If your undergraduate degree is in an area other than Psychology and you wish to pursue a Master of Arts or Master of Science degree in Psychology, you will be required to have 24 units of upper division Psychology coursework.  You may enter CSULB as a Conditionally Classified Graduate Student to acquire these units.  To do so, you should apply to the University (CSULB Enrollment Services Office, www.csumentor.edu), declare Psychology as your major, and state on the admissions application that you will be applying in the future for a Master of Arts/Master of Science degree in Psychology.  (Please be specific as to which Master of Arts/Master of Science program you will be applying to: MA-Research (code PSY_MA01), MS-Human Factors (code PSY_MS04), or MS-Industrial/Organizational (code PSY_MS05).)

Application as "Conditionally Classified"
    CSULB requires that you have at least a 2.5 GPA to apply to the University.  The Psychology Department, in addition, requires that you have satisfactorily completed the following courses or their equivalencies: PSY 100 (General Psychology), PSY 220 (Psychology Research Methods) and PSY 210 (Introductory Statistics).  (See list of equivalent courses available via "local" community colleges in the greater Southern California area.  Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view.)  Please note: the GRE General test requirement is not required for "Conditionally Classified" admission only - it remains a MA/MS program application requirement.

    You would not fill out the Psychology department MA or MS application at this time - only the CSU Admissions application.  The CSULB Enrollment Services Office will verify your GPA and if 2.5 or above, will forward a portion of your University application to the Psychology Department Graduate Office, where it will be reviewed for department requirements (listed above), and if met, will authorize the Enrollment Services Office to admit you as a "Conditionally Classified" Graduate Student.

    Admission to CSULB is two-fold: the CSU Admissions application to CSULB and acceptance into a department, either as a Classified Graduate student (fully admitted into a MA or MS program) or as a "Conditionally Classified" Graduate.  The latter allows you time to fulfill prerequisites required to be considered for entrance into a Psychology MA/MS program. Please see below Scenario for registration restrictions.

    Please note: Acceptance as a Conditionally Classified Graduate Student is in no way a guarantee of future acceptance into a Psychology Master's Program.

Applying to a Psychology Master's Program
    You may apply to one of the Psychology department's Master's programs once you have completed 15 of the 24 required upper division units.  If you are accepted into one of our Master's programs at that time, you will have one year to complete the remaining units.  If you have not completed these units by the end of your first year as a classified graduate student, your status in the program will be terminated.

Financial Aid "Unit Cap" Warning:
    At the time of this writing, the CSULB Financial Aid office counts units earned while a "Conditionally Classified" student towards the student's "unit cap."  This means that you may become ineligible for financial aid while still working on your master's degree (if accepted to an MA/MS program).  Please limit coursework to psychology courses needed to be eligible to apply for a master's program - coursework such as PE activity courses will be included in the unit cap.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

May I take any of the following courses that I'm missing at CSULB: PSY 100, 210 or 220?
    You cannot be accepted (matriculated) to CSULB until you can document satisfactorily passing these three lower division prerequisites required for acceptance as a "Conditionally Classified" Psychology student.  You may take them through Open University at CSULB, but there are a couple reasons to take them at a community college instead:
    1.  It is usually more expensive to take courses through Open University than at a community college. 
    2.  Open University students must wait until the first day of instruction to be able to register for a course, which may be full by then.

I have already taken PSY 100 and 210 - I'd like to take 220 during the summer, but I can't find it offered at any community college. 
    During most summers, only CSULB and sometimes CSUDH offer PSY 220 - Psychology Research Methods; very rarely does a community college (Saddleback CC did during their 2006 summer session).  As this summer course fills up prior to the first day of instruction, it is recommended that you register for it as soon as possible.  Note for Summer 2008: Due to the State budget cuts, CSULB is not able to offer PSY 220 during our summer sessions; however, Saddleback Community College is doing so:
http://www1.socccd.cc.ca.us/eservices/ClassFind.asp?siteID=A&termID=20082&termtype=&mktcode=PS10&header=Psychology

I need to take PSY 241 - Psychobiology.  Should I take it at a community college?
    If it is convenient for you to take PSY 241 at a community college while working on the lower division prerequisites for admission as "Conditionally Classified," it is recommended for you to so do (you may also save money as well as time).  Otherwise you will need to take it once enrolled at CSULB.  It is a prerequisite course for several of our 300-level courses.

May I take other courses at a community college towards the 24 upper division coursework, such as Abnormal Psychology?
    Unfortunately, no.  Community college coursework is considered lower division; therefore, only PSY 100, 210 and 220, as well as 241, may be taken at a community college.  Click here for list of community college equivalency numbers for PSY 100, 210, 241 and 220.

Are the GRE tests needed to apply as a "Conditionally Classified" graduate student? 
When do I take the GREs and which tests are required?
    The GRE tests are not required for "Conditionally Classified" graduate acceptance (see above for what is required).  You will not need to take the General GRE tests (Verbal, Quantitative, Analytical writing) until you are ready to apply to one of our master's programs.  Please be sure, however, that you take the General tests at least 1 1/2 months prior to the deadline for the master's program you are applying to - it can take 2-5 weeks for results to be sent to the university.  The Psychology Subject test is not required for the master's programs - only the General tests.

When do I submit my Letters of Recommendation? 
    Letters of recommendation are not needed for entry as a "Conditionally Classified" student.  You will have them sent to the Psychology Graduate Advisor's office once you are ready to apply to one of our master's programs.  (See Applying for Acceptance into the master's programs.)

Why is it important for me to submit my fall university application in November if I won't be attending until the following fall? 
Why is it so important to submit my PSY 100, 210 and 220 documentation to the Psychology department as soon as possible?
    University application processing can take many months, due to the volume.  The sooner you can submit your application and transcripts, or your prerequisite documentation, the sooner you can be accepted and set up for registration.  You will be competing with undergraduates for 300-level courses - they begin registration for fall during the previous spring semester.  Also, if you are matriculated (accepted) by summer registration, you may be able to take 300-level courses during the summer prior to your fall entry semester at the (sometimes) lower, matriculated fees.
    Please be sure to include a note when sending in your documentation to let the Graduate Advisor know you are applying as "Conditionally Classified," as well as your plans to take any missing lower division courses in the meantime (i.e., "I am registered to take Psy 9B at El Camino City College during the spring semester, and will submit documentation for this course once completed.").  Once you have been assigned a CSULB student ID number, please include it on all correspondence, including email.

TYPICAL SCENARIO FOR STUDENTS APPLYING AS "CONDITIONALLY CLASSIFIED" 

• Apply to CSULB using the graduate university application via www.csumentor.edu.  Anticipate the first semester you would be eligible for acceptance (based upon missing lower division prerequisites you still need to take) and apply to CSULB for that semester as soon as you are able to do so.  The CSULB Enrollment Services office will screen for CSU requirements.  (See the first paragraph at the top of this page regarding which Psychology program code to designate on the application.)
  Letters of recommendation are not needed at this time.  Also, write "See Department Application" on the university application where a Personal Statement is requested.  Please send a note to the Psychology Graduate Advisor to announce your intentions to enter as a Conditionally Classified student, and where you are in regards to the required lower division coursework: droe@csulb.edu
   

• Have official transcripts from all colleges attended (other than CSULB) sent to the Enrollment Services office right away.
   

• When the Psychology department's Graduate Office receives notice of your university application, a form letter will be mailed to you.  Respond to this Psychology department letter, stating plans to enter as "Conditionally Classified."  Please include a note as to status of prerequisites, i.e., "taking Research Methods during spring semester."
  At this point your university application will be in "Department Review" status.
   

• Send documentation of passing PSY 100, 210, 220.  This may include unofficial transcripts, copies of report cards, and in the case of courses taken prior to the entry semester, grade cards from professors.
   

• Once documentation for all prerequisites is received, the "Department Decision" will be keyed in.  You will receive a letter from the Psychology Graduate Office. 
   

• Enrollment Services will finish processing the university application and notify you that you have been accepted to CSULB as a "Conditional Admit."  You should also receive registration information.
  Please be sure to activate your MyCSULB account and update contact information - especially your email address, as the university uses it for most notifications.  Also notify the Psychology Graduate Office of any changes.
   

• If you need to raise your GPAs while attending as a Conditionally Classified student, in order to be more competitive for the master's programs, it is advised to stick to the 300-level department courses (this includes "electives" as well as the specific program prerequisites).  400/500 level dual listed courses must be taken at the 500-level - graduate-level work is expected.  Conditionally Classified students may not take any 500-level courses restricted to particular master's programs, and are not permitted to take any 600-level courses.