College Hall and College Green

External Exam Credit

Advanced Placement credit, International Baccalaureate credit, and credit for GCE Advanced (A) Level Examinations or other examinations may allow for placement in higher level classes or Penn credit.

Please note: These polices are in effect for students entering in the Fall of 2018 and beyond. They remain under ongoing review by the faculty of the University and are subject to change without notice. Current students should consult their home school offices for policies in effect at the time of their matriculation.

COVID-19 Update: Penn will continue to grant credit and placement for these exams. We understand due to the evolving nature of the COVID-19 global pandemic and other events worldwide there could be variations on how the examinations are conducted. We are in communication with testing agencies around the world and support them in the decisions they feel they need to make.

The University of Pennsylvania may award credit or advanced course standing to students who have taken Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other internationally-recognized examinations. Scores warranting University credit vary by department.

  • Matriculating students seeking credit for Advanced Placement (AP) exams must have official score reports sent directly to the Office of the University Registrar by the Educational Testing Service. See Advanced Placement chart below.
  • Matriculating students seeking credit for International Baccalaureate (IB) exams must have official score reports sent directly to the Office of Admissions by the International Baccalaureate Organization. See International Baccalaureate chart below.
  • Matriculating students seeking credit for A-Level exams must email their original A-Level certificates to the Office of Admissions (Attention: Eddrena Owens, eddrenao@upenn.edu) in order to have their scores evaluated for credit. See GCE Advanced (A) Level Exam Policy chart below.

Pre-College and Dual Enrollment Course Work

Credit is not awarded for college-level coursework undertaken at other institutions while a student is enrolled in high school or in the summer after high school. Such coursework is considered a part of a student’s preparation for a Penn education. It is used in consultation with the student’s academic advisor to inform decisions about placement into appropriate courses at Penn.

Students who enroll in regular undergraduate courses at Penn prior to their matriculation into an undergraduate degree program at the University, during the academic year or in the summer sessions, may elect to have that coursework merged with their undergraduate transcript, in which case it will count toward their undergraduate degree requirements, and the grades will be include in their grade point average.  

Advanced Placement

Examination Score Penn Credit Awarded
Art History 5 Waiver for ARTH 1010 or ARTH 1020, consult with undergraduate chair
Art (Studio) 5 No credit (possible exemptions for majors, portfolio considered)
Biology   No credit
Chemistry♦ 5 EAS 091 (1 c.u.), for Engineering students only
  5 NURS 0061 (0.5 c.u.), for Nursing students only
Computer Science A 5 CIS 1100 (1 c.u.) 
Computer Science Principles   No credit
Economics    
  • Micro
5 Economics 0100 waiver
  • Macro
5 Economics 0200 waiver
English    
  • Language/Composition
  No credit
 
  • Literature/Composition
  No credit
 
Environmental Science   No credit
European History   No credit
French Language 5 French 1000 (1.cu.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
German Language 5 German 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4

No credit, (must pass the department exam to fulfill language requirement)

Government and Politics   No credit
Human Geography   No credit
Italian Language and Culture 5 ITAL 1000 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Latin 5 Latin 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Latin - Literature 5 Latin 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Latin - Vergil 5 Latin 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Mathematics AB   No credit
Mathematics BC♦ 5 Math 1400 (1 c.u.)
Music Theory   No credit
Physics 1 5 Physics 0101 (1.5 c.u.)
Physics 2 5 Physics 0102 (1.5 c.u.)
Physics-C
(Mechanics)
5 Physics 0150 (1.5 c.u.)
Physics-C
(Electricity and Magnetism)
5 Physics 0151 (1.5 c.u.)
Psychology 5 Psychology 0001 Waiver
Spanish Language 5 Spanish 1000 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Spanish Literature 5 Spanish 1200 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  4 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Statistics 5 STAT 1010 waiver or STAT 1110 waiver
  5 NURS 2300 (1 c.u.), for Nursing students only
United States History   No credit
World History   No credit
Higher Level Examination Score Penn Credit Awarded
Anthropology   No credit
Biology   No credit
Chemistry♦  7, 6 EAS 091 (1 c.u.), for Engineering students only
Computer Science   No credit
Economics 7, 6 Economics 0100 and 0200 Waiver
English A/B   No credit
French A 7, 6 French 1212 (1 c.u.)
  5 French 1000 (1 c.u.)
French B 7, 6 French 1000 (1 c.u.)
Geography   No credit
German A 7, 6 German 2100 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  5 German 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
German B 7, 6 German 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
History of the Americas   No credit
History of Europe   No credit
Latin 7 Latin 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  6 No credit (fulfills language requirement)
Mathematics♦   No credit
Mathematics with Further Mathematics♦ 7 Math 1400 (1 c.u.)
Music   No credit
Philosophy 7, 6, 5 Departmental review on case-by-case basis
Physics 7, 6 Phys 0150 (1.5 c.u.) and Physics 0102 (1.5 c.u.) 
Psychology 7, 6 Waiver for Psychology 0001
Spanish A 7, 6 Spanish 1200 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
  5 Spanish 1000 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
Spanish B 7, 6 Spanish 1000 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
Theater Arts 7, 6, 5 Departmental review on case-by-case basis

 An internal departmental examination is also available for credit.

Examination Grade of A* or A or B Grade of C
Accounting No credit No credit
Biology No credit No credit
Chemistry A* or A = EAS 091 (1 c.u.), for Engineering students only   No credit
Economics A* or A = Waiver Econ 0100 & 0200
B = no waiver
No credit
English No credit No credit
French A* or A = Fren 1212 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
A- = no credit (fulfills language requirement)
B = no credit
No credit
Greek A* or A = Greek 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
B = no credit (fulfills language requirement)
No credit
History No credit No credit
Latin A* or A = Latin 0400 (1 c.u.) (fulfills language requirement)
B = no credit (fulfills language requirement)
No credit
Math w/Further Math
(Edexel)
No credit No credit
Math w/Special paper w/merit
(Cambridge)
No credit No credit
Physics A* or A = Physics 0150 (1.5 c.u.) and Physics 0151 (1.5 c.u.)
B = Physics 0101 (1.5 c.u.) and Physics 0102 (1.5 c.u.)
No credit
Spanish A* or A = Spanish 1200 (1.cu) (fulfills language requirement)
A- = no credit (fulfills language requirement)
B = no credit 
No credit