Advanced Credit and Placement

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Advanced Credit and Placement

This page outlines how incoming students may earn advanced credit or appropriate course placement.

Incoming students may earn credit or placement into an appropriate course in several ways, outlined below.

  1. Advanced Placement Exams (AP)
  2. International Baccalaureate HL Exams (IB)
  3. SAT II Subject Tests (for French, German, Italian, and Spanish only)
  4. Notre Dame Calculus Readiness Test (no credit offered)
  5. Notre Dame Mathematics Credit Exam (in-person exam)
  6. Prematriculation Transfer Credit
  7. Notre Dame Language Placement Exam (no credit offered)

Advanced Credit and Core Curriculum Requirements

Credit by examination cannot be used to satisfy Core Curriculum requirements. However, a verified score of 4 or 5 on the AP English Language and Composition exam or a score of 6 or 7 on the IB English HL exam is equivalent to WR 13100 (Writing and Rhetoric), a required first-year course. In this case, a student will not take WR 13100 and will fulfill the Writing 2 Core Requirement by taking another writing-intensive course, usually after the first year. 

Advanced Credit and College/School and Major Requirements

In some cases, credit by examination can be used to satisfy college or major requirements or for placement into an appropriate level (language courses, for example). Life science and pre-health majors cannot use AP or IB credit for biology, chemistry, or physics courses and must take these courses at Notre Dame. Students in these majors can use credit by examination for calculus.

Advanced Credit and Total Credit Hours

Credit by examination will appear on your transcript. In most cases, these credits will count toward the total number of credit hours students need to graduate even if they do not satisfy any specific requirements. 

If you have credit by examination for a course but take the equivalent course at Notre Dame, only the credit from the Notre Dame course will count toward your total credit hours. For instance, if you receive a 5 on the AP Chemistry exam but take CHEM 10171 in your first semester as required by your major, your AP Chemistry credit will not count toward your total credit hours

Advanced Credit and Equivalent ND Courses

To learn more about how Advanced Credit corresponds with specific Notre Dame courses and placement, explore these pages: