Your Gateway to Higher Learning and Personal Enrichment

CCSF offers an extensive list of credit classes in an array of subjects at locations throughout San Francisco. Our credit classes can be taken to earn a degree or certificate, meet transfer requirements, learn new skills for professional advancement and/or for personal enrichment. Use the information below to get started at CCSF!

Apply to CCSF

How you start at City College depends on who you are and what you want to do. Use our guide to determine the steps you need to take to apply and enroll at CCSF.

Steps to Enroll

CCSF Credit Admission Policy

City College has an open admissions policy for students who live in California and international students. Eligibility to attend is satisfied if you meet at least one of the following requirements:

  • You are eighteen (18) years old on or before the first day of instruction for the term which you are applying.
  • You are a high school graduate.
  • You are the equivalent of a high school graduate, i.e. you have passed GED or a state's high school proficiency examination.
  • You completed a minimum of 120 high school credits and have submitted a permission/consent form.  Please visit the High School Programs page for more information.

Please note that the above requirements are general; other factors may determine eligibility.

If the College has reason to question the validity of a student's high school diploma, the student will be notified they can continue enrollment but will not qualify for financial aid/Title IV funds.

For more details, contact the Office of Admissions and Records at admit@ccsf.edu or visit the Admissions Virtual Help Counter to speak with an Admissions staff member.

Admissions Frequently Asked Questions

After you submit your online application, please allow up to 72 hours for your application to process and upload to City College of San Francisco.  It is important that you check your email (including your spam folder) because within that time you will receive a welcome email from CCSF with your CCSF student identification number and other important information regarding your next steps in the admissions process. 

If you do not receive a welcome email with your student identification number from CCSF within this period, please contact the Admissions & Records Office at admit@ccsf.edu.

The information on your application cannot be changed after it has been submitted.  If you need to make a correction to your name or any other personal information on your student account, please complete the Request for Change of Directory Information Form.  Please contact the Admissions Office at admit@ccsf.edu or visit the Admissions Virtual Help Counter if you have any questions or need assistance.

Please click on our Apply to CCSF page to view your next steps based on the type of student you applied as.

Yes.  If you have not enrolled in courses for two consecutive semesters or more, you are considered a Returning Student and must re-apply to CCSF.

The login credentials for the OpenCCC Application website are different from your CCSF myRAM student portal.  Please contact the CCC Help Desk at (877) 247-4836 or email support@openccc.net to help you recover your account information.

Students who are not physically located in California are not permitted to take distance education classes (fully online or online with required on-site meetings) at City College of San Francisco. This does not apply to students located outside of the United States.

Federal regulation requires institutions offering distance education to acquire authorization from any U.S. state in which it “operates.” City College does not have the required permission for students from other states to take classes at City College. This permission is required to maintain eligibility for students of that state to receive Federal Financial Aid.

Until further notice, City College is not filing for authorization to operate in other states. We recommend that students located outside of California who are seeking community college courses look for courses offered from an institution in their own state.

If you have an out-of-state hold on your account or need assistance regarding your residency status for tuition purposes, please contact the Residency Department at resident@ccsf.edu or visit the Residency Virtual Help Counter.

If you believe you have been incorrectly categorized as an Out-of-State student, please contact our Residency Department at resident@ccsf.edu to update your residency status.  For information on how residency is established, documentation required to change your residency status or qualify for non-resident tuition exemption, and access to the Residency Reclassification Request form or AB540 Non-Resident Exemption form, please visit the Residency page.  For assistance, please email resident@ccsf.edu or visit the Residency Virtual Help Counter.

There are two ways to find out your City College email address.  All new students who complete the online application will receive two messages to the email address that was supplied on the application. The first email will contain your City College email address and the URL used to access mail. The second email will contain the initial password for your email account.  
 
You can also find your CCSF email account information when you log in to your myRAM account and click on “Student Portal”, “myProfile”, then “CCSF email/password reset”. 

Your enrollment status is based on the number of units you are enrolled in. Please refer below to see what constitutes full time, three-quarter time, half time and part-time.

  • Full Time - 12.0 or more units
  • 3/4 Time - 9.0 - 11.0 units
  • Half Time - 6.0 - 8.0 units
  • Part Time - Less than 6 units

Students may use their college/university transcript(s) in the following ways.  If you need to submit your official transcript(s) to be evaluated for degree/program requirements, please have the institution send your transcript directly to the Admissions & Records Office either electronically (preferred method) or by mail and issued to CCSF Admissions & Records Office.  Transcripts sent directly to the Admissions & Records Office by students either as an email attachment or opened hard copy are considered unofficial and will not be accepted.  Please note all the following are student initiated.

English/math Placement or Prerequisite Clearance
If you would like to use your transcript (high school or college) to complete the English/math placement or clear a prerequisite so that you can register in a class, please visit www.ccsf.edu/assessment-center for information on how to complete the English/math Assessment or Prerequisite Challenge Process.  You may use an unofficial copy of your transcript for this request.  If you need assistance, please contact the Assessment Center at prereq@ccsf.edu

AA/AS GE Requirements (Not for Transfer)
If you would like to find out how many transfer units CCSF will accept from your other institution(s) and whether classes completed at CCSF and other institutions will fulfill general education areas for an Associate degree, please visit www.ccsf.edu/domestic-transcript-evaluation on how to complete this process.  Students must have their official transcript(s) on file with the Admissions & Records Office to complete this process.  Please contact transcripteval@ccsf.edu for assistance. 

AA-T/AS-T GE Requirements for Transfer
If you are interested in transferring credit towards an Associate in Art for Transfer (AA-T) or Associate in Science for Transfer (AS-T) degree, please contact the Transfer Center at www.ccsf.edu/transfer-center for assistance with this process and information on how to request an appointment with a counselor.  Transfer Center counselors will assist you with this process and students must have their official transcript(s) on file with the Admissions & Records Office.  For questions regarding this process, please contact transfer@ccsf.edu

Course Equivalency Approval for Program Requirements
If you are interested in transferring course work to fulfill specific program requirements, general education, and/or elective unit requirements for the Associate degree or certificate programs at CCSF, students must meet with their academic counselor and/or Department Chair to complete the Course Equivalency/Comparability Form.  More information on this process is available on the second page of the Course Equivalency/Comparability form.  Students must have their official transcript(s) on file with the Admissions & Records Office to complete this process.

The Student Counseling Office will be able to assist students with any of the processes mentioned above or creating an educational plan based on the courses you completed at other colleges.  For contact information for the Student Counseling Office and how to request an appointment, please visit www.ccsf.edu/counseling.

A student may be given a final grade of "I/" Incomplete only if illness or other unavoidable circumstances prevent the student from taking the final examination or satisfying the other requirements in a course. A student must make arrangements for an Incomplete with the instructor for the course.  The instructor determines when the student must submit work to remove the grade of Incomplete. A final grade shall be assigned when the work stipulated has been completed and evaluated. If the student fails to meet the condition(s) of the removal of incomplete or when the time limit for completion has expired, the predetermined grade shall be assigned (i.e. “F” in the case of I/F).

More information regarding an "I/" Incomplete can be found in the Academic Policies and Procedures section of the CCSF Catalog (page 461).

A student may petition to have grades of "D" or "F" (for courses taken at CCSF only) excluded from their grade point average calculation when certain conditions are met, including but not limited to the following.

A student must have completed a minimum of 24-degree applicable semester units with a GPA of 2.0- or 12-degree applicable semester units with a GPA of 3.0

One or more years must have elapsed since the grades of "D" or "F" to be excluded were recorded on the student’s academic record.

Students should complete the Petition for Academic Renewal/Exclusion and submit it to the Admissions & Records Office at admit@ccsf.edu or our office located at MUB 188.

For further details on conditions and limitations, please see the Academic Renewal/Exclusion section of the Academic Policies and Procedures in the CCSF catalog and/or consult an academic counselor.

For instructions on how to complete the College Report form, please visit the Private University Steps page.  

If you need to update or insert your Student Mailing address, use the myRAM Portal.

  1. Go to Personal Information
  2. Scroll down to address
  3. Look for “Student Mailing” address
  4. If “Student Mailing” address exists
    1. Click the pencil icon
    2. Modify address
    3. Click Update
  5. If no “Student Mailing” address
    1. Click add new on top right
    2. Select type of address as “Student Mailing”
    3. Fill out address information
    4. Click Add
  6. Return to student registration page to see updated address
  7. If you still cannot submit Free City form please contact the Free City Coordinator Marco Rosas at mrosas@ccsf.edu.