For the first time in more than three decades, the California State University (CSU) system is expanding the types of bachelor’s degrees its campuses can offer, and the most significant change may be how quickly students can earn one.
The CSU Board of Trustees voted this month to approve three new undergraduate degree formats that can be completed in as few as 90 semester units, compared to the 120 units typically required for a traditional Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. For a full-time student, that difference can translate to a full year or more off the time and cost of earning a four-year degree.
The new formats, a reestablished Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and two newly created degrees, the Bachelor of Professional Studies (BPS) and Bachelor of Applied Studies (BAS), are designed primarily for working adults, career changers, and the nearly six million Californians who have accumulated college credits but never finished a degree. But the reduced-unit framework has implications far beyond those populations, potentially reshaping how any student thinks about the path to a bachelor’s degree at one of the nation’s largest public university systems.
“These new degree pathways will help more Californians access an affordable, rigorous and relevant bachelor’s degree that supports upward mobility, workforce success and thriving communities,” said Junius Gonzales, CSU vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic affairs officer.
The reduced-credit model was authorized by CSU’s regional accreditor, the WASC Senior College and University Commission, in 2024, clearing the way for the board’s action. Individual campuses will now have the option to design and propose programs under each new framework, subject to faculty development and institutional review—meaning specific three-year degree programs are still to come, rather than immediately available.
Each degree type targets a different student population. The B.Ed. is aimed at aspiring teachers and is intended to complement California’s efforts to address chronic educator shortages. The BPS is built for working adults looking to formalize and build on professional experience, military training, or prior coursework. The BAS is geared toward students coming from vocational or technical backgrounds, particularly those who hold Associate of Applied Science degrees and are looking for a faster route to a four-year credential.
The appeal of a shorter timeline is backed by hard numbers. Tuition costs and time-to-completion are among the most commonly cited barriers to degree attainment, and a year’s worth of saved tuition and foregone wages could make a meaningful difference for students balancing work and family obligations. The CSU system, which serves more than 470,000 students and awards nearly half of all bachelor’s degrees in California, has been pushing to reach the large share of Californians who started college but never finished.
Similar compressed-format degrees already exist at institutions across the country, including Cornell University, Syracuse University, the University of Iowa, and Arizona State University, which recently won approval for a 90-unit B.Ed. program. The CSU’s adoption of the model brings the approach to a public university system of a scale few others can match.
The board also approved a related policy change allowing credits earned at any CSU campus, as well as credits awarded through prior learning assessment, to count toward degree residency requirements — making it easier for students who have studied at multiple institutions or built knowledge through professional experience to apply that work toward graduation.
