Frequently Asked Questions

Please see the Declaring a COE Pre-Major or Fully-Declaring a COE Major pages to learn more about the process & submit your request. Note that ESSC Advising can only review requests for programs under the College of Engineering (COE). To consider your request, You can view the COE Degree Progress Policy page to view the courses that must be completed within your first year at CSULB, in order to make satisfactory degree progress, and consider your major change request. 

If you are interested in changing to a program objective outside of COE, please contact the advising center that advises for your prospective major, minor or certificate. 

Use your Academic Requirements Report (ARR) to check what courses you still need to take!

• Log in to Single Sign On
• Click on Student Center

• Once you are in MyCSULB select "Academic Requirements" from the drop-down menu, and click the arrows to load. It may take a few minutes to load.

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•  Once the report loads, scroll down and look for red squares. Red squares indicate that you have not completed the requirement.

• If the course is required for your major, you should repeat the course. If you are not sure, please speak with an ESSC Advisor during drop-in advising.
• If the course is a General Education (GE) course, it is up to you! If you think you can pass the course, then repeating it may help your GPA. Please visit the Repeating Courses website for information on the number of units you can repeat and information on grade forgiveness.
• To repeat a course, you can enroll via your Student Center, if you have only taken the course once before. If you are attempting the course for a third time, you will need to submit the Exception to Academic Policy for Undergraduate Limit appeal. Please be aware, there is no guarantee that your appeal will be approved.

• You can take General Education (GE) and elective courses as Credit/No Credit if the course allows.
• You cannot take Major Specific Degree Requirements (MSDR), major courses or minor courses as Credit/No Credit.
• Please see Credit/No Credit for additional information on changing your grading option and unit limitations.

Use your Academic Requirements Report (ARR) to check where your courses are counting!

• Once you are in Student Center, select "Academic Requirements" from the drop-down menu, and click the arrows to load.
• Once the report loads, click expand all.
• Scroll down to the GE area that you think the course covers.
  • If the course is not in the designated GE area, the course is not satisfying the requirement.
  • If the course is listed on the schedule of classes as the area you wanted, but not reflected on your ARR, please see an ESSC advisor during drop-in advising.
    • Remember, GE courses cannot double-count or satisfy two GE Areas!
• You can search for GE courses by category via the Schedule of Classes.
• Note that some GE courses need to be lower division and some need to be upper division, please view requirements here.

Here are some resources to help you build your next semester schedule:

• Academic Requirements Report (ARR) on Student Center: This will help you identify the courses you still need to take. Refer to the "How do I find out what courses I still need to take?" question for more information.
• Major Specific Degree Requirements (MSDR) for pre-majors: This will provide you with a list of courses required to declare your major.
• Unofficial Engineering Flowcharts for declared majors: This will provide you with the required courses for your major and help you check prerequisites for those courses.

If you are having trouble adding a class, please review the error message for further information. Common reasons why you may not enroll in a class are:     

• Missing pre-requisites
• Need department consent
• Upper-division standing
• Must be fully-declared
• Reserved seating  

If it is a major course, start with ESSC Advising by stopping by during our drop-in hours.

• The Degree Planner is an unofficial tool! Remember that there may be requirements on the planner that you do not need, or there may be requirements missing from the planner that you do need.
• We always recommend using the Degree Planner in consultation with your Academic Requirements Report (ARR) or an ESSC Advisor.
• You can find video tutorials on how to use the planner on the Degree Planner website. 

• It is okay to use the Degree Planner if you are a declared major and you have already met with an ESSC Advisor to help clean up your plan.
• We do not recommend using the Degree Planner if you are a pre-major or if you have not had a graduation planning appointment with an ESSC Advisor, as your plan and estimated graduation date will not be accurate. 

Please visit the Enrollment Services office for more information on reinstatement and re-admissions. 

Request your official transcripts to be sent to CSULB's Enrollment Services after your final grades are posted. It takes about 4-6 weeks for transfer credit to be posted to your record, so be sure to submit your transcripts ASAP to ensure your credit is posted to your record in time for registration.

Note: We strongly encourage you to take prerequisite courses at CSULB, so you do not have any issues registering for future semesters.

ASSIST.org is the official course transfer and articulation system for California’s public colleges and universities. Check ASSIST for equivalencies between CSULB and a California Community College. View CHHS's ASSIST tutorial via YouTube, if you need help navigating the website.

Advanced Placement results are only accepted directly from AP - College Board. Please visit their website for information about how to request your scores. Once scores are received, credit will be granted automatically for students that have already been admitted to CSULB, and results can be viewed once students are active through MyCSULB Student Center.

Examination results are only accepted directly from International Baccalaureate. Please visit their website for information regarding how to request your scores. Once scores are received, credit will be granted automatically for students that have already been admitted to CSULB, and results can be viewed once students are active through MyCSULB Student Center.

Use your Academic Requirements Report (ARR) to run a graduation check! 

• Log in to Single Sign On
• Click on Student Center.  

• Once you are in MyCSULB select "Academic Requirements" from the drop-down menu, and click the arrows to load. It may take a few minutes to load. 

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• Once the report loads, scroll down and click collapse all. If you are on track to graduate, you will only see green checkmarks and yellow diamonds which means all requirements are complete or in progress. If you see red squares, then you are missing requirements. 

Your graduation term will be the semester you finish ALL your requirements. If you are finishing courses in summer, you apply for summer graduation. If you want to participate in the ceremony in spring, you will still apply for summer graduation.

You can apply to graduate on your MyCSULB. 

• Log in to Single Sign On.
• Click on Student Center.

• Once you are in MyCSULB, select "Apply for Graduation" from the drop-down menu and click the arrows to load. It may take a few minutes to load. If you do not see the "Apply for Graduation" choice, you are not eligible based on completed units yet. If you are graduating, please come to drop-in advising so an advisor can assist you with eligibility to apply.  

• There will be a series of steps in the application. Please make sure you go through all the steps and click "Submit Application" at the end. You will get to a confirmation page at the end that says you have successfully submitted your application.
• Make sure to return to MyCSULB to submit your application after you pay the graduation fee! You will still have a few more steps after paying that need to be completed before getting to the "Submit Application" page. 

If you already applied to graduate through your Student Center and you need to change your graduation term now, please contact your Faculty Advisor or the COE Graduation Specialist Advisor, Vanessa Hernandez, to request a change.