Decisions regarding admission are based on consideration of: 1) potential for success in the chosen field of study based upon past academic/ professional achievement, maturity, and motivation for educational and personal development, and 2) the congruence of the applicant's interests with the philosophy and purpose of the program and Institute.

Academic Requirements for Admission to Graduate Programs
Applicants to M.A. programs must have a B.A. or B.S. from a regionally accredited institution. Applicants to the Clinical Psychology doctoral program must have earned a B.A/B.S. for regular standing and an M.A. or M.S. in psychology or related field for advanced standing. Those applying for Ph.D. programs in the Humanities must have an M.A. or equivalent from a regionally accredited institution in an appropriate discipline. Students with an M.A. in an unrelated field may be admitted to a Ph.D. program with additional course requirements. (See specific program requirements for more information.)

A grade point average of 3.0 or higher is required of all programs, with the exception of the Psychology Doctoral program, which requires a 3.1 average for the regular standing and a 3.3 average for advanced standing. See individual program descriptions for additional requirements.

Academic Requirements for Admission to Bachelor Completion Program
Applicants to the B.A. Completion program must have earned 54-84 semester units of transferable credit from an accredited college. Students who enter the program with fewer than 75 transferable semester units will need to petition for life experience credit (see below). The maximum number lower division units a student can transfer is 75. Coursework marked by a grade of "D" or "F", or coursework falling under the rubric "physical education" is not transferable. Coursework taken twice for credit will only be counted once.

Applicants must demonstrate a readiness to explore and develop their life direction or vocation, college-level communication skills, and commitment to formal learning that incorporates significant personal growth. A written personal statement is also required.

Credit for Prior Learning
The B.A. Completion program offers matriculated students the opportunity to petition for up to 21 semester units of credit for previous life experience by submitting a comprehensive portfolio. Students must have completed a minimum of 12 semester units in the program, have enrollment status at the time of submission of the portfolio, and follow the guidelines in the Prior Learning Handbook, which is available from the program office. (Please note: graduate credit cannot be given for previous life experience.)

Application Procedures for All Degree and Certificate Programs
All admission materials must be received by the Admissions Office before a personal interview is offered. This includes the following:
• Completed application form and non-refundable application fee.
• A four-to-eight page autobiographical statement (length dependent on program), including personal history and a discussion of why the applicant has chosen to apply to the California Institute of Integral Studies and to his/her program of choice.
• A one-page statement of educational and professional goals and objectives (not required of BAC applicants).
• Original, sealed official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended.
• Some programs require two letters of recommendation, an academic writing sample, and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). See the requirements for specific programs for more information.

Personal interviews
Interviews are required of most M.A. programs and all Ph.D. programs. After all documents have been received, qualified applicants will be contacted to arrange an interview. An in-person interview is preferred by most programs; however, an interview by phone or videotape may suffice for students living outside a 500-mile radius of the Institute or for students with exceptional circumstances. Interview structure and format vary according to program.

Provisional Admission
Provisional admission may be granted for the following reasons:
a) the degree or credit from the institution the student is currently attending has not yet been awarded; or b) previous college work grade point average was below the minimum required by the program. Full admission will be granted upon receipt of transcripts of the most recent degrees, or in the case of low grade point average, completion of one semester of full-time course work at the Institute with grades of B or better. Financial aid is not available for students with provisional admittance. Students may hold provisional status for only one semester.

Enrollment Deposit (Non-refundable)
Upon notification of acceptance into a degree program, students are expected to submit a nonrefundable enrollment deposit within four weeks of the date on the acceptance letter in order to secure their place in the program. (Students who are admitted from a waitlist or who are admitted less than four weeks from the beginning of the semester may be required to submit a deposit in lesser time.) Students who are admitted to a program but who do not pay the deposit are not guaranteed a place in the program. The deposit is credited to the student's account and is applied toward tuition. Students who submit an enrollment deposit and do not enroll in the intended term or fail to request a deferment will forfeit their enrollment deposit. Students who cannot submit a deposit but who intend on enrolling must submit in writing to the Director of Admissions an explanation which states: (1) why he/she is unable to put forward the deposit and (2) that he/she is indeed planning to enroll.

Deferment
Provided the enrollment deposit is paid and pending departmental approval, students may defer enrollment up to one year (2 semesters) from the time of initial acceptance. Students who fail to enroll within one year after deferring will forfeit their enrollment deposit and will be required to submit another application if they choose to re-apply. Requests for deferment must be made in writing to the Admissions Office.

Re-admission
An application for re-admission must be submitted if a student has not been enrolled in any credit classes for two consecutive semesters and has not requested an official leave of absence. Applicants for re-admission are required to meet current admission requirements. A student applying for re-admittance may have some of the application requirements waived by completing an "Application Requirements Confirmation Form", which must be completed by the Admissions Chair of his/her program and which must be sent along with the regular application and corresponding application fee. (Please note: students must also submit their most recent transcript from CIIS, as this requirement cannot be waived by the program.) Please see the Admissions Office for more information.

Students who have not been enrolled for two consecutive semesters and who wish to re-enroll in a program that is no longer being offered at CIIS will be required to apply to another program. In such cases, the student will follow the same procedures for re-admission as stated above. Once the application is complete, the Admissions Chair will determine how many units will be transferred from the previous program. This amount is not conditioned by the 1/6 rule that applies to transferring credits (see Transfer of Academic Credit below), as the Chair may elect to accept most if not all the units taken from the student's previous program.

Program Transfer
Some students decide after matriculation that they are better suited for another program at the Institute. In such cases, students may apply to transfer provided they complete a "Program Transfer Application" which is to be completed by the Admissions Chair of the new program and which reflects the application requirements the transferring student must meet in order to be admitted into his/her new program. Please see the Admissions Office for more information. (See www.ciis.edu for a transfer application.)

Transfer of Academic credit: Transfer of credit from Another Institution
A maximum of 1/6th of the total number of graduate level units required in the student's program may be transferred from another accredited institution. (Students who transfer programs within the Institute or who are re-applying from a teach-out program are exempt from this policy.) Transfer of credit may be granted for graduate study completed prior to admission to the Institute, for relevant study completed elsewhere while registered at the Institute or for a combination of the two, up to the allowable limit. However, the following conditions must be met:
(1) The work was done at an accredited institution.
(2) The work is clearly relevant to the student's program at the Institute.
(3) The grade received was B or higher.
(4) The units involved were not used to satisfy requirements for any previous academic degree (the policy for Advanced Standing PsyD applicants notwithstanding).
(5) The student's advisor endorses the transfer.

Special Students
Individuals who wish to take courses for credit but not desire to enroll in a program may apply for Special Student status. This applies to someone who may want to apply for a degree program at a later time, or to someone enrolled in a degree program at another school who wishes to take a specific course at the Institute. Students should request a Special Student application from the Admissions Office or download one from the website www.ciis.edu/registration/index.html#specialstudents . Special student status must be renewed each semester. Special Students who later apply for and admitted into a CIIS degree program are eligible to transfer up to one sixth of the total numbers of units required for the degree program.

International Students
In addition to meeting the general requirements for admission, International Students must have their transcripts reflecting the latest degree conferred evaluated by a foreign credential evaluation service (Students who have obtained a degree from a Canadian university are exempted from the policy.) An application form for the evaluation is available upon request from the Admissions Office.

Furthermore, all applicants whose native language is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and achieve a minimum score of 80 on the internet-based test. It is the applicant's responsibility to make arrangements to take this test. Information may be obtained by writing to: TOEFL Services, Educational Testing Service, Box 6151, Princeton, New Jersey 08541, U.S.A., or visit their website at http://www.toefl.org. (TOEFL requirement can be waived if the student has completed course-work in an English speaking setting.)

Aside from admissions requirements, international applicants must also demonstrate they have the financial resources necessary to cover one year's costs, including tuition, room and board, and other related items. This amount varies by degree and is likely to change from year to year. This costs associated with study at CIIS is reflected on the "Certificate of Funding," which must be submitted by the applicant along with corroborating financial documents. Please contact the International Student Advisor for more information.

An I-20 form for use in obtaining an F-1 student visa will be issued after the student has been admitted to a program of study and has submitted proof of financial support for one year of study. Graduate students who enter the U.S. on an F-1 student visa must maintain full-time student status by carrying a minimum of nine (9) units per semester.