Iowa offers credit for a variety of exams. Credit by exam can be applied to your General Education Program requirements, your major, or elective courses. Students typically use credit by exam to gain greater flexibility in course selection, to go farther with their course work at Iowa, or to work toward a minor or second major.

You can earn up to a combined total of 30 semester hours of credit by taking the following exams:

• Advanced Placement Exams* (AP)—Iowa accepts credit for 32 AP exams. You can earn 3-8 s.h. of credit per test, depending on the subject and your score.
• College Level Examination Program* (CLEP)—Iowa accepts credit for 11 CLEP tests.
• International Baccalaureate* (IB)—Iowa accepts credit for IB higher level exams—depending on the subject and your score.

Transfer students with CLEP, AP, or IB scores
Transfer students who have earned less than 12 s.h. of regular class credit should have any CLEP and AP scores sent to the University from the testing agency. Credit will be granted using the University’s scoring policies. IB test scores should be sent to the Office of Admissions for evaluation.

The University will validate exam credit from transfer students who bring 12 or more semester hours of regular class credit. In this case, the University will accept CLEP or AP credit and any institutional exams granted by your previous institution.

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