What is Credit by Examination?
Credit by examination is a way for students to earn college credit by taking an exam (or test) instead of completing a traditional college course. Rockhurst University offers exam credit for students who have earned high enough scores on exams such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and College Level Examination Program (CLEP). This is a great way for students to earn college credit while still in high school!
General Guidelines
- You must submit an official score report with your AP, IB, and CLEP scores to Rockhurst University to be considered for exam credit. Official means the score report comes directly from the testing authority (such as College Board) to Rockhurst, without any contact with the student. Unofficial score reports will not be considered.
- Of the minimum 128 credit hours needed to earn an undergraduate degree at Rockhurst, no more than 32 credit hours can be earned through credit by examination. This 32 credit hour maximum is the total for ALL exams combined, not individually by test.
- Students will not be granted exam credit for courses they have already taken as a traditional college course, whether at Rockhurst or transferred from another institution. If a student takes a course they were previously awarded exam credit for, the exam credit will be removed from the student's record.
- Rockhurst does not assign letter grades for exam credit. Exam credit will appear on a student's transcript with a grade of *CR, and will not be included in their GPA.
Advanced Placement (AP)
AP exams have a score range of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. At Rockhurst, students must earn a minimum score of 4 to be considered for exam credit (unless otherwise stated). In some cases, a score of 3 can be used for placement into higher level courses. Below is a list of AP exams that Rockhurst currently accepts for exam credit, the required score, and the equivalent course and credit hours awarded. Any AP exams not listed below are not currently being accepted for exam credit.
| AP Test | Required Score | Hours Granted | RU Course Equivalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | |||
| English Language/Composition | 4 | 6 hours | EN 1110 College Composition I & EN 1120 College Composition II |
| English Literature/Composition | 4 | 6 hours | EN 1140 English Composition & one of the following: EN 2740 World Lit Through the 16th Century, EN 2760 World Lit Since the 16th Century or EN 2960 Journeys, Voyages & Quests |
| Mathematics | |||
| Precalculus | 3 (also earns placement in MT 1800) | 3 hours | MT 1190 Precalculus |
| Calculus AB | 4 (3 earns placement in MT 1800) | 4 hours | MT 1800 Calculus I |
| Calculus BC | 4 (3 earns placement in MT 1810) | 8 hours | MT 1800 Calculus I & MT 1810 Calculus II |
| Statistics | 4 | 3 hours | BIA 2200 Stats & Predictive Analytics or BSS 2100 Stats for Behavioral Sciences |
| Arts & Music | |||
| Art History | 4 | 6 hours | AR 1100 Intro to Art History I & AR 1120 Intro to Art History II |
| Drawing | 4 | 3 hours | Portfolio to be reviewed |
| Music Listening & Literature | 4 | 3 hours | MS 1000 Intro to Music |
| Music Theory | 4 | 3 hours | MS 1110 Intro to Music Theory |
| History | |||
| European History | 4 | 6 hours | HS 1100 Survey of Western Civ I & HS 1500 Survey of Western Civ II |
| World History | 4 | 6 hours | HS 1701 World Civ to the 17th Century & HS 1702 World Civ Since 1492 |
| American/U.S. History | 4 | 6 hours | HS 2100 Intro to US History to 1877 & HS 2500 Intro to US History Since 1877 |
| Sciences | |||
| Biology | 4 | 4 hours | BL 1250 General Biology I & BL1251 General Biology I Lab |
| 3 | 4 hours | BL 1150 Contemporary Biology for Non-Majors & BL 1151 Contemporary Biology for Non-Majors Lab | |
| Chemistry | 4
| 8 hours
| CH 2610 General Chemistry I & CH 2620 General Chemistry I Lab AND CH 2630 General Chemistry II & CH 2640 General Chemistry II Lab |
| 3 | 4 hours | CH 2610 General Chemistry I & CH 2620 General Chemistry I Lab | |
| Computer Science A | 4 | 3 hours | CS 1000 Programming for Analytics |
| Computer Science Principles | 4 | 3 hours | Computer Science Elective |
| Physics I: Algebra-Based | 3 | 4 hours | PH 2700 Physics for Life Sciences I & PH 2710 Physics for Life Sciences I Lab |
| Physics II: Algebra-Based | 4 | 4 hours | PH 2750 Physics for Life Sciences II & PH 2760 Physics for Life Sciences II Lab |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 or 5 (5 required for Engineering, Biomedical Physics, and Physics of Medicine majors) | 4 hours | PH 2850 Physics for Scientists and Engineers I & PH 2860 Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Lab |
| Physics C: Electricity/Magnetism | 5 | 4 hours | PH 2940 Physics for Scientists and Engineers II & PH 2920 Physics for Scientists and Engineers II Lab |
| Politics & Social Sciences | |||
| American Government & Politics | 4 | 3 hours | PS 1100 Intro to Politics |
| Comparative Politics & Government | 4 | 3 hours | Political Science major elective (lower division) |
| Macroeconomics | 4 | 3 hours | EC 1000 Prin of Macroeconomics |
| Microeconomics | 4 | 3 hours | EC 1100 Prin of Microeconomics |
| Psychology | 3 | 3 hours | PY 1000 Intro to Psychology |
| Modern & Classical Languages | |||
| French Language | 4 | 8 hours | FR 1100 Elementary French I & FR 1150 Elementary French II |
| French Literature | 4 | 6 hours | FR 2100 Intermediate French I & FR 2150 Intermediate French II |
| German Language | 4 | 8 hours | GR 1100 Elementary German I & GR 1150 Elementary German II |
| Latin Vergil | 4 | 3 hours | LT 2100 Intermediate Latin I |
| Latin Catullus, Horace | 4 | 3 hours | LT 2150 Intermediate Latin II |
| Spanish Language | 4 | 8 hours | SP 1100 Elementary Spanish I & SP 1150 Elementary Spanish II |
| Spanish Literature | 4 | 6 hours | SP 2100 Intermediate Spanish I & SP 2150 Intermediate Spanish II |
International Baccalaureate (IB)
| IB Exam (Higher Level) | Required Score | Hours Granted | RU Course Equivalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written Communication Proficiency: WCP | |||
| English (Language A) | 5 | 6 | EN 1110 & EN 1120 |
| Mathematics Proficiency: MTP | |||
| Mathematics with Further Mathematics | 5 | 4 | MT 1190 |
| Math Studies | 5 | MT 1030 + Math proficiency | |
| Math Methods – IB Math SL | 5 | MT 1190 + Math proficiency | |
| Math HL | 5 | MT 1190 & MT 1800 + Math Proficiency | |
| Artistic Mode of Inquiry: ARI | |||
| Art/Design A | 5 | 3 | AR 1200 |
| Visual Arts | 5 | 3 | AR1200 |
| Historical Mode of Inquiry: HIS | |||
| History of Europe | 5 | 3 | HS 1100 or HS 1500 or HS 1701 |
| History Asia/Oceania | 5 | 3 | HS I attribute |
| Historical or Literary Mode of Inquiry: HSII/LTII | |||
| History of the Americas | 5 | 3 | HS 2100 or HS 2500 |
| Scientific Causal Mode of Inquiry: SCI | |||
| Biological Sciences | 5 | 4 | BL 1250 & 1251 |
| Chemistry | 5 | 4 or 8 Depending on placement test | CH 2610/CH2620* And CH 2630/CH 2640* depending on placement test *Placement test and confirmation of lab work required. |
| Scientific Relational Mode of Inquiry: SRI | |||
| Economics | 5 | 3 | EC 2000 |
| Psychology | 5 | 3 | PY 1000 |
| Social Anthropology | 5 | 3 | SO 1000 |
| Modern and Classical Languages | |||
| French | 5 | 4 | FR 1100 & FR 1150 |
| German | 5 | 4 | GR 1100 & GR 1150 |
| Spanish | 5 | 4 | SP 1100 & SP 1150 |