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 College-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.
Disclaimer: All information provided here is for academic year 2023-24. Information is current as of January 2024 and subject to change without prior notice. Please visit the
CSU campus websites or contact a specific campus for up-to-date information.
Exam Type
Exam Name
American Institutions and/or GE Breadth Area
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For more information on the CSU External Exams Policy download a copy of the CSU Systemwide Credit for External Examinations in PolicyStat.
1These units count toward eligibility for admission. The units may not apply towards Associate Degrees for Transfer (AD-T) or the baccalaureate degree. The units may not all apply toward certification of the corresponding GE-Breadth area. See Executive Orders
1036 and
1100 for details.
2Areas of GE Breadth (A1 through E) are defined in
EO 1100. Areas of American Institutions (US-1 through US-3) are set forth in Sections IA and IB of
EO 1061, and at
assist.org. Numerical subcategories for Area D were removed and no longer apply effective 4/11/2018 but are provided for historical reference.
3Students seeking certification in GE Breadth prior to transfer must have passed the test before this date.
4If a student passes more than one CLEP test in the same language other than English (e.g., two exams in French), then only one examination may be applied to the baccalaureate. For each test in a language other than English, a passing score of 50 is considered "Level I" and earns six units of baccalaureate credit; the higher score listed for each test is considered "Level II" and earns additional units of credit and placement in Area C2 of GE Breadth, as noted.
5The IB curriculum offers language at various levels for native and non-native speakers. Language B courses are offered at the intermediate level for non-natives. Language A1 and A2 are advanced courses in literature for native and non-native speakers, respectively.
6If a student passes more than one AP exam in calculus or computer science, only one examination may be applied to the baccalaureate.
7Students who pass AP Environmental Science earn 4 units of credit. Tests prior to Fall 2009 may apply either to B1+B3 or B2+B3 of GE Breadth. Fall of 2009 or later, those credits may only apply to B1+B3.
8If a student passes more than one AP exam in physics, only six units of credit may be applied to the baccalaureate, and only four units of credit may be applied to a certification in GE Breadth.