SDSU acceptance rate by major

In fall 2025, San Diego State University admitted 37% of first-time freshman applicants (35,709 of 95,444) and 55% of transfer applicants. California residents were admitted at 31% and non-residents at 89%.

Your major matters most. The hardest SDSU majors for freshmen in fall 2025 were Nursing (3.5%), Musical Theatre (18%) and Biology (23%), while many other majors admitted most applicants.

How admission works

  • Every major at SDSU is impacted: there are more eligible applicants than spaces, so meeting the CSU minimum does not guarantee admission.
  • Freshmen from high schools in San Diego County south of State Route 56 and in Imperial County are local applicants and get priority. Transfer students from Cuyamaca, Grossmont, Imperial Valley, San Diego City, Mesa, Miramar and Southwestern colleges are local transfers.
  • Like most CSU campuses, SDSU uses the CSU admission GPA, calculated from 10th–12th grade a-g courses with extra points for up to eight semesters of honors courses. SDSU does not publish its cutoff for each major.

Admit rates, 2021–2025

ApplicantsApplied 2025Admitted 202520212022202320242025
Freshmen, all applicants95,44435,70938%39%34%36%37%
Freshmen, California residents85,27326,70532%35%29%31%31%
Freshmen, non-residents10,1719,00487%81%78%85%89%
Transfers, all applicants17,5959,76130%37%59%54%55%
Transfers, California residents17,0569,47229%37%59%54%56%
Transfers, non-residents53928954%40%54%45%54%

Admit rate by fall term. Non-residents include out-of-state and international applicants.

Fall 2025 freshman admit rate by major

MajorAreaAppliedAdmittedAdmit rate2021 rateEnrolled
All majors95,44435,70937%38%6,911
BiologyBiological Science10,6122,48623%31%336
NursingHealth Professions8,6203063.5%7.3%135
PsychologyPsychology7,2212,11429%37%430
Mechanical EngineeringEngineering4,2091,73041%48%274
MarketingBusiness and Management3,7621,23333%37%266
FinanceBusiness and Management3,6381,11231%44%202
KinesiologyEducation3,5101,17533%39%323
UndeclaredUndeclared3,2631,81556%47%474
ManagementBusiness and Management3,19099931%33%194
Computer ScienceComputer and Information Sciences3,1072,21971%49%211
Business AdministrationBusiness and Management2,60394936%40%224
Criminal JusticePublic Affairs and Services2,49688635%33%253
Political ScienceSocial Sciences2,4511,30753%47%174
ChemistryPhysical Science2,09972835%40%83
Public HealthHealth Professions1,98372136%65%124
Aerospace EngineeringEngineering1,94391047%48%162
Civil EngineeringEngineering1,70872342%42%145
AccountancyBusiness and Management1,47641328%44%83
EconomicsSocial Sciences1,44081857%51%121
Electrical EngineeringEngineering1,35152839%40%69
Real EstateBusiness and Management1,21829824%26%78
Child DevelopmentEducation1,19264254%41%158
Computer EngineeringEngineering1,14258251%42%58
Communication StudiesLetters1,13350645%41%130
Liberal StudiesInterdisciplinary Studies1,05465262%46%185
Interior DesignArchitecture and Environmental Design1,03126125%33%63
SociologySocial Sciences95867170%33%202
Environmental ScienceInterdisciplinary Studies94762266%49%60
Television, Film and MediaCommunications85730235%44%74
StatisticsMathematics81931538%56%29
International BusinessBusiness and Management80248460%50%144
EnglishLetters69453477%48%83
JournalismCommunications67841461%45%92
HistorySocial Sciences60241970%30%70
Graphic DesignFine and Applied Arts59014525%32%31
Applied MathematicsMathematics54832459%54%31
Construction ManagementBusiness and Management53614226%18%31
NutritionHome Economics53531258%62%61
Environmental EngineeringEngineering49125051%54%26
Music (Professional Performance)Fine and Applied Arts48617536%27%49
Information SystemsComputer and Information Sciences45512527%40%21
MicrobiologyBiological Science43012128%36%18
ArtFine and Applied Arts43014734%35%23
Hotel and Restaurant/Hospitality ManagementBusiness and Management42230171%45%102
Social WorkPublic Affairs and Services40710726%39%28
Theatre ArtsFine and Applied Arts38018849%40%37
Speech Language Pathology (Entry-Ready)Health Professions36819553%50%49
AnthropologySocial Sciences32622970%44%45
PhysicsPhysical Science30114247%54%12
Financial ServicesBusiness and Management2999431%42%22
Public RelationsBusiness and Management27316460%40%31
MathematicsMathematics25114156%45%10
AstronomyPhysical Science24916466%48%25
Urban StudiesSocial Sciences22818179%46%29
Construction Engineering Technology/ManagementEngineering2217735%30%27
International Security and Conflict ResolutionSocial Sciences21618083%55%37
Health CommunicationCommunications20815273%44%28
PhilosophyLetters20615073%46%22
Musical TheatreFine and Applied Arts1823318%—<10
Organizational LeadershipInterdisciplinary Studies17110662%—43
Social Science/Social and Behavioral SciencesSocial Sciences16212275%43%37
GeographySocial Sciences15811472%51%18
Dance (Professional Performance)Fine and Applied Arts1556139%42%22
GeologyPhysical Science1439063%30%18
LinguisticsLetters14311178%67%17
International Studies/Global StudiesSocial Sciences14211782%69%19
AdvertisingCommunications1309069%57%22
SpanishForeign Languages1077368%53%25
MultimediaCommunications1062927%24%10
DanceFine and Applied Arts1044038%—17
HumanitiesLetters1046663%48%17
Art HistoryFine and Applied Arts957276%37%<10
Women's StudiesInterdisciplinary Studies895865%39%12
Public AdministrationPublic Affairs and Services843946%43%11
MusicFine and Applied Arts781317%<10 admitted<10
African-American StudiesSocial Sciences714462%59%14
Mexican-American/Chicano/Chicana StudiesSocial Sciences663655%34%<10
Recreation AdministrationPublic Affairs and Services643555%30%<10
Religious StudiesLetters584069%55%11
Modern Jewish StudiesLetters563868%<10 admitted11
GerontologyHealth Professions493163%<10 admitted11
JapaneseForeign Languages382155%62%<10
Geography and Environmental StudiesSocial Sciences342265%—<10
Linguistics and AnthropologySocial Sciences342471%42%<10
English CompositionLetters302687%55%<10
Latin American StudiesArea Studies281554%<10 admitted<10
Native American StudiesSocial Sciences281554%<10 admitted<10
Asian StudiesArea Studies251768%47%<10
Asian American StudiesSocial Sciences221464%—<10
Islamic StudiesLetters141179%<10 admitted<10

Sorted by number of applicants. Transfer admit rates by major →

Frequently asked questions

What is the SDSU acceptance rate?

In fall 2025, SDSU admitted 37% (35,709 of 95,444) of first-time freshman applicants. California residents were admitted at 31% and non-residents at 89%.

What is the hardest major to get into at SDSU?

Among majors with at least 150 freshman applicants in fall 2025, the lowest admit rates were Nursing (3.5%), Musical Theatre (18%) and Biology (23%).

What is the SDSU transfer acceptance rate?

In fall 2025, SDSU admitted 55% (9,761 of 17,595) of undergraduate transfer applicants.

What GPA do you need to get into SDSU?

SDSU uses the CSU admission GPA (10th–12th grade a-g courses, with honors points for up to eight semesters) and gives priority to local applicants. It does not publish a cutoff for each major, and every major is impacted.

Other CSU campuses

SJSU79% of freshman applicants admittedCal Poly SLO30% of freshman applicants admitted

Compare with the University of California

UC admit rates by majorAll nine campuses, freshman and transferUC in-state vs out-of-stateEvery campus, 2021–2025UC chances calculatorYour GPA and intended major

Source: California State University, Applications and Admissions Dashboard by Discipline, fall 2021–2025 (first-time freshmen and undergraduate transfers); SJSU impaction results from sjsu.edu. CSU counts every application submitted, including ones later withdrawn, left incomplete or not meeting minimum eligibility, so admit rates among complete applications are somewhat higher. “Non-residents” includes out-of-state and international applicants. “<10” means CSU did not report a group smaller than 10. This site is independent and not affiliated with the California State University. Admit rates describe past applicants, not any individual student’s chances.