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Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Credits
Eligible Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) scores may be used toward a bachelor’s degree. The type and level of test credit awarded is standardized across the undergraduate schools, though each school has separate rules regarding the use of test credit to fulfill degree requirements (see School-Specific Policies below).
Students may not receive duplicate credit in one area of study. For example, a student who takes the AP and IB exams in calculus and receives eligible scores on both will be granted credit for only one set of results. An updated test credit policy is published annually for the incoming class. See the tables below for the current year’s policy.
Per Northwestern's Credit for Repeated Courses policy, if you earn AP or IB credit for a specific course (e.g., ECON 201) and then subsequently take that course at Northwestern, you will lose the AP or IB credit. The AP notation will remain on your transcript, but it will be listed as bearing 0 units of credit. (The same is true for certain science and math courses seen as substantially equivalent. For example, you can't earn both AP and NU credit for an introductory calculus course, even if the course numbers differ. Details are in the relevant department sections in the Undergraduate Catalog.)
School specific policies
- School of Education and Social Policy AP/IB policy
- Medill School of Journalism - Current students can access Medill's AP/IB on their class Canvas site
- Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences AP/IB policy
- Bienen School of Music Undergraduate AP/IB policy
- School of Communication Undergraduate
- McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science AP/IB policy
Score submission guidelines
- In order to apply AP credit to your Northwestern record, contact the College Board and request your scores be sent to Northwestern University. Our school code is 1565. The eligible AP credit is added to your student record through an electronic process. For incoming undergraduates, requests should be sent to the College Board no later than August 1st to ensure credit is posted in time for new-student advising. If you request submission of scores after August 1st, please contact us at nu-transfer-credit@northwestern.edu to let us know your scores were sent. If you are a current student who requested submission of credit-worthy scores that are not reflected on your record, please email nu-transfer-credit@northwestern.edu with a screenshot from your College Board account of the order and a screenshot of your directory information on file with them (name, address, birthday, etc.).
- IB results can be delivered by request via the Diploma Programme Coordinator or sent directly to Northwestern depending on the time frame. Please visit www.ibo.org for additional details. IB results should be requested no later than mid-July to ensure credit is posted in time for new-student advising.
- For information on receiving other types of test credit such as European National Exams like the French Baccalaureate or GCE A-Level, please contact the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences Office of Undergraduate Studies at (847) 491-7560, or bring a copy of your score report to 1922 Sheridan Road.
- AP and IB scores will begin being reviewed and posted to Caesar in early to mid-August. If you do not see your scores posted by the end of the month, please contact nu-transfer-credit@northwestern.edu for further assistance.
Advanced placement credit recognition table for students entering 2023-24
| Exam | Score | Course Credit Authorized |
|---|---|---|
| African American Studies | 5 | 1 unit (BLK_ST 2XX) |
| Art History | 5 | 1 unit (ART_HIST 2XX) |
| Art: Drawing | 5 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) |
| Art: 2-D Art and Design | 5 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) |
| Art: 3-D Art and Design | 5 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) |
| Biology | 5 | 1 unit (BIOL_SCI 1XX) |
| Chemistry | 4 | 1 unit (CHEM 1X0) |
| 5 | 3.68 units (CHEM 1X0, 1X1, 1X2, and lab courses 11X, 12X) | |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (CHINESE 1LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (CHINESE 1LN) | |
| Computer Science A | 4, 5 | 1 unit (COMP_SCI 150-0) |
| Computer Science Principles | 4, 5 | 1 unit (COMP_SCI 1XX) |
| Economics—Macro | 5 | 1 unit (ECON 201-0) |
| Economics—Micro | 5 | 1 unit (ECON 202-0) |
| English (Language and Composition) | 5 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LC) |
| English (Literature and Composition) | 5 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LT) |
| Environmental Science | 5 | 1 unit (ENVR_SCI 1XX) |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (FRENCH 1LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (FRENCH 2LN) | |
| Geography (Human) | 5 | 1 unit (GEOG 1XX) |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (GERMAN 1LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (GERMAN 2LN) | |
| Government and Politics (United States) | 5 | 1 unit (POLI_SCI 2XX) |
| Government and Politics (Comparative) | 5 | 1 unit (POLI_SCI 2XX) |
| History (European) | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2EU) |
| History (United States) | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2US) |
| History (World) | 5 | 2 units (HISTORY 2WL) |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (ITALIAN 2LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (ITALIAN 2LN) | |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (JAPANESE 1LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (JAPANESE 1LN) | |
| Latin | 4 | 1 unit (LATIN 2LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (LATIN 2LN) | |
| Mathematics (Calculus) AB, or the AB subscore of Calculus BC, for exams taken either before or after calendar year 2020 | 4 | 1 unit (MATH 220-1) |
| 5 | 2 units (MATH 220-1,2) | |
| Mathematics (Calculus) BC, for exams taken either before or after calendar year 2020 | below 4 | see Mathematics AB |
| 4 | 2 units (MATH 220-1,2) | |
| 5 | 3 units (MATH 220-1,2 & Math 226-0) | |
| Mathematics (Calculus) AB, for exams taken in 2020 | 4 | 1 unit (MATH 220-1) |
| 5 | 2 units (MATH 220-1,2) | |
| Mathematics (Calculus) BC, for exams taken in 2020 | 4 | 2 units (MATH 220-1,2) |
| 5 | 3 units (MATH 220-1,2 & Math 2XX) | |
| Music Theory | 5 | 1 unit (GEN_MUS 252-0) |
| Physics 1 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 130-1 and lab course 13X-1) |
| Physics 2 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 130-2 and lab course 13X-2) |
| Physics C (Mechanics) | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 135-1 and lab course 136-1) |
| Physics C (Electricity & Magnetism), for exams taken either before or after calendar year 2020 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 135-2 and lab course 136-2) |
| Physics C (Electricity & Magnetism), for exams taken in 2020 | 5 | 1.34 units (PHYSICS 1XX and 1XL) |
| Psychology | 5 | 1 unit (PSYCH 110-0) |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (SPANISH 2LN) |
| 5 | 2 units (SPANISH 2LN) | |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 1 unit (SPANISH 2LT) |
| 5 | 2 units (SPANISH 2LT) | |
| Statistics, for exams taken either before or after calendar year 2020 | 4, 5 | 1 unit (STAT 210-0) |
| Statistics, for exams taken in 2020 | 4 | 1 unit (STAT 1XX) |
| 5 | 1 unit (STAT 210-0) |
International baccalaureate credit recognition table for students entering 2023-24
Please note: The following list is not exhaustive. Northwestern grants credit for sufficiently high scores on most HL (Higher Level) IB exams. For more information, contact the Weinberg College Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising. Northwestern does not grant credit for any SL (Subsidiary Level) IB exams.
| Higher level IB exam |
Score | Northwestern credit |
|---|---|---|
| Arts (visual) | 6, 7 | 1 unit (ART 2XX) |
| Biology | 6, 7 | 1 unit (BIOL_SCI 1XX) |
| Chemistry | 5, 6 | 1 unit (CHEM 1X0) |
| 7 | 3.68 units (CHEM 1X0, 1X1, 1X2, and lab courses 11X, 12X) | |
| Computer Science | 5, 6, 7 | 1 unit (COMP_SCI 150-0) |
| Dance | 6, 7 | 1 unit (DANCE 1XX) |
| Economics | 6, 7 | 2 units (ECON 201-0, 202-0) |
| Film | 6, 7 | 1 unit (RTVF 1XX) |
| Geography | 6 ,7 | 1 unit (Geog 1XX) |
| History (Americas) | 6, 7 | 2 units (HISTORY 2AM) |
| History (European) | 6, 7 | 2 units (HISTORY 2EU) |
| History (Asia and Oceania, or Africa & Middle East) | 6, 7 | 2 units (HISTORY 2XX) |
| Language A - English Literature | 6, 7 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LT) |
| Language A - English Language and Literature | 6, 7 | 2 units (ENGLISH 1LC) |
| Language A - Literature (all languages other than English |
6 |
1 unit of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
7 |
2 units of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
| Language A - Literature & Language (all languages other than English) |
6 |
1 unit of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
7 |
2 units of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
| Language B (no credit if the language is English) |
6 |
1 unit of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
7 |
2 units of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
| Language - Classical (Latin or Classical Greek) |
6 |
1 unit of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
7 |
2 units of 1XX in the relevant language |
|
| Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches, or Applications and Interpretation |
6 |
1 unit (MATH 2XX) |
|
7 |
2 units (MATH 2XX) |
|
| Mathematics (test 2020 or earlier) | 6, 7 | 1 unit (MATH 220-1)* |
| Further Mathematics (test 2020 or earlier) | 6, 7 | 4 units (MATH 220-1,2, MATH 226-0, and STAT 210-0) |
| Philosophy | 7 | 1 unit (PHIL 1XX) |
| Physics | 6, 7 | 2.68 units (PHYSICS 130-1,2 and lab courses 13X-1,2) |
| Politics (Global) - update 9/23/21 | 6, 7 | 1 unit (POLI_SCI 2XX) |
| Psychology | 6, 7 | 1 unit (PSYCH 110-0) |
| Theatre | 6, 7 | 1 unit (THEATRE 1XX, also recognized by Performance Studies) |
*A student who earns a score of 6 or 7 on the IB Mathematics HL examination may be eligible for additional credit if their examination includes the Calculus Option (credit for MATH 220-2 and MATH 226-0) or the Statistics and Probability option (credit for STAT 210-0). To apply for additional credit, the student must have their high school IB Diploma Programme Coordinator submit a copy of the student's IB Registration Summary to the Office of the Registrar.
Note: If you have taken an exam not listed here (British A-Levels, for example) and wish to discuss earning credit, send the International Test Credit Evaluation Request form and a copy of your score report to wcas-forms@northwestern.edu.