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Credit by Exam

Retroactive Credits in a Language (via UM Placement Test)

You may be eligible to receive up to a maximum of 8 retroactive credits for study in a foreign language if you score well on a placement test administered by the University of Michigan.

  • Suppose you take a UM language placement exam and place into a fourth-term language course (French 232, German 232, Hebrew 202, Latin 232, Spanish 232). If you then enroll in that fourth-term course and receive a grade of "B" or better in the course, you will be awarded 4 retroactive credits for the third-term course (in addition to the 4 or 5 credits you receive for the fourth-term course).
  • Suppose you do well enough on a UM placement exam to meet the Language Requirement by placing out of the fourth-term course. If you then enroll in an appropriate upper-level language course (other than 1-credit conversation-only courses) and receive a grade of "B" or better in the course, you will be awarded 8 retroactive credits for the third and fourth-term courses (in addition to the 3 credits you receive for the upper-level course).

Retroactive Credits in a Language in combination with Advanced Placement (AP) credits

You may receive a maximum total of 8 credits through the retroactive language credit program (described above) and an Advanced Placement (AP) language exam.

  • Suppose you do well enough on an Advanced Placement exam to receive credit for an intermediate or advanced language course. For example, a score of 4 or better on the AP Spanish Language exam gives you 3 credits for Spanish 275. If you then enroll in Spanish 276 and receive a grade of "B" or better in the course, you will receive 5 retroactive credits for the third and fourth-term courses (in addition to the 3 credits you received from the AP test and the 3 credits for taking the Spanish 276 course).

Policy details, qualifying scores, and number of credits awarded vary slightly from department to department. You should check with your academic advisor if you have questions about whether you are eligible to receive retroactive credits.

 

Advanced Placement (AP) Credits in Mathematics

If you score well on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam in most subject areas, you receive appropriate credit immediately upon submission of your AP test results. The Mathematics Department, however, has a slightly more complicated policy.

If you score well on either the Calculus AB or BC Advanced Placement exam, you will receive 2 or 4 credits immediately. In addition, if you then enroll in a more advanced mathematics course, you will be awarded an additional 2-4 credits.

  • If you receive a score of 3 or better on the Calculus AB Advanced Placement exam, you will receive 2 credits for Math 120, our Calculus I (AP) course. If you then successfully complete a more advanced mathematics course (for instance, Math 116 or Math 175), you will receive an additional 2 credits in Math 120.
  • If you receive a score of 3 or better on the Calculus BC Advanced Placement exam, you will receive 2 credits for Math 120, our Calculus I (AP) course, and 2 credits for Math 121, Calculus II (AP). If you then successfully complete a more advanced mathematics course (for instance, Math 215 or Math 285), you will receive an additional 4 credits: 2 credits in Math 120 and 2 credits in Math 121.

You should check with your academic advisor if you have questions about placement and AP credits in mathematics. If you wish, you will also have an opportunity during Orientation to speak with a Mathematics Department advisor about your placement and AP credits.