Articulation Related Resources

The CSU Systemwide Credit for External Examinations policy provides systemwide information regarding credit awarded for external examinations including the College-Level Examination Program, the International Baccalaureate, the College Board Advanced Placement Tests, and the Defense Language Proficiency Test. This policy also provides information regarding credit awarded through associate degrees for Transfer. The California State University (CSU) faculty has determined passing scores and, when appropriate, the CSU General Education requirements and the United States History, Constitution and American Ideals graduation requirements that are met by CSU-approved standardized external examinations, effective fall 2025 and subsequent years. The exam list is available through the above link and on the Cal State Apply web site. It is important to note that: Each CSU campus still determines how it will apply external examinations toward credit in the major and local degree requirements pursuant to CSU Credit for Prior Learning Policy. Note: This CSU-approved list of external examinations does not apply to Cal-GETC certification areas. Refer to the Cal-GETC Standards for Credit by External Exams.  

Individual CSU campuses’ admissions websites list the external exam credit for major-specific requirements. Click on the link for each campus at www.calstate.edu/search_find/campus.shtml?source=homepage.

Students may earn general education or lower-division major credits by taking a CSU-accepted external examination in place of a course. The CSU faculties have determined the passing scores, minimum units of credit earned, and certification area (for General Education Breadth and/or U.S. History, Constitution, and American Ideals) of standardized external examinations, such as Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Colleg​e-Level Examination Program (CLEP). Each campus in the California State University system determines how it will apply credits earned by external examinations toward the degree major. Contact a campus admissions office for more information.​

CSU External Exam Credit

The use of exam credit for UC transfer students is explained on the UC Transfer Resources for Admission page (click AP and Exam Credits for lists of AP, IB and A-level exams accepted for admission). Students are advised to consult with a Counselor to learn more about how the UC applies Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate Higher Level (IB HL) and A Level exams may be applied toward specific UC colleges and majors. The application of credit for a student’s major will be different depending on the UC campus and major.  Please refer to the college catalog of your transfer destination to learn more about how external exam credit is applied on that campus for specific major requirements.

The UC policy for external exam credit is online at https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/admission-requirements/ap-exam-credits/

• AP Credits