California State University San Marcos (Cal State San Marcos) Transfer Acceptance Rate and Requirements, Fall 2027

At a glance

Campus, upper-division transfers: Not impacted
Spring 2027 transfers: Open

CSUSM's transfer page (updated August 12, 2026) requires upper-division transfers to have a cumulative transfer GPA of 2.0 or higher in all transferable units attempted. Fall requirements must be finished by the end of the preceding spring term.

Impaction at Cal State San Marcos

The CSU 2027-2028 Impacted Programs Matrix (July 2026) lists San Marcos as not campus-impacted. It lists Biological Sciences, Business Administration, Electrical Engineering and Nursing (basic) as impacted programs, so for Fall 2027 most other majors only require CSU minimum eligibility.

Impacted major	What it adds
Business Administration	CSUSM's impaction page says transfer students are admitted under Pre-Business status and then compete for the major based on GPA in pre-business core courses.
Nursing (Traditional BSN)	Transfer applications are rank-ordered by points under supplemental criteria, TEAS Version 7 is required, and local-area applicants get priority. CSUSM says it has had no space for non-local applicants for the past five admission cycles.
Biological Sciences and Electrical Engineering	For Fall 2027 the application for these majors (and Nursing) closes December 1, 2026, earlier than other majors. The page does not say whether these majors are impacted for transfers or only for freshmen.

Local admission area

CSUSM lists its local admission area for transfer students as Mt. San Jacinto College in Riverside County and Palomar College, MiraCosta College and Imperial Valley College. The page does not state a term.

ADT and the Transfer Success Pathway

CSUSM's ADT page (updated August 12, 2026) does not describe an admission priority or GPA boost. It says the ADT gives a clear path to the matching CSUSM major, the community college must verify the ADT by March 15 for fall admission, and an admission may be rescinded if the cumulative GPA drops below 2.0.

How the ADT guarantee works across the CSU

Dates for fall 2027

For fall 2027, applicants can start the Cal State Apply application on August 1, 2026, and can submit it starting October 1, 2026. The priority filing deadline is November 30, 2026. CSU says many campuses and majors still accept applications after the priority period.

Date	What
October 1 to November 30, 2026	Cal State Apply window for Fall 2027 transfer applicants to the Traditional BSN (Nursing).
December 1, 2026	Fall 2027 applications close for Biological Sciences, Electrical Engineering and Nursing.
December 31	End of the fall filing period on the CSUSM deadlines page, which does not state a year. For Fall 2027 this is presumably December 31, 2026.
February 15	Initial documents due for fall applicants (no year stated, presumably 2027). Nursing gives February 15, 2027 for official transcripts.
March 15	Community college must verify the ADT by this date for fall admission (no year stated).
March 15, 2027	TEAS scores and optional items due for Fall 2027 Nursing transfer applicants.
May 1	Intent to Enroll and $150 deposit due for fall admits (no year stated).
July 15	Final documents with spring grades must be received for fall admission (no year stated).

CSUSM's How to Apply page lists Spring 2027 as open to transfer applicants only, with Nursing closed for Spring 2027. The CSUSM deadlines page lists spring general filing through November 14 without a year, so the Spring 2027 window may still be open as of October 30, 2026.

More from Cal State San Marcos

CSUSM requires transfer applicants to submit official transcripts before it will make an admission decision. This applies to Fall 2027 and Spring 2027. Source
CSUSM says courses completed in fall will not be considered for spring admission. Spring admission requirements must be done by the end of the preceding summer term. Source
Business Administration ADTs based on TMC version 2.0 count as similar to all CSUSM Business Administration options beginning Fall 2022. Version 1.0 ADTs count as similar only to the Global Supply Chain Management option. Source
For Fall 2027 Nursing transfer applicants, admission offers begin April 1, 2027, Intent to Enroll is due May 1, 2027, and final transcripts with Spring 2027 coursework are due July 1, 2027. Source
The CSU EOP status page lists San Marcos as not accepting transfer EOP applicants for Spring 2027. Fall EOP applications are due January 15. Source

Official links

Cal State San Marcos transfer admissionscsusm.edu
Cal State Applycalstate.edu
ASSIST: course agreementsassist.org

Other CSU campuses

Questions

What GPA do you need to transfer to Cal State San Marcos?

The CSU minimum is a 2.0 transferable GPA for California residents. CSUSM's transfer page (updated August 12, 2026) requires upper-division transfers to have a cumulative transfer GPA of 2.0 or higher in all transferable units attempted. Fall requirements must be finished by the end of the preceding spring term.

Is Cal State San Marcos impacted for transfers?