UC Santa Barbara General CatalogUniversity of California, Santa Barbara

Advanced Placement Credit and Chart

Other Pages In Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Credit

Students who complete special advanced placement courses in high school and who earn scores of 3, 4, or 5 on the College Board Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate Examination taken before high school graduation will receive 2, 4, or 8 units of credit toward graduation at UCSB for each such test completed with the required scores, provided scores are reported to the Office of Admissions.


Note: Advanced Placement credit earned prior to entering the university will not be counted toward maximum unit limitations either for selection of a major or for graduation.


Advanced Placement Exam with score of 3, 4, or 5 Units Awarded General Education Course Credit UCSB Course Equivalent
Art History 8 F: 1 course Art History 1
*Art Studio 2D Design Portfolio 8 none Art Studio 18
*Art Studio 3D Design Portfolio 8 none
*Art Studio Drawing Portfolio 8 none
Biology 8 C: 1 course EEMB 20, MCDB 20, Natural Science 1C
Chemistry 8 C: 1 course# Natural Science 1B
Chinese Language & Culture


With score of 3
 8 B
With score of 4
 8 B
With score of 5
 8 B
Comparative Government and Politics 4 D: 1 course
+Computer Science A 2 none  
+Computer Science AB 4 C: 1 course# Computer Science 8
Economics – Macroeconomics 4 D: 1 course
Economics – Microeconomics 4 D: 1 course  
*English – Composition and Literature or Language and Composition

With score of 3
 8 Entry Level Writing Requirement Writing 1, 1E, 1LK
With score of 4
 8 Writing 2 Writing 1, 1E, 1LK, 2, 2E, 2LK
With score of 5
 8 Writing 2, 50 Writing 1, 1E, 1LK, 2, 2E, 2LK, 50, 50E, 50LK
Environmental Science 4 C: 1 course Environmental Studies 2
European History 8 E: 1 course no equivalent
French Language and Culture


With score of 3
 8 B French 1-3
With score of 4
 8 B French 1-4
With score of 5
 8 B French 1-5
German Language and Culture


With score of 3
 8 B German 1-3
With score of 4
 8 B German 1-4
With score of 5
 8 B German 1-5
Human Geography 4 D Geography 5
Italian Language & Culture


With score of 3
 8 B Italian 1-3
With score of 4
 8 B Italian 1-5
With score of 5
 8 B Italian 1-6
Japanese Language & Culture


With score of 3
 8 B
With score of 4
 8 B
With score of 5
 8 B
Latin 4 B Latin 1-3
*•Mathematics – Calculus AB 4 (or AB subscore of BC exam) C: 1 course# Mathematics 3A, 15, 34A, or equivalent
*†Mathematics – Calculus BC 8 C: 2 courses Mathematics 3A, 3B, 15, 34A, 34B, or equivalent
Music – Theory 8 F: 1 course Music 11
*Physics – B 8 C: 1 course# Physics 10, Natural Science 1A
*Physics – C (Mechanics) 4 C: 1 course# Physics 6A + 6AL
*Physics – C (Electricity & Magnetism) 4 C: 1 course# Physics 6B + 6BL
Psychology 4 D: 1 course Psychology 1
Spanish Language & Culture


With score of 3
 8 B Spanish 1-3
With score of 4
 8 B Spanish 1-5
With score of 5
 8 B Spanish 1-6
Spanish Literature


With score of 3
 8 B Spanish 1-5
With score of 4 or 5
 8 B Spanish 1-6
Statistics 4 C: 1 course# Communication 87, EEMB 30, Geography 17, PSTAT 5AA-ZZ, Psychology 5, Sociology 3
U.S. Government and Politics 4 D: 1 course Political Science 12
U.S. History 8 D: 1 course no equivalent
World History 8 none no equivalent     

*  A maximum of 8 units EACH in art studio, English, mathematics, and physics is allowed.
#  Also satisfies the quantitative relationship requirement in Area C.
+  Maximum credit for computer science exams is 4 units.
†  Consult the mathematics department about optional higher placement in calculus.