Advanced Placement (AP)
Students requesting Credit for Prior Learning using Advanced Placement (AP) shall receive credit for completing a satisfactory score on an advanced placement exam offered by the College Board per the following policy:
- AP test scores of 3, 4 or 5 are considered satisfactory for earning college credit. No credit will be given for scores of 1 or 2.
- AP credit can be used to certify general education requirements for transfer to the California State University and University of California under the Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) where faculty recognize the equivalency between the AP exam and CSU General Education Breadth pattern approved by CSU faculty, and our IGETC approved courses (as listed on the AP Table in the MSJC catalog).
- AP credit units granted at MSJC do not necessarily align in the same ways for transfer to other colleges and universities. The transferability of AP credit outside of MSJC is determined by each four-year college or university according to their policies. For further information, please refer to each college or university’s own catalog.
- Students will not be given duplicate credit for college courses and exams.
- Students must submit a copy of their AP test scores to the Enrollment Services Office. Exams and courses for which AP credit is granted will be posted on the student’s transcript.
- AP credit can be used to meet MSJC graduation requirements for AA and AS degrees.
- MSJC enforces the completion of a 12 units of credit minimum for residency to earn a degree.
Detailed CSU and UC acceptance and charts are updated yearly and added to the MSJC catalog.
Advanced Placement Examinations for California State University General Education-Breadth Certification
Per CSU Statewide Credit for External Examinations policy, it provides systemwide information regarding credit awarded for external examinations including the College-Level Examination Program, the International Baccalaureate, and the College Board Advanced Placement Tests. This policy also provides information regarding credit awarded through Associate Degrees for Transfer.
The General Education Advisory Committee states that all institutions participating in General Education-Breadth Certification may treat the AP examinations on the list below as though they were incorporated in the institutions’ own General Education-Breadth Certification list.
The following Advanced Placement examinations may be incorporated into certification of completion of CSU General Education requirements by any participating institution. Students must have scored 3, 4, or 5 on an Advanced Placement examination listed below to receive the credit indicated. All CSU campuses will accept the minimum units shown below toward fulfillment of the designated General Education area if the examination is included in a full or subject-area certification; individual CSU campuses may choose to accept more units than those specified below towards completion of CSU General Education requirements. The CSU campus to which the student is transferring determines the total number of units awarded for successful completion of an Advanced Placement examination and the applicability of the examination to other graduation requirements or major preparation.
CSU NOTES: Individual CSU campuses may grant more credit for AP exams.
AP Studio Art examinations are not approved for CSUGE certification.
AP examination will not be accepted to fulfill the CSUGE AREA A3 (Critical Thinking) requirement.
AP Government & Politics: U.S. does not meet the CSU California State and Local Government requirement for graduation.
AP U. S. History will meet the CSU U.S. History requirement for graduation.
If a student passes more than one AP Calculus exam or AP Computer Science exam, only one may be applied to the degree.
If a student passes more than one AP Physics exam, only six units can be applied to the degree, and only four units may be applied to general education certification.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Art History | ||
| Art History | 6 semester units | |
| Biology | ||
| Biology | 6 semester units | |
| Chemistry | ||
| Chemistry | 6 semester units | |
| Computer Science | ||
| Computer Science A | 3 semester units | |
| Computer Science AB | 6 semester units | |
| Computer Science Principles | 6 semester units | |
| Economics | ||
| Macroeconomics | 3 semester units | |
| Microeconomics | 3 semester units | |
| English | ||
| Language and Composition | 6 semester units | |
| Literature and Composition | 6 semester units | |
| Environmental Science | ||
| Environmental Science | 4 semester units | |
| Government and Politics | ||
| Comparative | 3 semester units | |
| United States Government and Politics | 3 semester units | |
| History | ||
| European History | 6 semester units | |
| United States History | 6 semester units | |
| World History- Modern | 3 semester units | |
| Geography | ||
| Human Geography | 3 semester units | |
| Language Other Than English | ||
| Chinese Language and Culture | 6 semester units | |
| French Language and Culture | 6 semester units | |
| German Language and Culture | 6 semester units | |
| Italian Language and Culture | 6 semester units | |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 6 semester units | |
| Latin | 6 semester units | |
| Spanish Language and Literature | 6 semester units | |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 6 semester units | |
| Mathematics | ||
| Calculus AB | 3 semester units | |
| Calculus BC | 6 semester units | |
| Calculus BC/AB Subscore | 3 semester units | |
| Statistics | 3 semester units | |
| Physics | ||
| Physics 1 | 4 semester units | |
| Physics 2 | 4 semester units | |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 semester units | |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 semester units | |
| Psychology | ||
| Psychology | 3 semester units | |
| Seminar | ||
| Seminar | 3 semester units | |
| Studio Arts | ||
| 2-D Design Portfolio | 3 semester units | |
| 3-D Design Portfolio | 3 semester units | |
| Drawing | 3 semester units | |
For information on how AP exams can be applied to CSUGE or IGETC requirements see the MSJC Advanced Placement Exam Table.
Advanced Placement Examinations for the University of California System
The University of California (UC) grants credit for all College Board Advanced Placement Tests in which a student scores 3, 4 or 5. The credit may be subject credit, graduation credit or credit toward general education requirements, as determined by evaluators at each UC campus.
The units granted for AP tests are not counted toward the maximum number of credits required for formal declaration of an undergraduate major or the maximum number of units a student may accumulate prior to graduation from the University.
Students who enter the University with AP credit do not have to declare a major earlier than other students, nor are they required to graduate earlier.
Counselors should advise students that the College Board reports all AP test results to the University and students may not choose which test scores they wish reported.
Students should be aware that college courses taken prior to or after enrolling at the University may duplicate the content of AP examinations. In these cases, the University may not award credit for both the course and the AP exam.
Credit awarded for Advanced Placement tests is described by campus (see appropriate UC AP credits). Even if subject credit or credit toward specific requirements is not mentioned in the campus lists, students receive University credit as described above for all AP tests on which they score 3 or higher. The unit maximums noted in the box for subjects with more than one examination applies in all schools and colleges at all campuses.
UC NOTES: All AP exams are reevaluated by the UC at time of application for acceptance into majors.
A maximum of 5.3 semester/8 quarter units is allowed in each of the following Art (Studio) Exams: 2-D Design; 3-D Design; Drawing.
A maximum of 5.3 semester/8 quarter units is allowed in each of the following English Exams: Language and Composition; Literature and Composition.
A maximum of 5.3 semester/8 quarter units is allowed in each of the following Mathematics Exams: Calculus AB; Calculus BC.
A maximum of 5.3 semester/8 quarter units is allowed in each of the following Physics Exams: Physics 1; Physics 2; Physics C Mechanics; Physics C Electricity and Magnetism
UC grants credit for the full Music Theory exam. Students who earn only a subscore will not receive exam credit.
AB subscore on Calculus BC examination
- Students who take the Calculus BC examination and earn a subscore of 3 or higher on the Calculus AB portion will receive credit for the Calculus AB examination, even if they do not receive a score of 3 or higher on the BC examination (note that the maximum credit awarded is 5.33 semester or 8 quarter units).
Duplication with college courses
- Students should be advised that college courses taken before or after attending UC may duplicate AP, IB and/or A-Level examinations. Additionally, exams may duplicate each other (for example, an AP or IB exam in the same subject area).
- If the student does duplicate an exam with another exam of the same subject content, and/or an exam with a college course, we will award credit only once.
| Subject | Score |
|---|---|
| Art, Studio | 2-D Design: 5.3 1 |
| 3-D Design: 5.31 | |
| Drawing: 5.31 | |
| Art History (UC-H) | 5.3 semester 8 quarter |
| Biology (UC-S) | 5.3 semester 8 quarter |
| Chemistry (UC-S) | 5.3 semester 8 quarter |
| Computer Science | Computer Science A: 5.3 semester 8 quarter 3 |
| Computer Science Principles: 5.3 semester 8 quarter 3 | |
| Economics (UC-B) | Microeconomics: 2.6 semester 4 quarter |
| Macroeconomics: 2.6 semester 4 quarter | |
| English | Language and Composition (UC-E): 5.3 semester 8 quarter 4 |
| Literature and Composition (UC-E/H): 5.3 semester 8 quarter 4 | |
| Environmental Science (UC-S) | 2.6 semester 4 quarter |
| Government and Politics (UC-B) | United States: 2.6 semester 4 quarter |
| Comparative: 2.6 semester 4 quarter | |
| History (UC-B/H) | United States History: 5.3 semester 8 quarter |
| European History: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| World History: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Human Geography (UC-B) | 2.6 semester 4 quarter |
| Language Other than English (UC-H) | Chinese Language and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter |
| French Language and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| German Language and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Italian Language and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Latin: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Japanese Language and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Spanish Language and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Spanish Literature and Culture: 5.3 semester 8 quarter | |
| Mathematics (UC-M) | Calculus AB: 2.6 semester/ 4 quarter 2 |
| Calculus BC: 5.3 semester 8 quarter2 | |
| Music Theory (UC-H) | 5.3 semester 8 quarter |
| Physics (UC-S) | Physics B: 5.3 semester 8 quarter5,6 |
| Physics 1: 5.3 semester 8 quarter 5,6 | |
| Physics 2: 5.3 semester 8 quarter 5,6 | |
| Physics C Mechanics: 2.6 semester 4 quarter 5,6 | |
| Physics C Electricity and Magnetism: 2.6 semester 4 quarter5,6 | |
| Psychology (UC-B) | 2.6 semester 4 quarter |
| Statistics (UC-M) | 2.6 semester 4 quarter |
- 1
UC unit limitation: 5.3 semester/8 quarter unit maximum for all three Art and Design AP exams.
- 2
Calculus AB Subscore on BC exam: Students who take the Calculus BC examination and earn a subscore of 3 or higher on the Calculus AB portion will receive 4 quarter/2.7 semester units for the Calculus AB examination, even if they do not receive a score of 3 or higher on the BC examination (maximum credit awarded for both exams is 8 quarter/5.3 semester units from UC and 6 semester from CSU)
- 3
Computer Science A: 5.3 semester/ 8quarter units (beginning May 2018, students entering UC prior to fall 2018)
Computer Science Principles: 5.3 semester 8 quarter units
- 4
Maximum credit for one AP English exam may be used toward transfer and maximum 6 semester/9 quarter units can be applied towards general education.
- 5
Physics 1 and Physics 2 AP exams were replaced Physics B in 2015.
- 6
Maximum UC transfer credit for ALL Physics exams is 5.3 semester/8 quarter units.