Advanced Placement

Please note decisions to award credit are reviewed annually and are subject to change.

Any student who takes a course for which credit has been awarded will forfeit  their credit.

The university offers capable students who have superior preparation an opportunity for advanced placement and/or college credit. Many secondary schools, in association with the College Board, offer college-level work. Students participating in these courses should sit for the Advanced Placement Tests offered by the College Board.

Entering first-year students that request the College Board to send their Advanced Placement Test scores to Lehigh are considered for advanced placement.

Some departments noted below offer examinations during the first and third weeks of the semester to students who studied college-level subjects in secondary school but did not sit for the Advanced Placement Tests. Entering first-year students wishing to sit for an examination in any Lehigh course should fill out the Anticipatory Exam Form by the date given on the First-Year Student Portal. The student should specify the number and title of the course. Students who receive credit on the basis of Advanced Placement Test grades need not sit for the Lehigh tests to confirm the credit granted.

Students may contact Testing Services at inexams@lehigh.edu with questions about Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics anticipatory exams.

Current practice at Lehigh is as follows:

Africana Studies

Four credit hours for AAS 091 will be awarded for students scoring 4 or higher on the AP African American Studies exam.

Art, Architecture and Design
Eight credit hours for ART 001 and ART 002 are granted to students who earn a grade of 5. Four credit hours for Art Elective in Art History are granted for those students who earn a grade of 4. Those students who earn grades of 5 on the Advanced Placement Studio Art Examination receive four credit hours for ART 073.

Biology
Four credit hours for BIOS 001 Biology For Non-Majors, given to those who earn grades of 4 or 5.

Chemistry
Four credit hours for CHM 030 are granted to students who earn a grade of 5 on the Advanced Chemistry Placement test or those who earn a B or higher for the A-level Chemistry exam. Four credit hours for CHM 030 are granted to students who earn a grade of 5 on the Advanced Chemistry Placement test or those who earn a B or higher for the A-level Chemistry exam. Credit for CHM 030 may also be earned by passing the Chemistry Anticipatory Exam offered by the Chemistry Department during the first and three weeks of the semester. Students may take this examination regardless of whether or not they have taken the advanced placement examination.

Computer Science
Students who receive a grade of 4 or 5 on the AP Computer Science A exam will receive four credits for CSE 007. Students who receive a grade of 4 or 5 on the AP Computer Science Principles will receive three credits of CSE 099. Credit for CSE 007 may also be earned by passing the Anticipatory Exam offered by the Computer Science department during the first and third weeks of the semester. Students may take this examination regardless of whether or not they have taken the advanced placement examination.

Economics
Students will receive two credit hours of Economics Elective for a score of 4 or 5 on the microeconomics or macroeconomics exam. Students receiving a score of 4 or 5 on both the microeconomics and macroeconomics exams will receive four credits for ECO 001 and two credits of Economics Elective and satisfy the College of Business degree requirements.

English

To receive credit for WRT 001 (3 credits), students must achieve one of the following: 

• a score of 4 on either of the English AP exams,

• a score of 5 or higher on the IB exam

To receive credit for WRT 001 (3 credits) and WRT 002 (3 credits) students must achieve: 

• a score of 5 on either of the English AP exams

Environmental Science

Students scoring a 4 or 5 on the environmental science exam will receive three credits for EES 002 and one credit for EES 022.

Government and Politics
Four credits for POLS 001 are awarded to those students that score a 4 or 5 on the American Government test, and four credits for POLS 003 are awarded to those that score a 4 or 5 on the Comparative Politics exam

History
Students earning a grade of  5 in the American History, European History or World History Advanced Placement examination will receive four credits of History elective for use as Social Science credit. Students may receive four credits for each exam grade of 5, which allows for a maximum of 12 total credits from AP History exam scores. These credits may not be applied to the History major or minor.

Human Geography

Four elective credits for GS 091 will be awarded to students scoring a 4 or 5 on the human geography exam. No distribution requirements will be assigned.

Latin
Students receive four semester hours of credit for a grade of 4 or 5 in the Virgil examination; those who successfully write in more than one area (e.g. Virgil and lyric poetry) receive eight hours of credit. Credit will be awarded for LAT 099 Latin Elective. Students receiving credit for Latin and who wish to continue their study of Latin must consult with the Director for proper placement.

Mathematics
Four semester hours of credit for MATH 021, Calculus I, are granted to those who earn grades of 4 or higher on the Calculus AB examination. To those who earn a grade of 4 or higher on the Calculus BC examination, eight hours of credit are granted for MATH 021 and MATH 022, Calculus I and II. Credit for MATH 021 and MATH 022 or both may also be earned by passing the anticipatory exam offered by the Mathematics Department during the first and third weeks of the semester. Students may take this examination regardless of whether they have taken the advanced placement examination. Students who earn a 4 or 5 on the Statistics AP Exam are granted 4 credits for MATH 012. Students who earn a grade of A or B in the portion of the A-Levels Mathematics Course covering the topics of MATH 021 are granted 4 credits for MATH 021, contingent on a review of the specific course syllabus by the Department of Mathematics. Students who earn a grade of A or B in the portion of the A-Levels Mathematics Course covering the topics of MATH 021 and MATH 022 will receive 8 credits for MATH 021 and MATH 022. Students who score 5 or higher on the Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches Higher Level (HL, not SL) IB Examinations will receive 4 credits for MATH 021, contingent on a review of the specific course syllabus and sample examinations by the Department of Mathematics. Students who score 6 or higher on the Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches Higher Level (HL, not SL) IB Examinations will receive 8 credits for MATH 021 and MATH 022, contingent on a review of the specific course syllabus and sample examinations by the Department of Mathematics. 

Modern Languages and Literature
Students receive four semester hours of credit at the intermediate level I for grades of 4, and eight hours of credit at the intermediate level I & II for grades of 5 on the advanced placement tests. Those who write the SAT II subject tests and score 600 to 699 receive four hours of credit; 700 and above receive eight hours of credit. The maximum number of credits given is eight. Those students receiving grades of 4 or higher on the Spanish literature examination will receive four credits for SPAN 151.

Music
Two credit hours of Music elective are given to those students who earn a grade of 5 on the Advanced Placement test in Music, Listening/Literature of Music: Theory. Students wishing to pursue theory at Lehigh must still take a placement exam.

Physics

Five hours of credit are given for PHY 011, PHY 012, for a score of 5 on the "Physics 1: Algebra-Based" examination (or, “Physics B” examination, for those who took the exam prior to 2015) or a score of 4 or higher on the "Physics C: Mechanics" examination. If a student receives this advanced placement credit for PHY 011 , five hours of credit will additionally be given for PHY 021, PHY 022, for a score of 4 or higher on the "Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism" examination. PLEASE NOTE: Credit will only be awarded for PHY 021 & 022 if AP credit was awarded for PHY 011 & 012; credit for the "Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism" examination cannot be awarded after taking PHY 011 & 012 at Lehigh.

Five hours of credit are given for PHY 011, PHY 012, and five hours of credit will additionally be given for PHY 021, PHY 022 for those students who receive a B or higher for Cambridge A-Level Physics. 

Alternatively, Anticipatory Exams for PHY 011 and  PHY 021 are offered to incoming students during the first and third week of the semester.

Psychology
Four credit hours of PSYC 001 are granted to students who earn a grade 4 or 5.

Statistics
Students scoring a 4 or 5 will receive four credits for MATH 012.