Admissions
(657) 278-2371, Langsdorf Hall First Floor
Transfer Students
If you have credits for college work completed before being admitted to Cal State Fullerton, you will usually receive a postcard requiring you check your TITAN Degree Audit Reports (DARS). This will come separate from your admission notice if all your preliminary official college transcripts have been received. If your admission letter indicates that you need to send your transcripts in order to receive a course evaluation, please forward these transcripts immediately. After all of your transcripts are received, you will receive a final evaluation and summary of transfer units. Questions about your evaluation can be directed to the evaluator whose name is on the form. In most cases, the Academic Advisement Center can explain and interpret the evaluation for you. A maximum of 70 units from community colleges and 90 units from a combination of community colleges and 4-year colleges and universities can be applied toward your bachelor’s degree at Cal State Fullerton.
Units and Hours
One semester unit of credit traditionally requires one hour of in-class time and two hours of out-of-class time per week. Laboratory and other activity type classes require two or three hours of class time per unit of credit. For example, a twelve unit class load normally requires an average time commitment of 36 hours per week (12 hours per week in class and 24 hours or more outside of class). A 15 unit load will require 45 hours per week. The point is that even a 12 unit load is the equivalent of a full time job devoted to your university studies. If you also work 20-40 hours per week at another job, you should realize that you may be working the equivalent of nearly two full-time jobs. A student who takes fifteen units per semester for 8 semesters could graduate in the traditional four years, if the student is pursuing a 120 unit bachelor of arts program. (The national average is now 5.5 years to receive a bachelor’s degree). Some baccalaureate programs require more than 120 units (refer to the University Catalog). Athletes, international students, students on financial aid and other groups of students are required to be enrolled in 12 units or more to be considered “full-time”. Check with an advisor if there is some minimum number of units for full-time status in your particular case.
Remedial/Lower Division/Upper Division
On this campus, courses numbered below 100 are remedial, developmental or pre-college in content. No credit is awarded toward a degree or a credential for these courses. Courses numbered in the 100 and 200 series are considered freshmen and sophomore level and are designated lower division. Upper division courses are at the junior and senior level and have 300 and 400 series numbers. Graduate courses have 500 numbers and may only be taken by undergraduate seniors with special permission. You may take any course for which you meet the prerequisites (see the University Catalog), but a student with frosh standing should only take upper division courses after consulting an advisor. All classes taken at a community college are, by definition, considered lower division.
Health Professions Advising
(657) 278-3980, University Hall 223
The Health Professions Office is an advisement office which oversees the Health Professions Committee and the Student Health Professions Association, and engages in various community outreach activities. All students who are contemplating a career in the health care delivery system are urged to register with the Health Professions Office. Students who are interested in and/or actively applying for admission to schools of dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, optometry, physical therapy, physician assistant and other health professions are encouraged to visit the office. Our program is well known for its success in assisting students from day one of their Cal State Fullerton education until they enter professional school. Cal State Fullerton is one of the very few universities that continues to provide the breadth and depth of assistance that we provide for pre-health professional students.
Preparing for and getting admitted to a health professional school or program requires the orchestrated efforts of knowledgeable and dedicated academic professionals who keep abreast of the changes in the health care delivery system. Counselors provide specific information about the academic requirements of various professional schools and programs.
Students should be aware that most professional schools require standardized admissions tests, such as the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test), DAT (Dental Admission Test), or OAT (Optometry Admission Test), which are normally taken during the sixth semester. Therefore, it is important that the basic science prerequisites are satisfied in order that the student can perform well in these tests.
As students progress toward the application time for admission to a professional school or program, counseling appointments are arranged to:
- Provide information on professional school aptitude tests
such as the MCAT, OAT, and DAT and on ways to prepare for these
examinations.
- Assist the student in selecting appropriate professional schools
and obtaining the required applications, as well as arranging a
timetable to process the applications.
- Assist the student in preparing personal statements and securing
the appropriate letters of recommendation.
- Assist the student to obtain clinical or research experiences.
- Schedule mock interviews.
Prelaw Advisement
You are urged to make an appointment with the university prelaw advisor during your first year (preferably first semester) of enrollment at Cal State Fullerton. Continued contact with our prelaw advisor should be a matter of periodic consultation as you advance through the various stages of your undergraduate career. Assistance in general curricular planning, selection of a major, LSAT preparation, law school applications, etc., is available from the university prelaw advisor. Furthermore, once you have selected a major, you may be directed to a departmental faculty member who is experienced in prelaw advising to assist you, among other matters, in curricular planning within your major. University-wide prelaw advisement is available from Professor H. P. Grody in University Hall 511. For office hours and appointments, phone the Department of Political Science at (657) 278-3521.
General Graduation Requirements
The general unit requirement for graduation can be found in “Your Bachelor’s Degree Worksheet” which is published each semester in the Class Schedule.
Electives
There are elective courses within the major and totally free electives. Within your major, you will often have a choice of courses from a broad list to meet certain major requirements. Your choices often require advisor approval. Depending on your major, the completion of all major requirements and all GE requirements may still leave you short of the 120 unit minimum to graduate. In this case, you can take elective courses, which can be additional courses related to your major or any other courses to fulfill personal or professional interests.
EWP (Examination in Writing Proficiency)
Your admission notice will also indicate your status regarding the EWP. The EWP is meant to determine your writing skills as you approach graduation. However, you should not wait until you are within a few units of graduation to take the EWP, because your graduation could be postponed if it is determined that your writing skills need substantial improvement. The EWP is one part of the two-part Upper Division Baccalaureate Writing Requirement. Consult the Class Schedule about test dates and this requirement.
MQE (Mathematics Qualifying Examination)
Before you can enroll in any of the calculus courses at Cal State Fullerton (Math 130, 135, 150A), you must pass the MQE in addition to either being exempt from or having passed the ELM. There are no exemptions from the MQE. See the Class Schedule for details.
Other Qualifying or Placement Examinations
Before you can enroll in any of the calculus courses at Cal State Fullerton (Math 130, 135, 150A), you must pass the MQE in addition to either being exempt from or having passed the ELM. There are no exemptions from the MQE. See the Class Schedule for details.
General Education
As explained earlier in this guide, your degree from Cal State Fullerton is made up of three parts: course and other requirements in your major, your general education requirements, and free electives. Because major requirements differ widely from department to department, you should consult your department advisor for this kind of information. GE requirements, however, are the same for all students (except for Engineering Majors) and this section will provide some important information useful for all students.
Sequence of GE versus Major Courses
GE requirements are not something to “get out of the way” in your first two years here or at a community college. For many majors it does make sense to concentrate on GE first and take only a few courses in the major in the first two years. GE provides breadth to your education and may result in you changing your major to a field different than your original intention. Doing most of your GE first is certainly good advice for low unit and undeclared majors. However, it is very bad advice if your major has many required courses which must be taken in a rigid sequence, e.g., majors in the Colleges of Business and Economics, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Engineering and Computer Science. In these cases, you should work with an advisor to blend important introductory courses in the major with GE courses right from the first semester.
Taking GE Requirements at a Community College
If you entered Cal State Fullerton as a transfer student, the information in the section on “Transfer Students” explains the process of evaluating the GE requirements you may have already met with your community college courses. You may take community college courses to meet GE (and even some major) requirements after you have enrolled at Cal State Fullerton. However, you must verify that the community college course you wish to take is considered the equivalent of a Cal State Fullerton course that meets the requirement you are attempting to fulfill. The Academic Advisement Center has information about GE course equivalencies between Cal State Fullerton and most of its neighboring community colleges. Some courses that meet GE requirements for certified transfer students cannot be taken and used to fulfill the same requirement by a student who begins his/her enrollment at Cal State Fullerton.
Upper Division and Residence GE Requirements
It is impossible to complete all GE requirements with community college courses because of the need to complete nine units of upper division GE and nine units in residence. If the nine units of GE taken on this campus (residence units) are upper division classes, then these nine units meet both requirements (See the Class Schedule).
Admission Notification Letter and GE Plans
The General Education program was modified for students entering Cal State Fullerton or a community college in fall 1999 or later. This plan is in effect for all freshmen and many transfer students. Transfer students should check their admission notification letter to determine if they are under this plan or an earlier plan, such as Plan A, Plan B or Interim Plan B. Please note the rules which are published on a page which precedes the listing of the categories and courses in the Class Schedule. These cover the upper division and residence requirements described above, as well as others such as restrictions on “double counting” courses for GE and major requirements, the cultural diversity requirement, etc. Complete listings of courses, requirements and the rules for GE are published each semester in the Class Schedule.
|
