Advanced Credits

Experience that feeling when you reach graduation ahead of schedule. Incoming freshmen and transfer students may be eligible for advanced standing at Suffolk. Credits for coursework—such as Advanced Placement courses—may be transferred if certain criteria are met.

For dates, deadlines, and to apply, please visit our Application Information page.

Options for Advanced Credits

All courses taken at a college and university are considered for transfer credit.

Generally speaking, transfer credit is considered for courses equivalent to or similar in content to courses offered at Suffolk University. Credit is awarded based on a variety of criteria. Learn more about our current saved transfer credit equivalencies from many (not all) institutions that we have been able to evaluate thus far.

Suffolk University awards credit for most advanced placement examinations where a score of 3, 4, or 5 is awarded. This chart outlines the required scores and equivalencies effective for Fall 2023 applicants.

In order for credit to be awarded to your account, the official score report must be sent from the Collegeboard directly to the Suffolk Undergraduate Admission Office.

Exam Score Credit Suffolk University Equivalent
ART HISTORY 4,5 4 ARH 101
BIOLOGY 4,5 4 BIO 111, L111
CALCULUS AB 4,5 4 MATH 165
CALCULUS BC 4,5 8 MATH 165, MATH 166
AP CALCULUS - AB SUBSCORE 4,5 4 MATH 165
CHEMISTRY 4,5 6 CHEM 111, CHEM 112
CHINESE LANGUAGE 3
4,5
4
4
CHIN 101
LANG ELECTIVE
COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 3,4,5 4 POLS 281
COMPUTER SCIENCE A 3,4,5 4 COMP SCI ELECTIVE
COMPUTER SCIENCE PRINCIPLES 3,4,5 4 COMP SCI ELECTIVE
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & COMPOSITION 4
5
4
8
WRI 101
WRI 101, WRI 102
ENGLISH LITERATURE & COMPOSITION 4,5 4 ENG 130
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE 3,4,5 3 SCI ELECTIVE
EUROPEAN HISTORY 4,5 8 HST 101, HST 102
FRENCH LANGUAGE 3
4,5
4
4
FR 101
FR 201
GERMAN LANGUAGE 3
4,5
4
4
GER 101
LANG ELECTIVE
HUMAN GEOGRAPHY 3,4,5 4 FREE ELECTIVE
ITALIAN LANGUAGE 3
4,5
4
4
ITAL 101
LANG ELECTIVE
JAPANESE LANGUAGE 3
4,5
4
4
JPN 101
LANG ELECTIVE
LATIN 4,5 4 LANG ELECTIVE
MACROECONOMICS 3,4,5 3 EC 102
MICROECONOMICS 3,4,5 3 EC 101
MUSIC THEORY 3,4,5 4 FREE ELECTIVE
PHYSICS 1 3,4,5 3 PHYS 111
PHYSICS 2 3,4,5 3 PHYS 112
PHYSICS C: ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM 3,4,5 3 PHYS 152
PHYSICS C: MECHANICS 3,4,5 3 PHYS 151
PRECALCULUS 4,5 4 MATH 121
PSYCHOLOGY 4,5 4 PSYCH 114
SPANISH LANGUAGE 3 4 SPAN 101
SPANISH LANGUAGE 4 4 SPAN 201
SPANISH LANGUAGE 5 4 SPAN 202
SPANISH LITERATURE  4,5  8 SPAN 290 
STATISTICS 4,5 4 STATS 250
STUDIO ART 2D DESIGN 4 3 FREE ELECTIVE
STUDIO ART 2D DESIGN 5 3 ADFS 166
STUDIO ART 3D DESIGN 4,5 3 ADFS 152
STUDIO ART DRAWING 4,5 3 ADFS 101
US GOVERNMENT & POLITICS 3,4,5 4 POLS 110
US HISTORY 4,5 8 HST 181, HST 182
WORLD HISTORY 4,5 8 HST 121, HST 122

Suffolk University awards credit for International Baccalaureate examinations. FOR ADVANCE CREDIT: official Higher Level (HL) exams with a score of 4 or higher are eligible. Official Standard Level (SL) exams with a score of 5 or higher are eligible. Please refer to the IB Advance Credit chart below for equivalencies. Sophomore standing may be possible for full IB Diploma recipients.

Exam Score Credit Suffolk University Equivalent
AMHARIC HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
AMHARIC STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQURIEMENT
ARABIC HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
ARABIC STANDARD LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
BENGALI HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
BENGALI STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
BIOLOGY HIGHER LEVEL 4 8

BIO 111 - Introduction to the Cell,
BIO L111 - Intro to the Cell Laboratory
BIO 114 - Organismal Biology
BIO L114 - Organismal Biology Laboratory

BIOLOGY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 BIO 111 - Introduction to the Cell
BIO L111 - Intro to the Cell Laboratory
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT LEVEL 4 3 SBS 101 - Business Foundations: Navigating the Fast-Paced Business Landscape
BUSINESS MANAGEMENT STANDARD LEVEL 5 3 SBS 101 - Business Foundations: Navigating the Fast-Paced Business Landscape
CHEMISTRY HIGHER LEVEL 4 8 CHEM 111 - General Chemistry I, CHEM L111 - General Chemistry Lab I
CHEM 112 - General Chemistry II, CHEM L112 - General Chemistry Lab II
CHEMISTRY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 CHEM 111 - General Chemistry I, CHEM L111 - General Chemistry Lab I
CHINESE HIGHER LEVEL 8 CHIN 101 - Elementary Chinese I, CHIN 102 - Elementary Chinese II
CHINESE STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 CHIN 101 - Elementary Chinese I
COMPUTER SCIENCE HIGHER LEVEL 4 8 CMPSC F131 - Computer Science I, CMPSC F132 - Computer Science II
COMPUTER SCIENCE STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 CMPSC ELEC - COMPUTER SCIENCE ELECTIVE
DANCE HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 CAS VPATH - Used to Fulfill Vpath
DANCE STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 CAS VPATH - Used to Fulfill Vpath
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 CAS VPATH - Used to Fulfill Vpath
DESIGN TECHNOLOGY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 CAS VPATH - Used to Fulfill Vpath
ECONOMICS HIGHER LEVEL 4 6 EC 101 - Applied Microeconomics, EC 102 - Global Macroeconomics
ECONOMICS STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 EC 101 - Applied Microeconomics
ENGLISH A HIGHER LEVEL 4 WRI 101 - First-Year Writing I, WRI 102 - First-Year Writing II
ENGLISH A STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 WRI 101 - First-Year Writing I
ENGLISH B HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 WRI 101 - First-Year Writing I, WRI 102 - First-Year Writing II
ENGLISH B STANDARD LEVEL 5 4

WRI 101 - First-Year Writing I

ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES
HIGHER LEVEL 
4 4 SCI 103 - Environmental Science, SCI L103 - Environmental Science Lab
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS AND SOCIETIES
STANDARD LEVEL
5 4 SCI 103 - Environmental Science, SCI L103 - Environmental Science Lab 
FILM HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 CJN 227 - Film & Society
FILM STANDARD LEVEL  4 CJN 465 - Film and Society
FRENCH HIGHER LEVEL  8 FR 101 - Elementary French I, FR 102 - Elementary French II
FRENCH STANDARD LEVEL 4 FR 101 - Elementary French I 
GEOGRAPHY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 FREE ELEC - Free Elective
GERMAN HIGHER LEVEL  4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
GERMAN STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
GLOBAL POLITICS HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 SIH REQ - MEETS REQUIREMENT/NO COMP CRSE 
GLOBAL POLITICS STANDARD LEVEL  4 SIH REQ - MEETS REQUIREMENT/NO COMP CRSE
GREEK HIGHER LEVEL 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
GREEK STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
HINDI HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT 
HINDI STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
HISTORY HIGHER LEVEL 4 HST 121 - World History I, HST 122 - World History II
HISTORY STANDARD LEVEL 4 4 HST 121 - World History I
HISTORY OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
HIGHER LEVEL
4 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE 
HISTORY OF AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
STANDARD LEVEL
5 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE 
HISTORY OF ASIA AND OCEANIA
HIGHER LEVEL
4 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE
HISTORY OF ASIA AND OCEANIA
STANDARD LEVEL
5 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE
HISTORY OF EUROPE HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE
HISTORY OF EUROPE STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE 
HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS STANDARD
LEVEL
5 4 HST ELEC - HISTORY ELECTIVE
INDONESIAN HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
INDONESIAN STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT 
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL
SOCIETY HIGHER LEVEL
5 4 FREE ELEC - Free Elective
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN A GLOBAL
SOCIETY STANDARD LEVEL
4 4 FREE ELEC - Free Elective
INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE
GEOGRAPHY HIGHER LEVEL
4 FREE ELEC - Free Elective
ITALIAN HIGHER LEVEL 4 8 ITAL 101 - Elementary Italian I, ITAL 102 - Elementary Italian II
ITALIAN STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 ITAL 101 - Elementary Italian I
JAPENSE STANDARD LEVEL 5 JPN ELEC - Japanese Elective
KHMER HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
KHMER STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT 
LATIN HIGHER LEVEL 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT 
LATIN STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
MANDARIN HIGHER LEVEL 4 8 CHIN 101 - Elementary Chinese I, CHIN 102 - Elementary Chinese II
MANDARIN STANDARD LEVEL 5 CHIN 101 - Elementary Chinese I
MATHEMATICAL HIGHER LEVEL 4 MATH 165 - Calculus I, MATH 166 - Calculus II 
MATHEMATICAL STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MATH 128 - Math for the Modern World
MATHEMATICAL STUDIES HIGHER LEVEL 4 MATH 128 - Math for the Modern World
MATHEMATICAL STUDIES STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MATH 128 - Math for the Modern World
MUSIC HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 CAS VPATH - Used to Fulfill Vpath
MUSIC STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 CAS VPATH - Used to Fulfill Vpath
NORWEGIAN HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
PHILOSOPHY HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 PHIL 115 - Introduction to Philosophy
PHILOSOPHY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 PHIL 115 - Introduction to Philosophy
PHYSICS HIGHER LEVEL 4 PHYS 111 - College Physics I, PHYS L111 - College Physics Lab I
PHYS 112 - College Physics II, PHYS L112 - College Physics Lab II
PHYSICS STANDARD LEVEL 5 PHYS 111 - College Physics I, PHYS L111 - College Physics Lab I
PORTUGUESE HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
PORTUGUESE STANDARD LEVEL 5 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
PSYCHOLOGY HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 PSYCH 114 - General Psychology
PSYCHOLOGY STANDARD LEVEL 5 PSYCH 114 - General Psychology
RUSSIAN HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT 
RUSSIAN STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
HIGHER LEVEL
4 4 CAS PERSP - Cas Diversity Req
SOCIAL AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
STANDARD LEVEL
5 4 CAS PERSP - Cas Diversity Req
SPANISH HIGHER LEVEL 4 SPAN 201 - Intermediate Spanish I; SPAN 202 - Intermediate Spanish II
SPANISH STANDARD LEVEL 5 SPAN 201 - Intermediate Spanish I
SPORTS EXERCISE AND HEALTH SCIENCE
HIGHER LEVEL
4 4 SCI ELEC - Science Elective; SCIT LREQ - Meets Requirement/No Comp Lab
SPORTS EXERCISE AND HEALTH SCIENCE
STANDARD LEVEL
5 4 SCIT REQ - Meets Requirement/No Comp Crse, SCIT LREQ - Meets Requirement/No Comp Lab
THEATRE HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 THETR 225 - Intro to Theatre Arts
THEATRE STANDARD LEVEL 5 THETR 225 - Intro to Theatre Arts
TURKISH HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
TURKISH STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
VIETNAMESE HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
VIETNAMESE STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
VISUAL ARTS HIGHER LEVEL 4 6 ADFS 101 - Found. Drawing I, ADFS 102 - Found. Drawing II
VISUAL ARTS STANARD LEVEL 5 4 ADFS 101 - Found. Drawing I

Four semester hours may be awarded, with a coefficient of 4, for courses completed with a grade of 11 or higher. Eight semester hours may be awarded, with a coefficient of 5, for courses completed with a grade of 11 or higher.

Credit may be awarded for subjects with grades of C or higher.

Students who have subjects with passes of 7 or higher may be eligible for credit.

Credit may be awarded for subjects with a grade of 6 or higher.

Undergraduate applicants who have completed military courses should have an official Joint Service Transcript (JST) sent to Suffolk University for review by the Office of Undergraduate Admission.

Transfer credit will be considered for courses which have American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations and will apply to the curriculum at Suffolk. If you are approved for credit, a transfer credit evaluation will be available on the applicant portal.

A maximum of 32 semester hours of credit may be awarded for CLEP examinations. Of these 32 credits, a maximum of 16 semester hours may be general examinations, and a maximum of 16 semester hours may be subject examinations. The minimum CLEP score required to receive credit is at the 50th percentile.

CLEP tests taken prior to initial enrollment are reviewed by the Admission Office. CLEP tests taken by current Suffolk University students are reviewed by the Registrar’s Office. For current Suffolk University students, CLEP will not be awarded in the senior year and must be taken prior to your last 30 hours at the University.

The Center for Learning and Academic Success offers CLEP tests to both Suffolk and non-Suffolk students.

CLEP Examination Semester Hours Suffolk Equivalent
American Government 4 Gvt 110
American Literature 8 Eng 217 & Eng 218
Analyzing & Interpreting Literature 8 Free Electives
Biology 6* Bio 101 & Bio 102
Calculus 4 Math 165
Chemistry 6* Chem 111 & Chem 112
College Algebra 4 Math 104
College Mathematics 8 Math 130 & Math Elective
College Composition 8 Wri 101 & Wri 102
English Literature 8 Eng 213 + Eng 214
History of the United States I 4 Hst 181
Humanities 8 Free Elective
Intro to Educational Psychology 4 Educ 202
Intro to Macroeconomics 4 Econ 102
Intro to Microeconomics 4 Econ 101
Introductory Psychology 4 Psych 114
Introductory Sociology 4 Soc 113
Social Sciences & History 8 Free Electives

*These CLEP exams do not include credit for labs.