Advanced Credit

Get a Head Start at Suffolk

You’ve already started building your knowledge and skills. At Suffolk University, you may be able to put that work toward your degree—and get a head start on what comes next.

Whether you apply as a first-year student with college-level coursework or AP exams under your belt, or transfer with credits from another college or university, Suffolk offers several ways to earn advanced credit. We also award credit based on international and CLEP examination scores, and military coursework.

Explore the options to see how your previous academic experiences may help you make the most of your Suffolk education.

College Coursework

We consider all college-level courses for transfer credit. Generally, credit is awarded for courses that are equivalent or similar in content to courses offered at Suffolk University.

First-year Students

College courses completed while you were in high school may be eligible for transfer credit.

Transfer Students

College courses completed after high school graduation may be eligible for transfer credit.

Transfer Credit Criteria

Suffolk offers up to 75 credits in transfer. If you’re admitted as a transfer student, you’ll receive an official credit and program evaluation with your letter of acceptance. The evaluation includes a list of transferable courses with their Suffolk University equivalents and indicates how these courses apply to your given major. Courses must be taken at a regionally accredited institution or, in the case of an international institution, recognized by the Ministry of Education of that particular country. International students may be required to have their credentials evaluated by a professional service.

We consider earned grades of C- or higher for transfer credit. All transfer students must complete a minimum of 45 semester hours at Suffolk, including the final 30. Students admitted to the Sawyer Business School are required to complete at least 50 percent of business credit hours at Suffolk University.

Learn more about current transfer credit equivalencies from institutions that we have already evaluated.

Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations

Suffolk University awards credit for most Advanced Placement examinations with qualifying scores of 3, 4, or 5. Review the AP credit chart for required scores and Suffolk course equivalencies.

To receive AP credit, your official score report must be sent directly from the College Board to Suffolk’s Office of Undergraduate Admission.

Exam Score Credit Suffolk University Equivalent
AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES 4,5 4 BLKST 100
ART HISTORY 4,5 4 ARH 101
BUSINESS WITH PERSONAL FINANCE 3,4,5 3 FREE ELECTIVE
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 181
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  4 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

International Baccalaureate (IB) Examinations

Suffolk University awards advanced credit for qualifying International Baccalaureate examinations.

  • Higher Level (HL): Scores of 4 or higher are eligible for advanced credit
  • Standard Level (SL): Scores of 5 or higher are eligible for advanced credit
Review the IB credit chart for examination-specific equivalencies. Students who complete the full IB Diploma may be eligible for sophomore standing.

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 4  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 8  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  5  4 CJN 465 - Film and Society
FRENCH HIGHER LEVEL  4  8 FR 101 - Elementary French I, FR 102 - Elementary French II
FRENCH STANDARD LEVEL 5  4 FR 101 - Elementary French I 
GEOGRAPHY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4 FREE ELEC - Free Elective
GERMAN HIGHER LEVEL  4 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  5  4 SIH REQ - MEETS REQUIREMENT/NO COMP CRSE
GREEK HIGHER LEVEL 4 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 8  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  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 4  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 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 4  CHIN 101 - Elementary Chinese I
MATHEMATICAL HIGHER LEVEL 4 8  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 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 8  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 4  PHYS 111 - College Physics I, PHYS L111 - College Physics Lab I
PORTUGUESE HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
PORTUGUESE STANDARD LEVEL 5 4  MLANG REQ - LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
PSYCHOLOGY HIGHER LEVEL 4 4 PSYCH 114 - General Psychology
PSYCHOLOGY STANDARD LEVEL 5 4  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 8  SPAN 201 - Intermediate Spanish I; SPAN 202 - Intermediate Spanish II
SPANISH STANDARD LEVEL 5 4  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 4  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


Advanced Level Examinations

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

French Baccalaureate Examinations

  • 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.

German Abitur Examinations

  • Passing scores of 7 or higher in eligible subjects may be considered for credit.
Italian Maturità Examinations
  • Credit may be awarded for subjects with a grade of 6 or higher.

If you’ve completed military coursework, you should have an official Joint Service Transcript (JST) sent to Suffolk University for the Office of Undergraduate Admission to review.

Transfer credit will be considered for courses with American Council on Education (ACE) credit recommendations that apply to Suffolk’s curriculum. If credit is approved, a transfer credit evaluation will be available through 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 may come from general examinations and a maximum of 16 may come from subject examinations.

The minimum CLEP score required to receive credit is the 50th percentile.

CLEP examinations taken before enrollment are reviewed by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. The Registar’s Office reviews CLEP examinations taken by current Suffolk students. Current Suffolk students cannot receive CLEP credit during their senior year; examinations must be completed before their final 30 semester hours at Suffolk.

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


Make Your Previous Work Count

Your path to Suffolk is uniquely yours—and the Office of Undergraduate Admission is here to help you define it. Have questions about how your previous coursework or exam results might apply to your Suffolk degree? Reach out to: