Admission Policies

• Review a complete list of Admissions Policies in our Academic Catalog.

• Live outside of California? Read CIIS' State Authorization & Professional Licensure Policies and Procedures.

Offer of Admissions and no Deferment Policy

If an offer of admission is made, it is valid for one semester only - the semester stated in the offer letter. Offers of admission cannot be deferred; CIIS does not grant deferments. Applicants who accept the offer of admission accept the offer for the semester to which their application was submitted and the semester for which they were offered admission. Applicants who were admitted and signed the enrollment agreement but who do not to enroll in that semester after all will have their application and offer withdrawn; their enrollment deposit will not be refunded. Applicants can work with counselors towards re-application in future rounds (see paragraphs below). If offered admission for one particular application semester, it is not an indication or guarantee for admissions in future cycles.

Enrollment Deposit (Non-refundable)

Upon notification of acceptance into a degree program and to secure a place in the program, students are required to submit a nonrefundable $300 enrollment deposit within a certain timeframe from when the admissions offer was made. During the early part of the admissions cycle, applicants have 20 days to make their decision, but as we near the semester start, the decision timeline moves up to 10 days or fewer, if the semester start date is very close. The deposit is credited to the student’s account and is applied toward tuition for the intended start semester. Admitted students who do not pay a deposit within stated timeframe will not be guaranteed enrollment in their respective program and may forfeit their offer of admissions for the program. Students who submit an enrollment deposit forfeit it if they do not enroll in the intended term.

Reapplication: Previously Accepted Applicants

The admissions acceptance offer is valid for one semester only and cannot be deferred. Students not accepting the offer of admission may reapply to be considered in another admissions cycle. There is no guarantee that a student will be admitted again and students may be accepted or denied admissions in a future cycle, based on the competitiveness of that cycle. Applicants will be required to submit a new admissions application. Transcript will be kept on file for one year and can be rolled over from a previous application but other application materials will need to be submitted anew by the applicant. The Admissions Office may also require a one-page statement describing the reasons for not enrolling previously and addressing any circumstances that have changed and will now permit them to enroll. If a student has since studied at more institutions, the official transcripts from these institutions will also need to be submitted.

Provisional Admission

Provisional admission may be granted for the following reasons: (1) the degree or credit from the institution the student is currently attending has not yet been awarded or (2) the applicant is missing minor requirements required by the program. Full admission will be granted upon receipt of transcripts of the most recent degrees or receipt of missing materials. Students who are on provisionally admitted status are not eligible to receive financial aid. Students may hold provisional status for a maximum of one semester and must be fully admitted in order to register for a subsequent semester.

Rejected Application

An applicant denied admission by a program may contact the appropriate Admissions Counselor to discuss the steps needed to bolster the application and reapply in the future. However, please keep in mind that the Admissions Office cannot answer questions concerning the specific reasons an application was rejected. All admissions decisions are final.

Change of Program

Students wishing to transfer to another program must first speak with the new program to see if they would be a good fit. Students will then submit a change of program application along with the $105 change of program application fee to the Admissions office by the regular admissions deadlines. Please note that the $105 fee is nonrefundable, even if your application to change programs is denied. The Change of Program process is only available to fully admitted and enrolled students; those who are currently provisionally admitted can start the process but will not be accepted until they are a full admit.

The Admissions office will route your application file to the new program and will notify you of any modified application materials the program will require (in addition to the regular application materials). Once your application is completed, the program can make an admissions decision of accepted or declined. If a student is accepted to the new program, but declines acceptance, they can apply for a change of program to another program in that same semester, but the decision must be made before Admissions application deadline and the $105 fee will apply. The same rule applies to a student who is rejected by the new program.

Unit Applicability Between Changed Programs

A student changing from one CIIS program to another may be eligible to have CIIS units already earned apply toward the degree requirements of the new program. The number of these units is not subject to the one-sixth rule that applies to credit transferred from a degree program from which a student has graduated. The chair of the program to which the student is requesting to be changed determines which units, if any, are accepted in transfer. The program is responsible for notifying the student and the Registrar's Office of this information, of which requirements the student must fulfill, and of any other conditions the student must meet. If any units from the original program are to be used in another program, such units cannot be used again in the original program if the student completes the second program and returns to the original program.

Readmission to Active Status

Students who have become inactive because of a break in attendance must apply for readmission. Applicants for readmission are required to meet current admissions requirements. Students must submit the application for readmission by the deadlines listed by the Admissions Office. Students must pay the regular $68.00 application fee at the time the application is submitted.

Applicants for readmission should be prepared to submit a full set of application requirements. Each academic program has the option of waiving the requirement to resubmit all previously submitted transcripts but is not required to do so. The program chair may place conditions on the readmission or deny it. Students applying for readmission are notified by an official letter from the Office of Admissions of the decision.

Students who left in a warning or probation status, or who are considered by the Associate Provost to have special circumstances, must have the approval of the program and the Academic Standards Committee to return to the University. The application for readmission is first reviewed by the program. The program chair may specify special conditions or requirements and must describe which units are accepted for the current degree and which requirements have yet to be met. If the program is recommending readmission, it forwards the file to the Academic Standards Committee along with a plan specifying how the student will return to satisfactory academic standing.

Special attention should be paid by doctoral students who have been admitted to candidacy prior to becoming inactive. Doctoral candidates who fail to register continuously and who have not been granted a leave of absence must be readmitted to candidacy as well as to the graduate program. The program should notify the Associate Provost and the Registrar’s Office regarding the status of the dissertation committee, the current relevance of the dissertation topic, whether the proposal meets current standards, the age of the coursework, any conditions to be placed, and the means of monitoring progress. The program may impose additional coursework for the program of study prior to readmitting the student to candidacy.

Transfer Credit

CIIS has established criteria to evaluate work submitted for consideration for transfer credit, and the applicant or student must demonstrate that the learning experience meets these criteria. Graduate students' transfer credit is evaluated by the student's advisor, upon the student's request. 

To make a request, submit the Transfer Credit Request Form

The following policies pertain to transfer credit for both undergraduate and graduate programs:

• Transfer credit is not evaluated for students whose academic status is inactive.
• Credits, not grades, transfer
• Credit will only be granted if the subject matter is applicable to the individual's degree objective
• Credits are not accepted for transfer to CIIS certificate programs.
• Credit must be college level - developmental or college-preparatory courses are not accepted for transfer.
• Continuing Education Units (CEU) are not accepted for transfer.
• Unites taken in audit status are not accepted for transfer.
• The same transfer credit will not be applied toward more than one CIIS program; this holds true even if the credit was graduate-level and applied toward a CIIS undergraduate program - it will not later be applied to a CIIS graduate program.
• Credit from non-U.S. institutions may be accepted for transfer provided that acceptable documentation demonstrates that these institutions are their courses are equivalent to CIIS requirements; this documentation can be obtained by submitting non- U.S. transcripts for a course-by-course evaluation to World Education Services.

Undergraduate Transfer Credit

The School of Undergraduate Studies accepts up to 84 units of transfer credit and must be able to accept up to 54 for an applicant to be fully admitted. These units may be earned through any combination of the following:

• A maximum of 75 units from an accredited community or junior colleges; credit is accepted in accordance with the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) in which all California community and junior colleges participate, indicating IGETC-approved courses in their catalogs; the responsibility for the selection of the proper courses for transfer credit, however, rests with the student
• A maximum of 84 units from an accredited four-year institutions, with a maximum of 75 in the lower division and 40 in one one subject area (potentially more than 40 for interdisciplinary studies)
• A maximum of 12 units from an accredited university extension programs for professional development, evaluated on a case-by-case basis
• A maximum of 30 units in any combination of Advanced Placement (AP) examination credit (minimum score of 3), College Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit, or Excelsior College Examination (ECE) credit (grades no lower than C); such credit is not awarded after the start of the semester
• A limited maximum, evaluated on a case-by-case basis, of Professional Military Education (PME) credit evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE)

The following are further policies pertaining to undergraduate transfer credit:

• Courses must be completed with a grade of C or better to be accepted for transfer.
• Transfer credit will not be accepted more than once for identical or significantly similar courses of study. For instance, if the individual has taken two introductory biology courses,
• CIIS will not accept only one transfer credit. CIIS may require course descriptions to determine course content overlap.
• Graduate-level courses may be accepted in transfer for undergraduate credit.
• Courses taken in correspondence are acceptable for transfer.

The following credits will not be accepted for transfer:

• Life experience credit (i.e., learning portfolio) granted by other institutions.
• Physical education units except in these specifically defined areas: dance, yoga, some forms of martial arts.

Graduate Transfer Credit

The School of Professional Psychology & Health and the School of Consciousness and Transformation both accept graduate-level transfer credit. These units must:

• Be no more than one-sixth of the total units required for the student's program;
• Have been completed at an accredited institution;
• Have been earned at the graduate level with a grade of B or better;
• Not have been used to satisfy requirements for a previously earned academic degree;
• Be approved for transfer by the candidate's academic advisor after being evaluated for content and quality.

The Master of Art programs in Counseling Psychology require that one year of practicum training be taken at CIIS. Practicum training units will not be accepted in transfer.

The following further policy pertains to graduate transfer credit:

• Professional Military Education (PME) or training courses evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE) may qualify for transfer credit. In considering the ACE recommendation, CIIS assesses the level and determines the amount of credit.

This policy also pertains to credit transferred from a CIIS degree program from which a student has graduated.

Right to Rescind Admission

CIIS reserves the right to rescind admission or enrollment in exceptional circumstances, whether occurring prior to the time of application, during the time of application review, or after the admission decision has been made, if the university finds that:

1. Academic performance has declined since application.
2. An applicant misrepresented or falsified any information in their application, for any reason.
3. Behavioral issues or disciplinary incidents put in question the suitability of the applicant for the program.
4. Conditions of acceptance outlined in the conditional acceptance letter were not met, or not met by the deadline.
5. State authorization policies have changed.

Special Students (i.e. Non-Degree Seeking Students)

Individuals who wish to take courses for credit without being enrolled in a CIIS program may apply for Special Student status through the Registrar's Office. See the Special Student policies on the Registration and Grading Policies page. There, you can also find the Special Student Application, which you will need to fill out, collect signatures for from the Program Chair and faculty teaching the course, and submit to the Registrar's Office.