Transferring Credit

For Fall 2024 Transfer or Freshman, and Spring 2024 Transfer Students

The Advanced Placement (AP) program offers you the chance to begin college-level studies while you are in high school. Through AP, you can get a jump start on your U of M education.

Many high schools offer college-level classes through the Advanced Placement (AP) program. You may also prepare for an AP exam through individual study. AP exams are graded on a five-point scale. If you have scored a three or higher, you may be able to be awarded credits at the University of Minnesota. The University of Minnesota's Advanced Placement practices—including scores accepted, credits awarded, and requirements fulfilled—are subject to change¹. Because the University is focused on ensuring that entering students are prepared for the rigor of college-level coursework, academic advisers may recommend that students with Advanced Placement credits still register for certain introductory University of Minnesota courses to ensure success in subsequent college courses that build upon that knowledge.

Furthermore, you can use credit awarded for your Advanced Placement exams to fulfill liberal education requirements at the University of Minnesota. However, regardless of AP credit awards, students should take the placement exams assigned on their New Student Checklist. Liberal education requirements are courses or categories of courses that all college students must complete for graduation from the U of M. (Note: These requirements should not be confused with high school preparation requirements, which are required for admission to the U of M, although AP courses can also satisfy high school preparation requirements.) See the chart below for details.

Information is current as of February 1, 2023.

¹ Credit for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and CLEP exams is awarded based on a student's first term of enrollment in a degree-seeking program on the Twin Cities campus. The credits listed below are the projected awards for the incoming Fall 2022 Freshman and Transfer classes as well as the Spring 2022 Transfer class. Any changes to the awards will be updated no later than January 31.

² Students will be granted course credit plus credits toward fulfillment of the University's liberal education requirements for graduation as indicated.

³ Course numbers 1999 and 3099 indicate blanket credit in the subject matter area at the freshman-sophomore and junior-senior levels respectively; other numbers are those of specific courses for which students may be granted credit.

For more information about Advanced Placement and the University of Minnesota, contact the Office of Admissions. 

Register for an Advanced Placement exam.

Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Advanced Placement Course Awards.

Some high schools offer courses through the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities offers students who earn qualifying scores in (IB) subjects a head start on their University education.

Students in IB programs may receive up to eight semester credits at the University of Minnesota for each higher-level (HL) subject passed with a grade of five or higher. Specific credit awards for each higher-level (HL) subject are outlined below.

We encourage IB students to earn the full IB diploma.

• Those who earn the full IB diploma with 30 or more diploma points may receive up to eight semester credits for each higher level (HL) subject with grades of five or higher and
• IB students may receive up to two semester credits for some standard level subjects with grades of five or higher.*

The University of Minnesota's IB practices—including scores accepted, credits awarded, and requirements fulfilled—are subject to change.

Information is current as of February 2021

*SL credit is granted ONLY if a student completes a full IB diploma of 30 points or more. No credit is awarded for SL classes alone. SL credit is granted for these courses: biology (2), chemistry (4), computer science (2), economics (2), English languages and literature (2), English literature (2), film studies, (2), geography (4), history (2), information technology (4), literature and performance (2), and psychology (2). No credit is granted for SL math or math studies.

Course numbers 1999 indicate blanket credit in the subject matter area at the freshman-sophomore level; other numbers are those of specific courses for which students may be granted credit.

Transfer credit for IB second language courses, HL or SL, is not awarded. For information on how to earn credit for second language courses at the University of Minnesota, go to LangTest.umn.edu, send an email to [email protected], or call 612-624-0862.

For more information about International Baccalaureate and the University of Minnesota, contact the Office of Admissions.

The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level (GCE A-Level) is offered as a school leaving qualification in certain systems that follow a British-patterned curriculum. The University of Minnesota Twin Cities awards transfer credit for students who earn qualifying scores in A-Level subject towards their University education.

In order to conduct an evaluation of credit for A-Level exam results, an official copy of the A-Level exam certificate issued by the examination board must be submitted to the Office of Admissions. Find the submission instructions at our Secondary School Sample Document page.

The maximum amount of credits students may receive for one subject is dependent upon the A-Level subject and grade obtained on the exam. Please note that additional placement tests may be required depending on the degree program. For instance, students may earn credit for second language A-Levels they have completed. However, students still may be required to take the second language entrance proficiency or placement test if they do not satisfy the two year language requirement, or if they wish to continue study in that language.

Note: The University of Minnesota Twin Cities currently does not award credit for A-Levels from Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

Information is current as of September 2023