California State University San Marcos
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California State University San Marcos: Courses, Admission, Cost

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  • Estd. 1989
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Cal State San Marcos
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California State San Marcos (CSUSM) is a fully accredited state university, recognized for quality in undergraduate and graduate academic offerings, community service learning, and research excellence. California State University-San Marcos (CSUSM) has a total student body of 17,000 including 373 international and exchange students. Further, 15% of the international students are Indian.

About California State University San Marcos

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Year of establishment
1989
Also known as
CSUSM
University website
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Student website
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Total foreign students
350
Campus size
304 acres
Scholarships granted
9779
Scholarship amount granted
USD 81 million
English proficiency test
Required
Accepted exams
SAT/ACT accepted
Not required
Total faculty
402
Faculty/Student ratio
23
Male/Female ratio
0.59
Total criminal offences
84
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Commonly asked questions
On Highlights
Q:   What is San Marcos California famous for?
A: 

San Maros is famous for being the educational hub of the North County, being home to the award-winning Palomar College & the California State University San Marcos.

Other than that, it is home to one of the top wineries in North County San Diego, the Sunshine Mountain Wines. Its NCAA Division II team, the Cal State San Marcos Cougars are the city's favorites that participate in over 13 different sports.

And last but not the least, it is located just 35 miles south of San Diego that is known for its beautiful, sunny beaches, & scenic shorelines.  

Q:   What is Cal State San Marcos known for?
A: 

The California State University San Marcos is a an accredited higher educational institution known for offering a quality standard of education, with access to industry standard resoruces & an emphasis on experential learning. 

The institute offers around 67 major courses across a range of prominent fields including: Business Administration, Accounting, Environment, Biology & Engineering among others & houses a student population of over 14,000 domestic & international students.  

Q:   Is California State University San Marcos a good school?
A: 

CSUSM is considered among the best institutions in the region, being fully accredited by the region's most prominent accreditation board: Western Association of Schools & Colleges (WASC). 

The institute also ranks highly as part of country-level rankings given by some popular university ranking publications, with one major source ranking it #22 for Regional Universities West Rankings 2025 while another ranked it #251-300 as part of its National University Rankings 2025.

California State San Marcos Rankings

California State University San Marcos Admission 2026

  • Application fees :USD 70
  • Type of deadline :Depends on course
Document IconDocuments
Type of documentsApplicable for
SOPNeeded for few courses
LORNeeded for few courses
EssaysNeeded for few courses
CVNeeded for few courses
Additional documentsRequired
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Cal State San Marcos Popular Courses

MS
B.Sc.
B.A.
B.E. / B.Tech
More

₹13.31 LGet Fee Details

₹14.8 LGet Fee Details

₹31.58 LGet Fee Details

₹13.31 LGet Fee Details

₹15.48 LGet Fee Details

View AllMS Courses

California State San Marcos Placements

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California State San Marcos Fees & Eligibility

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Courses1st Year Tuition FeesDuration & Eligibility
MS(9 courses)
INR 13 L - 32 LGet Fee Details
Duration18-24 months
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 6 & Above, PTE: 65 & Above, TOEFL: 80 & Above, Duolingo: 110 & Above, GRE
B.Sc.(12 courses)
INR 16 L - 18 LGet Fee Details
Duration4 years
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 5.5 & Above, PTE: 50 & Above, TOEFL: 61 & Above, Duolingo: 95 & Above
B.A.(10 courses)
INR 17 L - 18 LGet Fee Details
Duration4 years
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 5.5 & Above, PTE: 50 & Above, TOEFL: 61 & Above, Duolingo: 95 & Above
B.E. / B.Tech(6 courses)
INR 16 L - 18 LGet Fee Details
Duration4 years
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 5.5 & Above, PTE: 50 & Above, TOEFL: 61 & Above, Duolingo: 95 & Above
BSN(1 course)
Duration4 years
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 5.5 & Above, PTE
BBA(10 courses)
INR 17 L - 18 LGet Fee Details
Duration4 years
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 5.5 & Above, PTE: 50 & Above, TOEFL: 61 & Above, Duolingo: 95 & Above
M.A.(6 courses)
INR 14 L - 15 LGet Fee Details
Duration18 months-2 years
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 6 & Above, PTE: 65 & Above, TOEFL: 80 & Above, Duolingo: 110 & Above
MBA/PGDM(1 course)
Duration1 year
Exam AcceptedGMAT, GRE, IELTS, TOEFL: 80 & Above, PTE: 65 & Above, Duolingo: 110 & Above
MPH(1 course)
Duration16 months
Exam AcceptedIELTS, TOEFL: 80 & Above, PTE: 65 & Above, Duolingo: 110 & Above
Others PG(3 courses)
Duration18-24 months
Exam AcceptedIELTS: 6 & Above, PTE
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Cal State San Marcos
Student profile

Quick university statsInsights on student demographics, enrolment, and academic success
UG Race

Hispanic

51%

Others

35%

Asian

9%

Black

3%

UG Student residence

In state

98%

Out of state

1%

UG Age distribution

24 and under

81%

25 and over

18%

UG Applicant Icon

UG Number of Applicant

14774
grad RateIcon

Overall Graduation Rate

57
UG Enroll Icon

UG Enrollment

13914
PG Enroll Icon

PG Enrollment

1195

California State San Marcos Notable Alumni

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College comparison

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Compare Cal State San Marcos with other similar colleges

MS
B.Sc.
B.A.
B.E. / B.Tech
BSN
BBA
M.A.
MBA/PGDM
MPH
Others PG
College1st Year Tuition FeesRanking
INR 13.31 L - 31.58 L -/-
INR 13.01 L - 15.16 L -/-
INR 8.23 L - 13.7 L -/-
INR 12.6 L -/-
INR 12.38 L#1501 THE, 2025
INR 14.62 L#151 ARWU, 2023
The values are of the latest years available with Shiksha. For more details, check detailed comparison
View comparisonsRight Arrow Icon

Cal State San Marcos
Studying in USA

Key Facts About USA

Insights on education, demographics & weather.
Education in USA
school Key Fact Icon
963+
backpack Key Fact Icon
3.38L
cashRegister Key Fact Icon
20 hours per week
cashRegister Key Fact Icon
12 months
Country stats
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Washington D.C.
keyUsers Key Fact Icon
347.28M (2025)
chartMixed Key Fact Icon
2%
letterA Key Fact Icon
English
Weather
January
CF
Popular LocationsMinMax
Boston-53
New York-34
Chicago-60
Los Angeles1020
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International Students at California State San Marcos

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Comments

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Cal State San Marcos

Student Forum

chatAnything you would want to ask experts?
Write here...

Answered 9 months ago

The students can make an application for two intakes in a year at this university which are Fall and Spring. 

The students are expected to gather all the documents required before applying on the official portal for applying to the California State University San Marcos PG and UG courses.

The Californ

...Read more

R

Rachit Arora

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 9 months ago

As per some unofficial souces, the California State University San Marcos acceptance rate stands at 95.70% for the year 2024 which is a good acceptance rate for a university. This suggests the out of every 100 applications, 95 to 96 students were accepted by the university. In the year 2024, 17,519

...Read more

L

Lalit Shukla

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 9 months ago

The admission requirements at California State University San Marcos vary on the level of study and the different programs. The basic CSUSM admission requirements include valid academic proofs, English proficiency test scores such as IELTS/TOEFL/PTE, academic transcripts, standardized entrance test

...Read more

V

Virajita Bisht

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 9 months ago

International students are required to get an F-1 student visa for California State University San Marcos as it is situated in the USA. After getting the admission confirmation from California State University San Marcos, the students must arrange all these documents with the VISA fee:

·         SEVI

...Read more

M

Mayank Katariya

Contributor-Level 9

Answered 9 months ago

A variety of MBA programs are offered at California State University San Macros named as Full-time MBA, FEMBA, EMBA etc. The duration ranges from INR18 to 24 months and the tuition fee is INR 28 L for the same.

Below are the California State University San Marcos MBA admission requirements:

·        

...Read more

L

Lalit Shukla

Contributor-Level 9

About the author

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Kanishk Aggarwal

Study Abroad Expert

Kanishk Aggarwal is a content writer at Shiksha.com, creating content for universities abroad. Having pursued an M.Sc. in Forensic Science from GD Goenka University, Gurugram, he has been creating content across diverse domains. When not guiding stud...Read Full Bio

Cal State San Marcos
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Cal State San Marcos
Location

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University CitySan Marcos, California, USA

Cal State San Marcos
Contact Information

Address

333 S Twin Oaks Valley Rd, San Marcos, CA 92096, USA
San Marcos ( California)

Phone
760 750 4000

(For general query)

+1 (760) 750-4844

(For admission query)

Go to College Website ->