Honors & UW Credit Policies

AP & IB Policies and Placement Tests

Advanced Placement & International Baccalaureate Policies

Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs provide excellent preparation for university study. These credits may count toward your broader Areas of Inquiry requirements, electives, or Foreign Language credit and help place you accordingly in some classes. These credits, however, do not count toward completion of the Honors core curriculum, and AP and IB English scores do not fulfill the UW’s English Composition requirement. For information regarding the UW’s AP/IB credit policies for other disciplines, please visit the links below:

Once available, you should be prepared to provide evidence of any AP or IB score reports during your A&O, even if you have sent them to the UW via College Board. The UW receives a huge number of score reports, and the matching process can take a while. Screenshots or PDF copies of your report is often enough for a department to register you for courses that require AP or IB test scores as entrance requirements.

If you are entering the UW with over 45 credits, you may have completed a large portion of your UW-wide Areas of Inquiry requirements. While we are excited to have you in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program and know it is possible to finish the Honors Core with incoming credit, we recognize students with a large number of credits coming into the UW may wish to use their time here differently. Completing Interdisciplinary Honors (a general education Honors track) is not the right fit for everyone and we want to ensure you are making an educated choice about your Honors path. Should you decide not to complete Interdisciplinary Honors, we recommend you consider Departmental Honors.

Please attend an Ask the Advisers: Honors Admitted Student Q&A if you have questions about your AP or IB credits, or which Honors track is right for you.

Placement Tests

The UW offers placement tests in mathematics, a number of foreign languages, chemistry, and computer programming. These tests can be used to either fulfill a requirement (placing you out of a requirement) or to place into a certain level of coursework here at the UW. In some cases, you may also be able to use AP/IB test scores to place into a class.

Please note that most introductory courses at UW do not require a placement test, so you may not be required to take any tests for registration.

Please review the placement test information available from UW Advising.

Common first-year courses and their placement processes are:

MATH

  • If you are interested in Accelerated Honors Calculus (MATH 134, 135, 136), you will need to speak to the Math advisers. Advisors are available via email at advising@math.washington.edu or virtual drop-in advising using Zoom.
    • This three-quarter sequence covers the material of MATH 124, 125, 126, 207, and 208.
  • You may use AP test scores as placement into various levels of the Introductory Calculus series (MATH 124, 125, 126). Review the link to find your placement.
  • You may use IB Math test scores as placement into various levels of the Introductory Calculus series (MATH 124, 125, 126). Review the link to find your placement.
  • You may take the UW Math placement test to place into the appropriate level, up to MATH 124.

CHEMISTRY

  • If you are interested in Honors Chemistry (CHEM 145, 155, 165), you will need to take the Honors Chemistry placement test, OR use an AP Chemistry score of 3, 4 or 5 OR an IB HL score of 5, 6, or 7 as placement.
  • Non-Honors General Chemistry and non-Honors Accelerated General Chemistry both require placement tests or AP/IB scores as well.
  • Please see the Chemistry Department’s website for information about all Chemistry options and the placement tests required for each.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

  • Review the UW Foreign Language Requirement information in its entirety to determine if you are in need of a placement or proficiency exam.
  • You may be able to use an AP or IB test score to place out of the foreign language requirement or to place into the appropriate level of UW coursework here. Check the linked page to determine your placement.
  • Even if you have met your language requirement, you are welcome to continue coursework in foreign languages.

COMPUTER PROGRAMMING

Next: Special Course Offerings for Incoming Students