Applicants must meet the general requirements for admission to graduate studies at California State University San Marcos. These are described in this catalog under Graduate Studies in the section titled Admission Requirements for Graduates and Post-Baccalaureate Students.
The applicant must have earned a bachelor's degree with a major in chemistry, biochemistry, biology, biotechnology, or related field. Students with majors in other areas may also be accepted contingent upon their satisfactory demonstration of competence in either chemistry or biochemistry depending on which option they intend to pursue (see below).
The applicant must have maintained a minimum overall GPA of 2.8, and a minimum major GPA of 3.0. Conditional admission may be granted to applicants who do not meet this requirement.
The applicant must have completed the following prerequisite courses (or their equivalent): one year of Calculus, CHEM 202L, CHEM 275, CHEM 401. In addition, applicants who wish to pursue the chemistry option should have completed CHEM 402, 404, and CHEM 416, and those who wish to pursue the biochemistry option should have completed BIOL 210 and CHEM 351 (or CHEM 341). Applicants who either received their bachelor's degrees two or more years prior to their expected entry into the program, or who received a grade of less than B in any of the prerequisite courses listed above, may be accepted to the program contingent upon their demonstration of competence within each sub-field by passing the appropriate ACS placement exams, or GRE subject tests either before or during their first semester in the program. Students failing to show competence in this manner will be required to take and pass (with a minimum grade of B) an appropriate undergraduate-level course.
All applicants, regardless of citizenship, who do not possess a bachelor's degree from a post-secondary institution where English is the principal language of instruction, must satisfy the English language proficiency requirement as described in this catalog under Graduate Studies in the section titled English Language Admission Requirements for Graduate and Post-Baccalaureate Applicants.
All applicants are required to complete the general test of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). GRE subject tests in either Biochemistry, Cell & Molecular Biology, or Chemistry are recommended but not required.

One set of official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended with indication of graduation (if not in English, certified English translations must be included). Transcripts from CSUSM can be unofficial.
Official GRE scores and, if applicable, TOEFL results.
Three (3) letters of recommendation acknowledging the applicant's academic capabilities. Two of these letters should come from individuals capable of commenting on the applicant's potential for graduate-level research in chemistry/biochemistry. The last letter can be from an individual outside the applicant's chosen field of study. Be sure to click on the 'send invitation link next to each recommender's contact info so they receive your request.

IELTS overall band score of 6.0, writing score no lower than 6.0 and no section score below 5.5
TOEFL iBT - minimum score of 80.
TOEFL paper-based - minimum score of 550.