Impaction

For 2025-2026 Admissions: 

• Only three majors are impacted. All undergraduate applicants from California will need to achieve both the standard CSU criteria and the supplementary admission criteria that CSUN has established for each impacted major.
• There is no local/nonlocal-area impaction. All California applicants will need to meet the same standard CSU admissions criteria.

For 2024-2025 Admissions:

• Only four majors are impacted. All undergraduate applicants from California will need to achieve both the standard CSU admission criteria and the supplementary criteria that CSUN has established for each impacted major.
• Local/nonlocal-area impaction has been removed for both first-time freshmen and first-time transfer students. All California applicants will need to meet the same minimum standard CSU criteria.

Impaction means a California State University (CSU) campus anticipates more qualified applicants than available spots for which there is adequate state funding. Impaction can:

• Affect all undergraduate admissions for a CSU (campus impaction),
• Give preference admission consideration to freshman or transfer applicants from schools within a CSU’s local admissions area, and/or
• Set supplementary admission criteria for specific impacted majors (academic programs).

Learn more at Access and Impaction at the CSU.

At CSUN, impaction affects first-time freshmen and first-time transfer applicants who attend high schools and/or colleges in the state of California.

Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 Admissions

Domestic first-time freshmen and first-time transfer students from California will be affected by impaction only if they are applying to one of the four impacted majors. Local/nonlocal-area impaction is no longer in effect.

Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Admissions

Domestic first-time freshmen and first-time transfer students from California will be affected by impaction only if they are applying to one of the three impacted majors. Local/nonlocal-area impaction is no longer in effect.

You are NOT affected by CSUN impaction if:

• You are a graduate applicant. Visit Graduate Admissions.
• You are a nonresident of California.
  • Out-of-state freshman applicant are already required to meet a higher Eligibility Index than freshman applicants in California, even without impaction. That has not changed.
  • International applicants, please visit International Admissions.
• You are a U.S. servicemember (active duty or veteran) applying to CSUN. Visit Veterans Admissions.

For fall 2024 and spring 2025 admission, the four following majors are impacted:

• B.S. in Accountancy
• B.S. in Business Administration, options in:
  • Financial Analysis
  • Financial Planning
  • Risk Management and Insurance
• B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts
• B.A. in Music

For fall 2025 and spring 2026 admission, the three following majors are impacted:

• B.S. in Accountancy
  • Information Systems option
  • Professional Accountancy option
• B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts
  • Film Production option
  • Television Production option
• B.A. in Music

Read more about the supplementary admission criteria for these impacted majors at:

• Freshman Impaction
• Transfer Impaction

No, not anymore. Local/nonlocal-area impaction is no longer in effect.*

For the current and coming academic years, you are affected by impaction only if:

• You are a first-time, domestic undergraduate applicant who has attended one or more high schools and/or colleges in California, and
• You are applying to one of CSUN's impacted majors. If so, you must meet the higher, supplementary criteria required for the impacted major you have chosen.

*Note:  In the recent past, first-time freshman or first-time transfer applicants from California who attended California high schools and/or colleges outside of the CSUN-defined local admissions geographical area were required to meet a higher admissions standard than applicants attending schools within CSUN's local admissions area. CSUN has discontinued this kind of "local/nonlocal-area impaction." 

Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 Admission

Local/nonlocal-area (regional) impaction is no longer in effect for admission consideration to the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters at CSUN.

Fall 2025 and Spring 2026 Admission

Local/nonlocal-area (regional) impaction is no longer in effect for admission consideration to the fall 2025 and spring 2026 semesters at CSUN.

CSUN's supplementary admissions criteria for impacted majors are published well into the admission cycle for each semester of entry.

For details about CSUN’s supplementary admission criteria for impacted majors, visit:

• Freshman Impaction - Admission is based on the applicant's eligibility index.
• Transfer Impaction - Admission is based on the applicant's GPA.

For the minimum standard CSU admission requirements for all domestic undergraduate applicants, visit:

• First-Time Freshman Admissions
• Upper-Division Transfer Admissions

Please note that all applicants, whether affected by impaction or not, must apply for admission during the application filing period.