Credit and Placement by Examination

The College allows students to use examination scores from various programs for credit towards their degree and/or placement in more advanced courses in that subject area. These programs include the following:

Beginning with first-year and transfer students entering in fall 2022, a maximum of 16 credits from the examinations above may be applied toward the overall 128 credits required for graduation. Additional exam scores (beyond those resulting in the 16 credits) can be used for placement purposes, general degree requirements (except as described below) and major/minor requirements as allowed by individual departments.

Beginning with first-year and transfer students entering in fall 2024, students will be limited to a maximum of 16 credits total through examination scores (AP, IB, A-Level, CAPE) and college coursework on a college campus while in high school. See the college courses in high school section of the transfer credit page for more information.

Credit by these examinations may not be used toward fulfillment of the primary writing requirement or be used to fulfill a College cluster. In some situations, examination scores can be used for placement within a cluster. These are outlined in the description of the cluster within the cluster search engine.

Students using credit by examination are still subject to the College’s enrollment policy. Credits may not be used to accelerate graduation beyond the limits set in this policy.  

Credit from University of Rochester Examinations

Independent Study

Students who prepare a course by independent study without registering for it and who pass an examination in that course can receive degree credit. A letter confirming that the student has passed the exam, should be sent to the director of the College Center for Advising Services.

Mathematics

Credit by examination in mathematics is generally available only for MATH 161 and MATH 162. The normal procedure is to take the final examination simultaneously with the regular exam in the current MATH 161 or MATH 162 courses.

Students who are interested in this option should talk to the mathematics department.

Languages

Students may not earn credit by taking a University of Rochester examination in an introductory or intermediate level language course.