College-level Credit at PLU
PLU grants college-level credit to students who have taken and scored a certain level on AP, IB, Cambridge, and CLEP 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 3, 4 or 5.
- Credit is applied to specific General Education Requirements or elective credit depending on the test category and score.
- See the AP Course Policy chart here or scroll down 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 32 semester hours of credit for completion of the IB Diploma
- These 32 credits satisfy specific General Education Requirements, including Creative Expression, Engaging the Natural World, Examining Self & Society, Exploring Values & Worldviews, Interpreting Text, and Quantitative Reasoning. See the full credit breakdown on this IB Diploma chart.
- For individual IB exams (without the IB diploma), students can receive PLU credit for Higher Level Exam scores of 4 or higher. See the IB Higher Level Exams chart here or scroll down to see the credit awarded for each Higher Level IB exam.
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.
- Students will not be awarded credit via CLEP for course content which they have already earned academic credit.
- To determine individual CLEP exam eligibility and applicability, submit this form. Once a form has been received and reviewed, the Registrar’s Office will follow up with additional details.
- See the CLEP Credits Awarding Chart here or scroll down to see credit awarded for each exam.
AP Course Policy Chart
AP Subject | AP Exam Score | PLU Course | PLU Credits | Credit Awarded |
---|---|---|---|---|
Art History | 3, 4 or 5 | ARTD 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Studio Art | 3, 4 or 5 | ARTD 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Biology | 3, 4 or 5 | BIOL 111 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Calculus AB | 3, 4 or 5 | MATH 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Calculus BC | 3 | MATH 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Calculus BC | 4 or 5 | MATH 151 & 152 | 8 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Chemistry | 3, 4 or 5 | CHEM 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Chinese Language & Culture | 3, 4 or 5 | CHIN 102 | 4 | Elective |
Computer Science A | 3 | CSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Computer Science A | 4 or 5 | CSCI 144 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Computer Science Principles | 3, 4 or 5 | CSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
English Language & Composition | 3, 4 or 5 | WRIT 100TR | 4 | Elective |
English Literature & Composition | 3, 4 or 5 | ENGL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Interpreting Text) |
Environmental Science with lab | 3, 4 or 5 | ENVT 104 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
French Language & Culture | 3, 4 or 5 | FREN 102 | 4 | Elective |
German Language & Culture | 3, 4 or 5 | GERM 102 | 4 | Elective |
Government & Politics: United States | 3, 4 or 5 | POLS 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Government & Politics: Comparative | 3, 4 or 5 | POLS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History: United States | 3, 4 or 5 | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History: European | 3, 4 or 5 | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History: World | 3, 4 or 5 | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Human Geography | 3, 4 or 5 | SSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Italian Language & Culture | 3, 4 or 5 | LANG 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Japanese Language & Culture | 3, 4 or 5 | LANG 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Latin | 3, 4 or 5 | LATN 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Macroeconomics | 3, 4 or 5 | ECON 102 | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Microeconomics | 3, 4 or 5 | ECON 101 | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Music Theory | 3, 4 or 5 | MUSI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Physics 1 | 3 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics 1 | 4 or 5 | PHYS 125 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics 2 | 3 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics 2 | 4 or 5 | PHYS 126 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 3 or 4 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics C: Electricity & Magnetism | 5 | PHYS 154 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics C: Mechanics | 3 | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Physics C: Mechanics | 4 or 5 | PHYS 153 | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Precalculus | 3 | MATH 115 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Precalculus | 4 or 5 | MATH 140 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Psychology | 3, 4 or 5 | PSYC 101 | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Research | 3, 4 or 5 | GENR 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Seminar | 3, 4 or 5 | GENR 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Spanish Language & Culture | 3, 4 or 5 | HISP102 | 4 | Elective |
Spanish Literature | 3, 4 or 5 | HISP 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Interpreting Text) |
Statistics | 3, 4 or 5 | STAT 231 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
IB Diploma Chart
If you complete an IB Diploma, you’ll receive the following 32 PLU semester hours of credit.
PLU Course | PLU Credits | Credit Awarded |
---|---|---|
ARTD 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
ENGL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Interpretive Text) |
MATH 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) [MATH 151 or MATH 152 awarded if Math Higher Level Exam completed] |
NSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
PHIL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Exploring Values & Worldviews) |
SSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) [PSYC 101 awarded if Psychology Higher Level Exam completed] |
GENR 100TR | 8 | Electives |
IB Higher Level Exams Chart
PLU credit is awarded for scores of 4 or above on IB Higher Level IB Exams only.
Higher Level IB Exam | PLU Course | PLU Credits | Credit Awarded |
---|---|---|---|
Analysis & Approaches | MATH 151 | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Applications & Interpretation | MATH 151 & 152 | 4-8 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) [MATH 151 only awarded if not already awarded from Analysis & Approaches Exam] |
Biology | BIOL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Business Management | BUSA 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Chemistry | CHEM 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Classical Languages | LANG 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Computer Science | CSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Dance | DANC 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Design Technology | NSCI 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Digital Society | SSCI 100TR | 4 | Elective |
Economics | ECON 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Film | COMA 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Geography | SSCI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Global Politics | POLS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History | HIST 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Language A: Language & Literature | ENGL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Interpretive Text) |
Language A: Literature | ENGL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Interpretive Text) |
Language B | LANG100TR | 4 | Elective |
Music | MUSI 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Philosophy | PHIL 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Exploring Values & Worldviews) |
Physics | PHYS 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Natural World) |
Psychology | PSYC 101 | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Social & Cultural Anthropology | ANTH 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Sports, Exercise & Health Science | FTWL 100 | 4 | Gen Ed (Fitness & Wellness)[A second activity course is required to complete the full Fitness & Wellness requirement] |
Theatre | THEA 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
Visual Arts | ARTD 100TR | 4 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
CLEP Credits Awarding Chart
CLEP Section Topic | CLEP Exam | CLEP Exam Score | PLU Course | PLU Credits | Credit Awarded |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Business | Financial Accounting | 50 | BUSA 100TR | 3 | Elective |
Business | Information Systems | 50 | CSCI 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Business | Introductory Business Law | 50 | BUSA 200TR | 3 | Elective |
Business | Principles of Management | 50 | BUSA 100TR | 3 | Elective |
Business | Principles of Marketing | 50 | BUSA 100TR | 3 | Elective |
Composition and Literature | American Literature | 50 | ENGL 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Interpreting Text) |
Composition and Literature | Analyzing & Interpreting Literature | 50 | ENGL 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Interpreting Text) |
Composition and Literature | College Composition | 50 | WRIT 100TR | 6 | Elective |
Composition and Literature | College Composition Modular | 50 | WRIT 100TR | 6 | Elective |
Composition and Literature | English Literature | 50 | ENGL 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Interpreting Text) |
Composition and Literature | Humanities | 50 | HUMA 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Creative Expression) |
World Languages | French Language, Level 1 | 50 | FREN 101 & 102 | 6 | Elective |
World Languages | French Language, Level 2 | 59 | FREN 201 | 3 | Elective |
World Languages | German Language, Level 1 | 50 | GERM 101 & 102 | 6 | Elective |
World Languages | German Language, Level 2 | 60 | GERM 201 | 3 | Elective |
World Languages | Spanish Language, Level 1 | 50 | HISP 101 & 102 | 6 | Elective |
World Languages | Spanish Language, Level 2 | 63 | HISP 201 | 3 | Elective |
World Languages | Spanish with Writing, Level 1 | 50 | HISP 101 & 102 | 6 | Elective |
World Languages | Spanish with Writing, Level 2 | 65 | HISP 201 & 202 | 6 | Elective |
History and Social Sciences | American Government | 50 | POLS 151 | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | History of the US I: Early Colonization to 1877 | 50 | HIST 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | History of the US II: 1865 to Present | 50 | HIST 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Human Growth & Development | 50 | PSYC 200TR | 3 | Elective |
History and Social Sciences | Introduction to Educational Psychology | 50 | ESPY 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Introductory Psychology | 50 | PSYC 101 | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Introductory Sociology | 50 | SOCI 101 | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Principles of Macroeconomics | 50 | ECON 102 | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Principles of Microeconomics | 50 | ECON 101 | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Social Sciences and History | 50 | SSCI 100TR | 6 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
History and Social Sciences | Western Civilization I:Ancient Near East to 1648 | 50 | HIST 107 | 3 | Gen Ed (Interpreting Text) |
History and Social Sciences | Western Civilization II:1648 to the Present | 50 | HIST 108 | 3 | Gen Ed (Examining Self & Society) |
Science and Mathematics | Biology | 50 | BIOL 100TR | 6 | Elective |
Science and Mathematics | Calculus | 50 | MATH 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Science and Mathematics | Chemistry | 50 | CHEM 100TR | 6 | Elective |
Science and Mathematics | College Algebra | 50 | MATH 100TR | 3 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Science and Mathematics | College Mathematics | 50 | MATH 100TR | 6 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
Science and Mathematics | Natural Sciences | 50 | NSCI 100TR | 6 | Elective |
Science and Mathematics | Precalculus | 50 | MATH 140 | 3 | Gen Ed (Quantitative Reasoning) |
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