How to Apply to Chemistry at Cal State Northridge: B.A. and B.S. in Chemistry and a B.S. in Biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Choosing the Major on the Application With Chemistry Not Impacted, for Domestic and International (Including Chinese) Applicants and Transfer Students

Undergraduate chemistry at California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is offered by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry in the College of Science and Mathematics. This guide follows CSUN’s website and is organised for U.S. domestic applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Biology is taught by the Department of Biology and is not covered here; medicine, nursing, pharmacy and similar programs are also outside this guide, so see the university’s website for them. The degree course lists and four-year plans are in the university catalog and in PDF files hosted at another address, so they are not published on the pages read here; check the website.

1. Degrees and options

• The department’s programs page lists: B.A. Chemistry, B.S. Chemistry, B.S. Biochemistry, a Minor in Chemistry, and, for graduate students, an M.S. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Biochemistry.
• B.A. in Chemistry: designed for students who want (a) a strong chemistry background for careers in the health field (see an advisor about additional courses), (b) careers in industry, technical sales, government laboratories, patent law, library fields and similar, or (c) a single-subject teaching credential (physical sciences) under the Ryan Act. A total of 120 units is required.
• B.S. in Chemistry: designed for students who want to (1) pursue graduate work in chemistry, (2) teach chemistry in secondary school, (3) work in industry or government laboratories, or (4) work in technical sales, hazardous materials testing and handling, chemical literature or chemical patents. 120 units are required.
• B.S. in Biochemistry (same department): for students who want (a) pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-pharmacy or pre-veterinary preparation, (b) graduate study in biochemistry, or (c) life-science careers that require understanding biology at the molecular level. 120 units are required, 52 of them upper-division.
• Four-year plans and degree evaluation forms: the programs page links a suggested four-year plan and an evaluation form for each degree (PDF files hosted at another address), and a requirements sheet for the minor. Course content is not described on the pages read here.
• Accreditation: the pages read do not state that the undergraduate degrees are certified by the American Chemical Society or another body; check with the department.

2. How admission works: you apply to the university, choosing a major, and chemistry is not impacted

• You apply to the university: first-year applications go through Cal State Apply, where you pick a major or choose “Exploratory” and change later. The pages read do not describe a separate chemistry application, portfolio or interview, and do not describe a separate college admission line.
• Impacted majors: the impaction page says that for fall 2026/spring 2027 and fall 2027/spring 2028 only two CSUN majors are impacted: the B.A. in Music (all options) and two options of the B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts (Film Production and Television Production). Chemistry is not among them. The page adds that supplementary impaction criteria affect only domestic first-time applicants who attended California high schools or colleges, and that out-of-state applicants already face a higher eligibility index.
• Eligibility Index (freshman requirements page): for California residents, index = A–G subjects GPA × 1,000, and an applicant below a 2.50 GPA can add multifactor points (10 points per A–G course beyond 15 full-year courses, up to 100; 25 for a free-and-reduced-lunch school; 75 for first-generation status by parent education; 25 for foster or unaccompanied youth; 25 for an application fee waiver). The minimum for California high school graduates is an index of 2,500 or a 2.50 GPA. For out-of-state U.S. applicants the index is A–G GPA × 1,000 with a minimum of 3,000, or a 3.0 GPA, and they are exempt from impacted-major criteria.
• A–G courses (C- or better): English 4 years; mathematics 3 years (algebra, geometry and intermediate algebra required; 4 recommended); social science/history 2 (including one year of U.S. history or U.S. history and government); science 2 (one year of biological science with a lab and one of physical science with a lab); the same language for 2 years (may be waived for demonstrated equivalent competence); visual and performing arts 1; electives 1.
• Testing: AP, CLEP, IB or SAT/ACT scores are not required for admission, but after admission they help with placement in first-year math and writing courses.
• Decisions: the page says admission decisions can appear in the CSUN Portal as early as mid- or late October. Courses listed as in progress or planned must be completed with a C- or better by the end of spring of the senior year, and the reported overall GPA must be maintained, or the admission can be withdrawn.
• Whether chemistry sets its own admission cut-off is not stated on the pages read.

3. Prerequisites and chemistry placement

• No chemistry-specific high school prerequisite: the college and department pages state no high school chemistry or calculus requirement; only the CSU-wide A–G pattern above applies.
• Entry to General Chemistry (CHEM 101) (department placement page): a score of 40 or more on the Chemistry Placement Test (CPT, 60 points) or a C or better in CHEM 100 at CSUN (a C- does not count). The CPT has three parts of 20 points each: elementary algebra including exponential notation, general chemical knowledge and specific chemical knowledge. Register online at least a week ahead; a student may test only once in six months.
• The department’s advice: students who have not taken high school chemistry, or took it more than two years ago, should not sit the CPT but enrol in CHEM 100 (Introductory Chemistry). The page also says that about half of the students who pass the CPT with a score in the low 40s fail to earn a C or better in CHEM 101. The university also has a Math Placement Test (MPT), whose rules are not described on the pages read.
• Enrolment rules (advising page): courses with labs must be enrolled with their lecture, discussion and lab together; most chemistry and biochemistry courses have mandatory labs and cannot be waitlisted online; only courses with a C- or lower can be repeated, a course or lab can be taken up to three times, and a third attempt needs approval from the college’s associate dean; independent-study courses (such as CHEM 495) and some limited-seat upper-division courses need department consent and a permission number.
• AP and IB credit: the freshman page says AP, CLEP, IB or SAT/ACT scores help with placement in first-year math and writing. How AP or IB scores earn credit toward chemistry courses is not stated on the pages read.
• Competitions: how chemistry olympiads or similar contests are viewed in admissions is not stated on the pages read.

4. Study and research after admission

• Advising (advising page): look up your department advisor in the Portal, or contact the College of Science and Mathematics Student Services Center (EOP satellite office), which advises students who have declared or are interested in declaring a major in the college.
• Research: the department website has a research laboratories page, including instrumentation facilities. Undergraduate research courses and a thesis requirement are not stated on the pages read.
• Learning resources: the advising page links online resources for courses such as organic chemistry.

5. Rounds, materials and costs

• U.S. first-year filing period: for fall 2027 entry, August 1, 2026 to May 15, 2027 (impacted majors have earlier deadlines). The page also advises applying for financial aid and scholarships in good time.
• Materials: unofficial transcripts (you enter every completed, in-progress and planned course), a Social Security number if you have one, your citizenship status (for CSU tuition purposes, not affecting admission), a $70 application fee payable only by credit or debit card (California residents’ eligibility for a waiver is calculated automatically) and annual income. Send the final official high school transcript as soon as the graduation date is posted.
• Essays and recommendations: the pages read do not state any for chemistry.

6. U.S. domestic applicants

• Testing: not required for admission.
• Cost (cost page, 2026–2027; check the 2027–2028 figures): estimated annual cost for a California-resident undergraduate enrolled full time and living with a relative: tuition and fees $8,328, books, course materials, supplies and equipment $1,438, housing and food $9,530, transportation $1,808, personal and miscellaneous $2,798 and loan fees $76, for a stated total of $23,978. Non-residents add $471 per unit (the page’s example: 30 units × $471 = $14,130). Some courses carry extra course fees; whether chemistry labs do is not stated on the pages read.
• Aid: federal aid requires the FAFSA; California residents who qualify under AB 540 and cannot file a FAFSA use the California Dream Act Application, with the priority deadline for 2026–2027 shown as March 2 (check the 2027 date); California residents can apply for a Cal Grant. Institutional scholarships are applied for through myMatadorScholarships.
• College and department awards (department scholarships page): College of Science and Math scholarship deadlines fall near the end of March. The undergraduate list includes the Donald E. Bianchi Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award, the Gilbert and Jackie Cisneros Foundation Scholarship in Science and Mathematics, CSM Edison STEM Scholarships (and the matching version), the Leslie and Terry Cutler Scholarship, the Robert Nolan Scholarship, the Hugo and Irma Oppenheimer Student Award, the Robert R. Sprague Foundation Scholarship and the Wujack Harrison Pre-Med Scholarship. The page also says the department provides scholarships set up by emeriti, alumni and friends when funds allow, with applications due at the department office before the posted deadline. These mainly serve continuing students; scholarships specific to entering chemistry freshmen are not stated on the pages read.
• Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE): residents of member states or territories of the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education can get reduced non-resident tuition through WUE.

7. International applicants

• Who it applies to: applicants who wish to study on an F-1 or J-1 visa for a bachelor’s degree and have no post-secondary coursework.
• Grades: a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale or an average of B; CSUN converts the international GPA at application.
• English minimums for undergraduates: TOEFL iBT 61 on the old scale or 3.5 on the new scale, paper-based TOEFL 500 (TOEFL ITP is not accepted), IELTS Academic 6.0, Duolingo 95, PTE Academic 50, Cambridge C1 Advanced 172, iTEP Academic 3.8, EIKEN CSE 2304 (Pre-1), GTEC CBT 1125; TOEFL school code 4707.
• Exemption: three or more years at a U.S. high school, or three or more years at a high school where English is the principal language of instruction. The countries listed are Australia, Belize, Canada, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, plus Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. China is not on the list.
• Dates (pages show 2027): fall 2027, apply August 1 to May 15 with documents due June 15; spring 2027, apply July 1 to October 31 with documents due November 15.
• Materials: all secondary-school records (certificates, examination grades, degrees or diplomas) in the original language with official English translations and official verification of high school completion; TOEFL or another accepted English test; the $70 application fee; the Affidavit of Financial Support with a bank statement; a copy of the passport photo page. The financial amount the affidavit requires is not stated on the pages read.
• Aid: the cost page says international students are not eligible for federal or state student aid. Whether institutional scholarships are open to them is not stated on the pages read.
• Contact: International Admissions assigns advisors by family name; the email is intladm@csun.edu.

8. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: none of the pages read mention China or say whether gaokao results are considered or how; contact International Admissions.
• Transcripts and credential evaluation: the international freshman page asks for official records of all secondary schools in the original language with certified English translations and verification of high school completion; huikao records and evaluation agencies are not mentioned.
• English: China is not on the exemption list, so an accepted English test is needed.
• Math and chemistry: how Chinese courses map to the A–G pattern or to CHEM 101 placement is not stated.

9. Transfer students

• Beginning with spring 2027, CSUN accepts all transfer applications, whether or not the applicant has completed 60 transferable semester units.
• 60 or more units (spring 2027, fall 2027 and later): overall college GPA of at least 2.0; a C- or better in each of the Golden Four CSU general education courses (English composition, mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning, critical thinking and oral communication; critical thinking is not required before admission for engineering and computer science majors); good standing at the last college attended; and a major selected on the application.
• 59 or fewer units: meet the first-time freshman eligibility requirements (A–G courses, high school diploma, the eligibility index), an overall college GPA of at least 2.0, and a C- or better in English composition and mathematical concepts and quantitative reasoning; “Undeclared” is allowed.
• Major GPA: the page says applicants to competitive (impacted) majors may need a higher GPA; only two CSUN majors are impacted and chemistry is not one of them. Chemistry-specific preparation courses for transfer students are not stated on the pages read.
• Dates: spring 2027, July 1 to October 15, 2026; fall 2027, August 1, 2026 to May 15, 2027 for most majors. Decisions can appear as early as mid-March for fall and mid-November for spring.
• International transfer students: requirements depend on whether you attended a U.S. or non-U.S. institution and whether you are lower- or upper-division (fewer than or at least 60 transferable semester units). All need an overall GPA of at least 2.0; applicants from non-U.S. institutions need a college-level math course at C- equivalent or better and an English test or exemption; upper-division U.S. transfers need the four basic skills courses with C- or better. Deadlines match the international freshman dates (fall: August 1 to May 15 with documents June 15; spring: July 1 to October 31 with documents November 15).
• Credit transfer: how chemistry courses map is not stated on the pages read (the page points to ASSIST and to the list of Associate Degrees for Transfer that match CSUN majors).

10. Outcomes

• The programs page describes career directions for each degree, as above: health fields, industry, government laboratories, technical sales, patents, secondary teaching and graduate study. No placement rate or salary data appears on the pages read.

Checklist

U.S. domestic applicants:

• Apply through Cal State Apply from August 1, 2026 to May 15, 2027, choosing chemistry; California residents need an index of 2,500 (2.50 GPA), out-of-state applicants 3,000 (3.0 GPA)
• Before CHEM 101, pass the Chemistry Placement Test (40 of 60) or take CHEM 100 with a C or better

International applicants (including China):

• 3.0 GPA; prepare TOEFL iBT 61 (3.5 on the new scale) or IELTS 6.0; apply by May 15 with documents by June 15 for fall 2027; prepare the Affidavit of Financial Support and a bank statement
• Ask International Admissions how the gaokao and Chinese courses are treated

Transfer students:

• With 60 or more units: overall GPA 2.0, the four Golden Four courses at C- or better, and a major chosen on the application

Sources: California State University, Northridge website, College of Science and Mathematics; Chemistry and Biochemistry; Undergraduate programs; Department advising; Chemistry Placement Test; Scholarships and awards; First-time freshman admissions; Freshman requirements; Impaction; Transfer admissions; Transfer requirements; International admissions; International first-time freshmen; International transfer students; Cost and financial aid. The department’s four-year plans and degree course lists are in the university catalog and in PDF files hosted at another address, and are not published on the pages read here. The cost page covers 2026–2027; check the 2027–2028 figures.