College-level Credit at PLU
PLU grants college-level credit to students who have taken and scored a certain level on AP, IB and Cambridge exams.
Additionally, PLU will grant college-level credits to students who have completed Washington State Running Start or other college courses while in high school.
- Students who have completed advanced placement tests with appropriate scores receive credit.
- Credit is awarded only for scores of 4 or 5, except for Calculus, which requires a score of 3 or higher, and physics (B or C), which requires a score of 5.
- Credit is applied to specific General Education Requirements or elective credit depending on the test category.
- Click here or refer to the bottom of the page to see credit awarded for each AP test.
If you have tested for an AP class that is not listed, the PLU Registrar’s Office will review the course individually.
- PLU awards 30 semester hours of credit for completion of the IB Diploma
- These 30 credits satisfy specific General Education Requirements: Fine Arts, Literature, Philosophy (if higher level Philosophy is included in the IB Diploma), 2 Social Sciences, Natural Science/Computer Science/Mathematics, Science and Scientific Method, and Mathematical Reasoning.
- IB diploma students are not obligated to complete the Freshman Experience Program requirements, but they must complete the University Writing Requirement as outlined in the University Catalog, as well as the Gen Eds not listed above.
- Students who do not receive the full IB Diploma are granted 4 semester hours of credit for each higher-level examination with a grade of 4 or higher. Credit awarded in this manner will be matched to the appropriate Gen Ed Elements from the requirements listed above.
In order to transfer Running Start credits to PLU:
- Courses must be from an accredited Washington community college.
- Only 100-level or above courses will transfer credit.
- Students must submit an official college transcript.
- Grades in Running Start courses must be a C- or higher.
If a student earns an AA-DTA or AS-T degree through Running Start, that student will be granted junior class standing and will be considered a first-year student with advanced standing*.
For further information, please visit our webpage for Running Start students.
- A maximum of 30 semester hours may be granted for completion of Cambridge International Examinations.
- Students must earn a passing grade (C or better) to earn credit.
- No credit will be awarded for AS-Level or O-Level exams.
- Students who have completed other college courses while in high school may be awarded credit at PLU. The courses must be listed in the official college catalog, be a part of the regular college curriculum of a regionally accredited college or university, and post a grade of a C- or higher.
- Students are permitted, within limits, to obtain credit by examination in lieu of regular enrollment in a class.
- No more than 30 hours may be counted toward graduation from the CLEP examination or any other examination.
- For information on obtaining credit by examination, see the official PLU catalog.
AP Course Policy Chart
AP Subject | AP Exam Score | PLU Course | PLU Credits | Credit Awarded |
---|---|---|---|---|
Art History | 4 or 5 | ARTD 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Art, Music, Theatre) |
Studio Art | 4 or 5 | ARTD 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Art, Music, Theatre) |
Biology | 4 or 5 | BIOL 111 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Calculus AB | 3, 4 or 5 | MATH 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Math Reasoning or Natural Science) |
Calculus BC | 3 | MATH 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Math Reasoning or Natural Science) |
Calculus BC | 4 or 5 | MATH 151 & 152 | 8 | Gen Ed (Math Reasoning or Natural Science) |
Chemistry | 4 or 5 | CHEM 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science) [Speak with PLU's chemistry department chair for possible CHEM 115 credit] |
Computer Science A | 4 or 5 | CSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science) [CSCI 144 if CSCI 270 is completed with a C or better] |
Computer Science Principles | 3, 4 or 5 | CSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science) |
English Language & Composition | 4 or 5 | GENR 100TR | 4 | Elective |
English Literature & Composition | 4 or 5 | ENGL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Literature) |
Environmental Science with lab | 4 or 5 | ENVT 104 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Government & Politics: United States | 4 or 5 | POLS 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
Government & Politics: Comparative | 4 or 5 | POLS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
History: United States | 4 or 5 | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
History: European | 4 or 5 | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
History: World | 4 | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
History: World | 5 | HIST 215 | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
Human Geography | 4 or 5 | GENR 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
Languages & Cultures | 4 or 5 | LANG 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Macroeconomics | 4 or 5 | ECON 102 | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
Microeconomics | 4 or 5 | ECON 101 | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
Music Theory | 4 or 5 | MUSI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Art, Music, Theatre) |
Physics 1 | 4 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics 1 | 5 | PHYS 125 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics 2 | 4 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics 2 | 5 | PHYS 126 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 4 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 5 | PHYS 154 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Physics C: Mechanics | 5 | PHYS 153 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural Science or Scientific Method) |
Psychology | 4 or 5 | PSYC 101 | 4 | Gen Ed (Social Science) |
Research | 4 or 5 | GENR 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Seminar | 4 or 5 | GENR 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Statistics | 4 or 5 | STAT 231 | 4 | Gen Ed (Math Reasoning) [May not be used to fulfill the statistics requirement for degrees in psychology, sociology, social work or minors.] |
Social Media