Office of the Registrar
AP & IB Credit
Incoming first-year and transfer students may receive credit toward graduation, provided their examinations meet Oberlin’s academic requirements.
Credit is awarded for Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or international entrance exams only if taken prior to matriculation.
Credit is granted on the condition that the student does not enroll in an equivalent course at Oberlin; if they do, the credit must be relinquished.
Oberlin accepts only higher level (HL) scores for International Baccalaureate credit.
Please note that departmental policies are subject to change.
Please note: the comments column references the home department's application of the AP/IB equivalency for their major. If you would like to apply the AP/IB equivalency to a different major, review the catalog for information on how the AP/IB equivalency would be applied.
| Home Department | Score of AP or IB Exam | Awarded | Advanced Placement in Oberlin Courses | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art History | 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course | ARTH 600 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Biology | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course | BIOL 604 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Biology | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate | 1 Full Course | BIOL 604 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Chemistry | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course | CHEM 101 | Counts toward major |
| Chemistry | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate | 1 Full Course | CHEM 101 | Counts toward major |
| Chemistry | A - Level Scores A*, A, or B | - | - | *May petition Dept. Chair to begin Chemistry with 102 |
| Computer Science | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (Computer Science A) | 1 Full Course | CSCI 150 | Counts toward major |
| Computer Science | 5, 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate prior to Spring 2020* | 1 Full Course | CSCI 150 | Counts toward major* *prior to Spring 2020 Please contact department for how to proceed if HL IB taken Spring 2020 or beyond. |
| English | 5 - Advanced Placement (English Literature and Composition) | 1 Full Course | ENGL 600 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| English | 5, 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (English A: Language and Literature) | 1 Full Course | ENGL 600 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Environmental Science | 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course | EVSS 600 | Not for major credit Must take an additional upper-level social science or humanities course from the program’s list of approved courses as a substitute for EVSS 101 Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| French | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (French Language and Culture) | 1 Full Course | FREN 300 | Counts toward major |
| French | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (French A: Language and Literature) | 1 Full Course | FREN 300 | Counts toward major |
| German | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (German Language and Culture) | 1 Full Course | GERM 300 | Counts toward major |
| Hispanic Studies | 5 - Advanced Placement (Spanish Literature and Culture or Spanish Language and Culture) | 1 Full Course | HISP 300 | Counts toward major |
| Hispanic Studies | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (Spanish A: Language and Literature) | 1 Full Course | HISP 300 | Counts toward major |
| History | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (World History: Modern) | 1 Full Course | HIST 097 | Not for major credit |
| History | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (European History) | 1 Full Course | HIST 098 | Not for major credit |
| History | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (United States History) | 1 Full Course | HIST 099 | Not for major credit |
| History | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (History: Americas) | 1 Full Course | HIST 099 | Not for major credit |
| History | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (History: Europe) | 1 Full Course | HIST 098 | Not for major credit |
| Latin | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course | LATN 600 | Not for major credit Will need Chair approval - a syllabus & samples of work required. |
| Latin | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate | 1 Full Course | LATN 600 | Not for major credit Will need Chair approval - a syllabus & samples of work required. |
| Mathematics | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (Calculus BC) | 2 Full Courses | MATH 133, 134 | Students receiving credit in one or more courses do not need to take the Calculus Readiness or Statistics Readiness Exam Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Mathematics | 3 - Advanced Placement (Calculus BC with Calculus AB Sub Score 4, 5) | 1 Full Course | MATH 133 | Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Mathematics | Spring 2020: 3 - Advanced Placement (Calculus BC, no Calculus AB Sub Score required) | 1 Full Course | MATH 133 | Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Mathematics | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (Calculus AB) | 1 Full Course | MATH 133 | Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Mathematics | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (Applications & Interpretations) | 1 Full Course | MATH 133 | Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Mathematics | 5 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (Analysis & Approaches) | 1 Full Course | MATH 133 | Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Mathematics | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (Analysis & Approaches) | 2 Full Courses | MATH 133 & 134 | Counts toward total credit for graduation |
| Music Theory | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course / 4 credits* *dependent on division of student AS, CN or DD | MUTH 001 if score received by Registrar's Office prior to or on April 6, 2021 OR MUTH 600 if score received by Registrar's Office after or on April 7, 2021 | Not for major credit nor for placement within the MUTH sequence. Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Music Theory | 5, 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate (Music) | 1 Full Course / 4 credits* *dependent on division of student AS, CN or DD | MUTH 600 | Not for major credit nor for placement within the MUTH sequence. Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Physics | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (Physics 1) | 1 Full Course | PHYS 103 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Physics | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (Physics 2) | 1 Full Course | PHYS 104 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Physics | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement (Physics C: Mechanics) | 1 Full Course | PHYS 110 | Counts toward major |
| Physics | 5 - Advanced Placement (Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism) | 1 Full Course | PHYS 111 | Counts toward major |
| Physics | 5, 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate | 1 Full Courses | PHYS 600 | Not for major credit Will count toward total credit for graduation |
| Politics | 5 - Advanced Placement (United States Government and Politics) | 1 Full Course | POLT 099 | Only one of these two areas counts toward major and graduation |
| Politics | 5 - Advanced Placement (Comparative Government and Politics) | 1 Full Course | POLT 099 | Only one of these two areas counts toward major and graduation |
| Psychology | 4, 5 - Advanced Placement | 1 Full Course | PSYC 100 | Counts toward major |
| Psychology | 6, 7 - Higher Level (HL) International Baccalaureate | 1 Full Course | PSYC 100 | Counts toward major |
For information on how to send International Baccalaureate results to Oberlin, visit the International Baccalaureate® website.
View International Baccalaureate: Getting Results
The basic guidelines for requesting that an AP Grade Report be sent to Oberlin College is available on the College Board website.
View College Board: AP Score Reporting Services
Oberlin degree credit is possible, depending on departmental and registrar approval, for widely recognized International Entrance Exams, such as the:
- British System A-Levels
- French Baccalaureate
To receive credit for any of these exams, follow these general instructions:
- Obtain the official, original document showing your official results and bring it to the registrar’s office. The document needed is the one which lists in detail the subjects you studied and the exam marks you earned for each of these subjects studied. The official, original document is required.
- A photocopy of the original will be made and the original document will be returned to you. We recommend you save this document in a highly secure place.
- You will be given copies of your document for you to bring to the Oberlin departments where the courses would have been taught, if they had been taught at Oberlin. You would go to those departments and present the official document showing your scores and any other documentation they request to understand what you studied. Such things can include syllabi, textbooks, notes, papers, exams, etc. You may need to explain which of these items are still available and which are not. You need to be prepared to validate your work.
- In awarding credit, departments usually follow practices similar to the ones they have established for AP/IB credit.