Admission Eligibility

Undergraduate admission applications may be obtained any time throughout the school year from the Office of Admissions, Chicago State University, 9501 S. King Drive, Chicago, IL 60628. Students who wish to visit the campus or to speak with one of the University admissions counselors may either call 773/995-2513 for an appointment or come to the Admissions Office, Cook Administration Building, Room 200. There is a non-refundable application fee of $20. For other information, see the CSU web site at: https://www.csu.edu.

Deadline Dates:

Fall Admission - July 15

Spring Admission - Nov 15

Admission requirements for Chicago State University require entering freshmen to have a minimum ACT score of 16 effective Fall, 1998. Student who wish to transfer to CSU must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above on a 4.0 scale. In addition, to the application, all students must submit official transcripts. For full details use the web site or telephone numbers listed in the preceding paragraph.

As part of the placement procedure upon admission to CSU, all students are required to take proficiency examinations in English (composition), mathematics and reading before they register. The examinations are give at various times throughout the year, and a limited number of walk-in test times are available. There is no charge for the examination.

The purpose of the examinations is to insure that students are appropriately placed in classes. Students who demonstrate a need for strengthening their composition, mathematics and/or reading skills are enrolled in development courses in those areas. Students who demonstrate adequate skills in composition, mathematics and/or reading are exempt from the developmental courses. If they are transfer students who successfully pass these exams, they are given transfer credit for college-level composition and mathematics courses they have completed with a grade of “C” or better in these areas.

Study guides for the proficiency examinations can be purchased from the CSU Bookstore for less than $2 each. For more details about the examinations, contact the Office of Examinations in Cook Administration Building, Room 126, 773/995-2481.

In addition, CSU accepts credit via the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). Credit for the general examination is available to fulfill English composition (6 hrs.), humanities (6 hrs.), natural science (6 hrs.) And social science (6 hrs.). Subject examination is available in the following business fields: computer & data processing - 3 hrs. (INSY 136), principles of accounting - 6 hrs. (ACCT 110, 111), and principles of macro economics - 3 hrs. (ECON 102). For full details, contact the Office of Examinations (see preceding paragraph for numbers).

College of Business - Admissions

The College of Business is one of three professional colleges on the CSU campus. Because of this, additional requirements are needed for admission into the College. Students are admitted as intended business majors until after completion of all admission requirements for the College of Business.

All students declaring a business program option (accounting, finance, hospitality management, information systems, marketing, and management) as a major are assigned a business advisor upon acceptance into Chicago State University. They are enrolled as “Intended” majors until completion of specific course requirement listed below. Students normally complete a minimum of 45 semester with at least a “C+” (2.5) grade point average when they become “accepted” majors in business. Students transferring from another institution must have completed at least 9 of their hours at CSU. The following are College of Business admission requirements:

  • Pass all proficiency examinations (mathematics, English composition, and reading)
  • Successfully complete the following College of Arts and Science courses:
    • English 127, 128 and 279 (Composition I, Composition II, and Business Writing)
    • Speech 203 or 221 (Basic Speech Communication or Interpersonal Communication)
    • Mathematics 162 (College Algebra)
    • Natural Science (3 hrs. in either biological or physical science)
    • Economics 101 and 102 (Principles of Economics – macroeconomics and microeconomics)
    • Social Science (3 hrs., most programs require this to be an additional economics course)
  • Pass each of the following Business core courses with at least a “C” or better in each:
    • Accounting 110 and 111 (Introduction to Financial Accounting, Introduction to Managerial Accounting)
    • Management 103 (Introduction to the Modern Business System)
    • Information Systems 137 (Microcomputer Applications in Business)

Transfer Credit Requirements

The College of Business has entered into articulation agreements with various local community colleges. Students should contact their college to see if their institution is a part of the Illinois Articulation Initiative. As part of the CSU transfer assurance plan, students from many community colleges arriving with Associate of Arts (A.A.) or Associate of Science (A.S.) degrees will be considered as having met the CSU University-Wide general education requirements and will have junior standing; however, students must complete each of the College of Business’s admission requirements. In general, the College will grant credit for the following core courses in business provided that (a) the course content is similar in nature to the course at CSU, and (b) a grade of “C” or better was received in the course:

Accounting: 110 and 111 (financial and managerial accounting), 290 (Legal and Ethical Environment of Business), and 291(Business Law I)

Information System: 136 (Introduction to Computer Information Systems) and 137 (Microcomputer Applications in Business)

Management: 103 (Introduction to the Modern Business System)

Economics: 101 and 102 (macro and micro economics)

Upper division credit for ACCT 290 and 291 may not be available for credit in other academic departments at the University. Credit for the above courses, and others, also can be accepted by successfully completing the College Level Examination Program (CLEP). See the Office of Examinations at CSU or your community college for details.

Two-Year Colleges.The College of Business will accept upper division courses in business provided they are similar in nature to respective courses at Chicago State University. This is done by successfully passing a proficiency examination for each course based upon the relevant material in the following courses:

  • ACCOUNTING 212, 213, 293 (Cost Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Federal Income Tax)
  • FINANCE 266 (Principles of Finance)
  • INFORMATION SYSTEM 200 (Statistics for Business)
  • MANAGEMENT 249 (Principles of Management)
  • MARKETING 276 (Principles of Marketing)

The department chairperson and the departmental curriculum committee, in exceptional cases, may waive the requirement for a proficiency examination.

Four-Year Colleges. The College of Business will accept courses in business from four-year colleges accredited by their regional accreditation body. These courses may be applied to the core requirements or the professional option requirements where applicable, provided they are (a) similar in nature to the course at Chicago State University and (b) a grade of “C” or better is received in the course.

Academic Policies

Academic departments will not accept any “D” letter grades in the professional option courses. The College will accept no more than one “D” letter grade in the core requirements completed at CSU. The Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Administration will be awarded after completion of 120 semester hours credit in the following areas:

General Education Requirements - 42 hours

Core (12 hrs.)

  • 6 hrs. English Composition ENG 127 and 128
  • 3 hrs. Mathematical Thinking MATH 162
  • 3 hrs. Critical Thinking Selected from ENG 145, FIN 101, PHIL 204, POL 100, PH S 108

General (30 hrs)*

  • 6 hrs. MATH 214 (3 hrs.) & MATH (3 hrs.) - course selected with departmental approval);
  • 6 hrs. Natural Science: BIO SCI (3 hrs.) & PH S (3 hrs.);[one of the science courses must have a laboratory component]
  • 9 hrs. Social Science: ECON 101, 102, and one Economics Course) /li>
  • 9 hrs. Humanities: SPCH 203 or 221, ENG 279, and one additional Humanities course from list of approved electives

*Enrichment Core Courses(9 hrs.) Include within the General Education Requirement are enrichment courses selected from Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. Suggested courses include Humanities/SPCH 203; Natural Sciences/BIOL 107 or 108; PH S 100 or 101. Note: some of the General Education Requirements may be fulfilled through the College of Business admission requirements. Contact an advisor for details.

The College of Business is accredited by the Accreditation Council For Business Schools and Programs.