in English. Native English speakers and other applicants who completed at least three years of post-secondary education in a system with the primary medium of instruction in English: 3) Bachelor's or master's degree from a U.S. university or from a post-secondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction | |||||||||
| English Waiver Policy by Country | List of countries where English is the language of instruction includes: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Canada (except Quebec), Cayman Islands, Dominica, Gambia, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Montserrat, Namibia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Sudan, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe | |||||||||
| Conditional Admission | Undergraduate: The University is able to conditionally admit students through the University-governed pathway and intensive English program (CSUSM-American Language & Culture Institute [ALCI]) | |||||||||
| Graduate: The University agrees to review and conditionally admit Graduate applicants who meet the academic requirements but have not yet provided evidence of their English proficiency. Students must meet the minimum UG English proficiency requirement to be eligible for conditional admission. Note that an English score, or alternative English entry point, will need to be provided in order for their Form I-20 to be issued |
