Frequently Asked Questions

If it appears that course credit is missing from your Transfer Credit Report (TCR): SF State must have an updated official transcript from all your previously-attended institutions since high school. For new students, TCRs are usually ready by early May (Fall entry) or early January (Spring entry).

After TCRs are initially posted, we usually need about five business days after receiving a transcript to add it to the TCR. Review the Transcripts section for more detailed information.

If it appears that a course is not meeting a particular SF State requirement: Be sure to expand your TCR - all articulation information will appear on the far right side.

Review the Asking about your transfer credit evaluation section for more detailed information about the best way to direct your questions.

Each undergraduate student has both a Transfer Credit Report (TCR) and a Degree Progress Report (DPR).

The TCR displays information about courses taken at other institutions, and how SF State awards credit for those courses. Also, the TCR displays information about external examinations (Advanced Placement, for example). These are exams that typically earn credit towards a bachelor's degree, depending on the scores and content. The TCR shows how SF State awards credit for these exams.

The DPR shows all requirements necessary for the degree, and keeps track of the status of each requirement: complete, in-progress, or not yet completed. On the DPR, requirements met by transfer credit are noted using a green left arrow.

• Check your Transfer Credit Report (TCR), where information about credit for external examinations is displayed (Advanced Placement, for example). The TCR shows how SF State awards credit for these exams.
• Important note: SF State must receive your official score report from CollegeBoard in order to award credit for AP. Credit for AP is not automatically carried over from institutions you have attended previously.
• Visit this site to learn about sending AP score reports.

New students:  Email regweb@sfsu.edu.   You can also ask an academic advisor about this when you attend New Student Orientation.

Continuing students: Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can help troubleshoot this issue.

• At least 120 semester units are required for the bachelor's degree.​
• The number of community college units that count towards the 120 is capped at 70 (semester) or 105 (quarter). ​
• If you completed additional community college units, GE requirements met by any of your college-level transfer courses will be honored. ​
• Completing a minimum of 30 units in residence at SF State is required for the degree. ​
• There are some limitations to the types of credit that can be used towards the degree. For example, credit for non-academic courses (vocational, technical, professional or career-oriented) or courses designed to prepare students for baccalaureate-level courses do not normally count towards a Bachelor's degree. Review the Other types of transfer credit section to learn more.

Yes – subject to the same limitations described in the previous FAQ (How many transfer units can I count towards my SF State degree?).

SF State recognizes baccalaureate-level credit earned at regionally accredited U.S. institutions. This includes Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and College Level Examination Program credit, subject to qualifying scores and subject matter. And, other types of transfer credit can apply to the degree.

• It is possible to repeat a course. Keep in mind that the units you earned for the course you took previously will be subtracted from your overall transferable units. This normally occurs at the end of the semester during which you repeat the course at SF State.
• GPA impact: we will use the better grade if you re-take a course after transfer.​
• If you attempt to register for a pre-approved (articulated) equivalent course at SF State, the registration system will alert you. 

If you think you are being incorrectly “charged” units for repeating a course:

New students: Ask an academic advisor about this when you attend New Student Orientation.

Continuing students: Consult with an academic advisor. Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can support you with questions about transfer units being treated as repeated units.

Continuing education units (CEUs) are nationally recognized units of measurement for participation in professional development programs for which academic credit is not awarded. CEUs may neither be applied to nor substituted for graduation requirements without further evaluation.

For additional questions about using continuing education or professional certification units towards the bachelor’s degree:

New students: Ask an academic advisor about this when you attend New Student Orientation.

Continuing students: Consult with an academic advisor. Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can support you with questions about CEUs.

Units from U.S. institutions on the quarter system or from international institutions are converted to semester units. Here is an online unit converter tool.

Do you need support for questions about quarter units and your Degree Progress Report?

New students: Ask an academic advisor about this when you attend New Student Orientation.

Continuing students: Consult with an academic advisor. Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can assist you with questions related to transfer units from an institution on the quarter system.

Yes, completion of the entire IGETC pattern is equivalent to completion of the entire CSU GE pattern. Students who may apply to a CSU should follow the IGETC for CSU pattern, specifically, which includes GE A1 Oral Communication.Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can direct you to the appropriate faculty advisor in your major.

If you followed the IGETC pattern to meet your General Education requirements, please ask your community college to send an IGETC certification to SF State Undergraduate Admissions. We will use the IGETC certification to update your record to show completion of lower division GE.

Send IGETC certifications to ugadmit@sfsu.edu.

Sometimes, a single course is appropriate for more than one GE area, but it can only meet one area.

New students: Ask an academic advisor about this when you attend New Student Orientation. Or, follow the TC Inquiry Form link in the notification email you received from Undergraduate Admissions when your transfer credit was posted. Use the TC Inquiry Form to submit a request to move your course to a different GE area.

Continuing students: Consult with an academic advisor. Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can support you with GE questions.

Possibly. Before signing up to take a CLEP exam, review the information in the University Bulletin about how SF State awards GE credit for CLEP.

Make sure that when you take your CLEP exam, you provide instructions for your score report to be delivered to SF State Undergraduate Admissions.

No course at the transfer institution has been reviewed for articulation, and thus there is no agreement in place that ensures that students who take a specific transfer course will meet the same requirement(s) as the SF State course.

In the absence of articulation, transfer students should ask their major advisor about whether their transfer courses can substitute for SF State courses in their major.

ASSIST users may email artic@sfsu.edu to inquire about whether or not specific courses offered at a California Community College, CSU or UC are appropriate for articulation.

Transfer courses must be taken when the equivalency approval is in effect. For example, if the equivalency first appears in ASSIST in 2017-2018, but the course was taken in Spring 2016, our system will not reflect the equivalency.

When this happens, ask a faculty advisor in your major. If faculty determine that the content of the course you took was the same as it was when later approved as equivalent, we will assist you with clearing the major requirement.

New students: Ask an academic advisor about this when you attend New Student Orientation.

Continuing students: Consult with an academic advisor.  Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center can direct you to the appropriate faculty advisor in your major.

If your transfer courses are appropriate for meeting major requirements, we will assist you with moving forward.

New students: Submit a Course Equivalency Request form.

Continuing students: Consult with an academic advisor. Visit the Advising Hub for a complete campus Academic Advising Directory. Staff advisors in your College advising center will direct you to the appropriate faculty advisor in your major.

Possibly. Before signing up to take a CLEP exam, meet with a faculty advisor in your major to confirm that credit for the CLEP exam will substitute for the major requirement.

Make sure that when you take your CLEP exam, you provide instructions for your score report to be delivered to SF State Undergraduate Admissions.

No degree is required for admission as an undergraduate transfer student.

Applicants who have earned the Associate Degree for Transfer (AA-T or AS-T) are given priority admission over other transfer students when applying to a local campus or a non-impacted program.  AA-T or AS-T applicants also receive priority consideration when applying to an impacted campus/program if following an approved ADT pathway.

In most cases, students who earn an AA-T or AS-T have met all lower-division General Education (GE) requirements in transfer. The Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science AS-T degrees each postpone three units in lower-division GE Area C and three units in lower-division GE Area D until after transfer.

Visit this site for more information about ADTs.

The Associate Degree for Transfer accommodates students who

• start their degree pathway at a California Community College;
• focus on a specific major;
• complete all or most lower division graduation requirements (GE and major);
• transfer to a CSU and pursue a major with an approved ADT pathway designation (these are usually the same or similar majors).

Students who follow an approved ADT pathway (pursue the same or a similar major at the CSU) are guaranteed degree completion in no more than 60 units.

Transfer students continuing an approved ADT pathway at SF State are also eligible to pledge for California Promise, a program that provides student participants with resources and guidance to assist them in completing their bachelor's degree within two years.

"Traditional" associate degree programs (AA or AS) are not the same as ADTs, although some of the elements above apply to both AA/AS degrees and to ADTs.

Some SF State degree programs accept "second baccalaureate" applicants. Individuals who already hold a bachelor's degree will follow the graduate student application pathway on CalState Apply, the CSU's system-wide application platform.

Students who have previously earned a baccalaureate or higher degree from an institution accredited by a regional accrediting association will not have to complete any GE or additional graduation requirements. These students will only be held to completing courses specifically required for the secondary major.