How to apply to the College of Education to enroll in pre-requisite courses
You must be admitted to the College of Education (COE) as a graduate student in order to enroll in the pre-requisite credential courses. If you are a continuing CSUSM student who has applied to graduate with your BA and have not yet taken the pre-requisite courses, or, if you are a graduate student from another college or university, you must apply to the university as a graduate student for the semester during which you wish to take the pre-requisites. In addition, all graduate students taking pre-requisite courses must submit an application to the College of Education, as outlined below.
University and College of Education Application Timeline**
| Semester entering program or beginning prerequisites as Graduate student |
Priority Application Period |
| Summer or Fall entry into pre-requisites | Begins January 15th |
| Spring entry into pre-requisites | Begins August 15th |
**Special Note: Due to the impact of the budget of the Sate of California and its effect on CSU campuses, the College of Education will not be accepting new applications for Spring 2010.
ADMISSION PROCESS
STEP ONE - Admission to College of Education
Graduate application for California State University San Marcos - submitted online: If this is the first time you have created an account, please write down your user name and password for future use. A $55 fee is required to submit this application. These tips on properly completing application fields will assure success in the application process:
- Major/Program objective; CREDENTIAL ONLY
- Degree objective: NONE
- Education credential objective: Applying to a credential program now
- Program choices: on drop-down menus list MA and Multiple Subject (or Single Subject, or Special Education, depending on which credential program you wish to enter)
- You do not need to provide the following information on this application (SKIP THESE SECTIONS):
EMPLOYMENT Information/History
Academic Honors
Test Information - When asked for a Statement of Purpose, simply put, "N/A." This will allow you to move forward in the application.
College of Education Application
Complete and submit the Pre-requisites Application to: Student Services Center - University Hall 221, CSU San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096-0001.
As part of this application process, you must meet the following requirements:
- Must have a Bachelor's Degree from a regionally accredited university*
- Must submit proof of application for a Certificate of Clearance from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (details on obtaining this clearance are available at the above link, in program brochures, and in the Student Services Center.)
- Must have a 2.67 cumulative, or better, GPA
- Submit with application, one (1) letter of recommendation, on official letterhead, from an instructor, public school teacher, or someone who has known you for at least two years and can attest to your integrity, academic experience and fitness to be in a credential program.
TRANSCRIPTS- Two sets of official (unopened) transcripts are needed for each application. One set should accompany your paper application to the College of Education. One set should be sent directly to the CSUSM Office of Admissions from every college/university attended, even if it was just one course taken years ago. We cannot emphasize strongly enough how important it is to include each institution when ordering transcripts. You will not be fully admitted to the university or able to register for courses until all transcripts are submitted and reviewed.
*If you do not yet have a transcript with degree posted, please submit an official transcript for your work completed to date and provide an official transcript when degree is posted. It is not necessary to submit transcripts for courses taken at CSUSM.
Once all above requirements are met, the COE will instruct the University to admit you to the College of Education so you may take the pre-requisite courses.
STEP TWO - Admission to a Specific Credential Program - One additional application to COE
Once you are admitted for the College of Education, as outlined in Step one, you will be a continuing COE student. To remain a COE student and enter a credential program, you must submit a COE application to the COE Student Services Center for the program you are interested in entering. Please refer to the following Timeline for this 2nd COE application.
| Semester entering specific program or Wishing to begin Credential Program |
Priority Application Period |
| Summer or Fall entry into Credential Program | beginning January 15th |
| Spring entry into Credential Program | beginning August 15th |
Applications to specific programs. Applications should be sent to: Student Services Center, College of Education (UH 221), CSU San Marcos, San Marcos, CA 92096-0001. Please refer to program brochures for specific admissions requirements for each program.
