Newly Admitted Students - Center for Global Engagement

You must set up an SF State account to access the student portal after you are admitted to the program.   

Your SF State Account includes:

• SF State ID: a nine-digit number that will be in your acceptance letter (e.g., 912345678).  
• SF State Login and SF State Password: these will be used to login into SF State account and resources. 
  The login will be yourIDnumber@sfsu.edu (e.g., 912345678@sfsu.edu) and the password that you will create.
• SF State Email: e.g., accountname@sfsu.edu (where account name is usually the initial of your first name and your last name). Once the semester starts, we will send communication to your SF State email.

SF State Password

1. Visit SF State Account Help
2. Under New SF State Account, select New Student Account Activation
3. Follow the Password Creation Guide for New Students
   • Generate your Reset Code 
     If you want to change the email where the reset code will be sent, cancel the reset and contact globaled@sfsu.edu.
   • Create your password

Your SF State Email is automatically created after you created your SF State Password. You will receive and email from our Accounts team which will have your SF State Email Address. Once you receive the email, wait 4 hours for your SF State email account and Office 365 license to be set up.

Note: the SF State email creation for EAP students happens 1 - 2 months prior program start date.

Once your Password and Email account is set up, Two-Factor Authentication will be required the next day or when you see the ‘Welcome to DUO Security’ when trying to login. Read the 2FA Guide for more information. You can also use Quick Start directions. You will need a PC/laptop and your mobile device for set up.

If you need login assistance, go to SF State ID or email ITS Service desk at service@sfsu.edu.

International students (F-1 and J-1 visa): F-1 students are required to purchase and maintain the SF State pre-approved health insurance during their period of enrollment at SF State. Other health insurance plans will not be accepted.

The cost of medical care is high in the U.S. Unlike many countries, the United States does not provide “universal access” or “national health care”. International students are also not eligible for any U.S. federal welfare assistance.

Follow these links to enroll in the health insurance plan for your program. Enrollment instructions are below.

• ALI-EAP and Summer in San Francisco
• Academic Certificate, University Pathway Programs and Semester @ SF State
• SF Discover, STEM Exploration and short-term custom programs

Domestic students are strongly recommended to have health insurance to cover the cost of any medical care. You can read an overview of health insurance options at Domestic Health Insurance.

Please visit the Center for Global Engagement Housing for information about on-campus housing.

EAP

If you are planning to apply to study a bachelor’s or master’s degree at San Francisco State University (or other U.S. university) after studying at the ALI, bring OFFICIAL academic documents (transcript, graduation certificate, degree certificate) to submit when you apply to your undergraduate or graduate program.

Academic Certificates

You are required to submit official transcript and graduation certificate from all institutions you have attended upon matriculation at SF State.

If you have not submitted your official academic documents yet, please either request your university to mail them to SF State, College of Professional & Global Education, or hand them in to our office by Orientation Day. Transcripts are not required for coursework completed at SF State.

What is an “official” document?

An official academic document is a verification of your academic record issued directly from the school/university. Your academic record (transcript) and diploma/degree/graduation certificate (if any) must arrive in our office in the institution’s sealed/unopened envelope with a university stamp or signature on the envelope flap. Any transcripts that arrive with a broken seal or that appear to be tampered with will be deemed unofficial.

Transcript must include all courses/grades you took. You might have to request your institution to mail them to you in the U.S. or directly to the CGE office if grades are not available before you come to the U.S.

If your former institution does not issue transcripts in English, we will require an English translation to be submitted along with your official academic record. We accept English translations from the issuing university, an Embassy or Consulate or a certified translator. English translations should be literal word for word translations and mirror the original document.

English translation must be in official envelope from translator/agency. If translator had to open a sealed official school/university envelope to do translation, the translator should put the school envelope and official/original docs, along with the translation all into the translation agency/agent company envelope.

If your school issued only one original transcript, and graduation certificate, you should send photocopies of your original academic documents to your school and ask them to attest or verify the copies to be true copies of the original. Ask your school to place these attested copies in a sealed envelope with a school stamp across the envelope flap. We will only consider academic documents to be official that have been attested by the school you attended.

Documents considered unofficial:

• Transcripts that have been notarized
• Scanned copies
• Photos of documents

Any documents submitted to SF State become the property of the University and will not be returned.

We encourage all students to have all vaccinations listed on the Vaccinations and Immunizations page.

Proof of vaccination is required for these programs:

• Academic Certificate
• Semester @ SF State
• University Pathway Programs

Login to myHealth to upload your proof of vaccination.

Proof of vaccination is not required for enrollment in these programs:

• ALI-EAP 
• Summer in SF
• SF Discover
• STEM Exploration
• Short-term custom programs

Orientations are mandatory. There will be an online pre-arrival orientation, and an in-person orientation after you arrive at SF State. Information about pre-arrival and arrival orientations will be emailed to you.

For ALI-EAP:

Instructions will be sent to your email closer to orientation. Full tuition amount will be due eight days before orientation. Students on scholarships must give a valid Financial Guarantee letter to the ALI no later than eight days before orientation.

For Certificate, Semester @ SF State and Summer in SF:

As you are enrolled in classes at SF State, tuition and fees will be posted to your student account. You may get automatic emails about enrollment and payment.

For students from partners:

• Please confirm with your university/agency who is responsible for which fees payment (tuition, housing, additional course fees, other non-tuition fees).
• If your home university/agency will handle payment, SF State will invoice your university/agency directly. Fees will still show on your student account.
• For students from partners who will self-pay all or part of their tuition. Please DO NOT pay tuition and fees until notified (email will be from globaled@sfsu.edu). CGE will notify you once all tuition and fees are posted so that you can make one payment.

For individual students, please follow payment instructions in emails received. You will need to pay for course tuition upon enrollment or will be dropped. You will be billed for mandatory course fees after the Census date. 

Tuition and fees for the semester depends on the number of units enrolled. International students must maintain full-time enrollment, see Maintaining Status for details.

For STEM Exploration and SF Discover: 

Payment instructions will be sent to your email separately.

All students are eligible to join the Mashouf Wellness Center (MWC).

The MWC is the SF State gym located on campus. The membership includes state of the art fitness and aquatics facilities, access to a rock-climbing well, fitness classes, and a recreation and outdoor program.

Cost (Subject to change)

• Summer: $88 per semester
• Fall/Spring: $191 per semester
• Short term (5 weeks): $40

All students enrolled in CGE semester-length programs will receive a Gator Pass. The Gator Pass is $130/semester and provides unlimited rides on Bay Area public transportation.

Students in short-term programs may be eligible for a discounted Muni pass.

Campus address:
1600 Holloway Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132

If arriving at SFO, use the San Francisco Airport ground transportation page to plan your route to campus (use above campus address).

For more information, please see the San Francisco State University Parking and Transportation page.

OneCard is an SF State student ID card that functions as a Gator Pass for semester-long students such as academic certificates, English for Academic Preparation (ALI-EAP), Semester @ SF State, and University Pathway Program. 

For newly admitted students including SF Discover and STEM Exploration, the first OneCard is free.

Before you arrive in the U.S., apply for OneCard:

• New Students/First OneCard
• The OneCard office in the Student Services Building will notify you when your ID card is ready to be picked up.

Canvas is the learning management system (LMS) used by San Francisco State. All students enrolled in courses that have opted-in to Canvas. Visit Canvas to ensure your login.

Visit the Student Responsibilities section to ensure you have completed everything.