International Baccalaureate (IB)

The International Baccalaureate (IB) exam assesses student work and measures students’ academic, intercultural and basic skills. Each campus in the CSU system determines how it will apply external examinations toward credit in the major. For students not already certified in GE (General Education) and/or American Institutions, the campus also determines how to apply credit from such exams toward the local degree requirement. Use the chart below to find the passing score for each IB course.

International Baccalaureate (IB)	Passing Score	Minimum Semester Credits Earned¹	Semester Credits Toward GE Breadth Certification	American Institutions and/or GE Breadth Area²	Removal Date for GE Breadth³
IB Biology HL	5	6	3	B2
IB Chemistry HL	5	6	3	B1
IB Economics HL	5	6	3	D2
IB Geography HL	5	6	3	D5
IB History (any region) HL	5	6	3	C2 or D6
IB Language A Literature HL	4	6	3	C2
IB Language A Language and Literature HL	4	6	3	C2
IB Language A1 (any language) HL	4	6	3	C2	F13
IB Language A2 (any language) HL	4	6	3	C2	F13
IB Language B (any language) HL⁸	4	6	0	n/a
IB Mathematics HL	4	6	3	B4	F22
IB Mathematics HL: Analysis and Approaches	4	6	3	B4
IB Mathematics HL: Applications and Interpretation	4	6	3	B4
IB Physics HL	5	6	3	B1
IB Psychology HL	5	3	3	D9
IB Theatre HL	4	6	3	C1

For more information on the CSU's External Exam 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 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.

³Students seeking certification in GE Breadth prior to transfer must have passed the test before this date.

⁴If a student passes more than one AP exam in calculus or computer science, only one examination may be applied to the baccalaureate.

⁵Students who pass AP Environmental Science earn 4 units of credit. Tests prior to Fall 2009 may apply to either B1+B3 or B2+B3 of GE Breadth. Fall of 2009 or later, those credits may only apply to B1+B3.

⁶If 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.

⁷If 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.

⁸The 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.