Advanced Placement Program (AP)

ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM (AP)

(Sam Houston State University Policy Information – Revised 01/12/2018)

Sam Houston State University awards college credit for AP exams, depending on the scores you earn. The list of accepted AP exams and their required scores is available below.

Students may earn up to 30 hours of credit through a mix of national exams (like AP) and SHSU’s own departmental tests. If a student wishes to earn more than 30 hours in this format, they will need to submit a request per policy UG 950531; see Credit-by Exam Specifications.

  • Exams Accepted for SHSU Course Credit
    Advanced Placement Exam SHSU Course # Credit
    Hours
    Awarded
    African American Studies HSTY 3393 3
    Art--General, Studio, Drawing, Design, etc. (review of portfolio required) Departmental Approval 3
    Art, History ARTS 1303 (1301 if already have received credit for 1303) 3
    Biology BIOL 1406 and 1407 8
    Chemistry CHEM 1411 and 1412 8
    Chinese Language FOLG 1411, 1412, 2311, 2312 4-14
    Comparative Government & Politics POLS 2000 3
    Computer Science A COSC 1436 4
    Computer Science Principles COSC 1436 4
    English, Language and Composition ENGL 1301 3
    English, Literature and Composition ENGL 1302 3
    Environmental Science BIOL 1401 4
    Government and Politics, United States POLS 2305 3
    History, United States HSTY 1301, 1302 6
    History, World HSTY 2312 3
    Human Geography GEOG 1300 3
    Italian Language FOLG 1411, 1412, 2311, 2312 4-14
    Japanese Language FOLG 1411, 1412, 2311, 2312 4-14
    Latin Language FOLG 1411, 1412, 2311, 2312 4-14
    Mathematics, Calculus AB MATH 1420 4
    Mathematics, Calculus BC MATH 1420 and 1430 8
    Macroeconomics ECON 2301 3
    Microeconomics ECON 2302 3
    Physics 1 PHYS 1301 3
    Physics 2 PHYS 1302 3
    Physics C, Mechanics PHYS 1411 4
    Physics C, Electricity and Magnetism PHYS 1422 4
    Precalculus MATH 1410 4
    Psychology PSYC 1301 3
    Statistics MATH 1342 3
  • Scheduling Options
    • AP exams are administered at designated high schools and are not available to complete at SHSU.
    • Students wishing to complete AP exams need to connect with their high school or visit the AP web site for more information.
  • Test Scores Needed for Credit
    • A minimum score of 3 or above is required for credit, unless otherwise specified below:
      • Foreign Language Exams (e.g., Spanish, Italian)
        • Score of 3: 1411
        • Score of 4: 1411, 1412
        • Score of 5: 1411, 1412, 2311, 2312
      • Art Majors
        • A minimum score of 4 is required.
  • Posting Credit & Sending Scores
    • Students can send their AP scores to colleges and universities through their My AP student portal to have eligible credit applied to their transcript.
    • SHSU Specific Credit Information:
      • If an SHSU student earns an A in a course, that grade will automatically take precedence over any credit earned by exam.
      • If an SHSU student earns a B or C, those grades will also take precedence over credit-by-exam, unless the student chooses to request that the credit-by-exam be used instead. To initiate this, students must follow the directions provided in policy UG 950531.
      • If an SHSU student earns a D or F, credit-by-exam will automatically replace that grade for credit purposes.
      • While credit-by-exam can remove a D or F (or a B or C when requested and approved) from the GPA calculation, the original letter grade will still appear on the student’s transcript.
      • For scores meeting the appropriate criteria, SHSU will award specific course prefixes, course numbers, and credit hours. Letter grades will not be awarded.
  • AP Resources
  • AP Contact Information