AP Credit
AP Biology Credit by College
Of 143 colleges whose AP charts name AP Biology, 77 give credit or placement for a 3, 129 for a 4, and 139 for a 5.
| College | Lowest score | What it earns | With a 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | 3 | 4 units, MCB departmental elective credit | 8 units, MCB 181R & 181L and ECOL 182R & 182L |
| Arizona State University Campus Immersion | 3 | 4 hours, BIO 100 | 8 hours, BIO 181, 182 (score 5 or 4) |
| Arkansas | 3 | Credit for BIOL 10004 | Credit for BIOL 101H3/BIOL 101H1 |
| Auburn University | 3 | 4 hours, BIOL 1020 and 1021 | 8 hours, BIOL 1020, 1021, 1030 and 1031 |
| Bates | 3 | 1 unspecified credit | 2 unspecified credits |
| Baylor | 3 | Biology 1401 | Biology 1305-1105 and 1306-1106 |
| Binghamton | 3 | 4 credits, elective credit | 8 credits, BIOL 113 and BIOL 114 |
| Buffalo | 3 | 8 credits, general exam credit | 8 credits, BIO 201 plus general exam credit |
| California State University-Long Beach | 3 | 6 units: BIOL 200 (4 units) and 2 units BIOL electives | 6 units: BIOL 211 and BIOL 212 |
| Carleton | 3 | 6 credits (do not apply to the major) | 6 credits toward the biology major and placement into Biology 126 |
| Cincinnati | 3 | 4 credits, BIOL 1021 and BIOL 1021L | 8 credits, BIOL 1081, 1081L, 1082 and 1082L |
| Clemson | 3 | 4 credits, BIOL 1230 and BIOL 1200 | 4 credits, BIOL 1030 and BIOL 1050 |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 3 | 4 credits, LIFE 1++3L (general lab science credit) | 8 credits, LIFE 102 and LIFE 103 |
| CU Boulder | 3 | 4 lower-division Arts and Sciences credits | 8 credits, EBIO 1210, EBIO 1220, EBIO 1230 and EBIO 1240 |
| Delaware | 3 | 4 credits, BISC 104 | 8 credits, BISC 207 & 208 |
| DePaul University | 3 | 4 credits, BIO 191 | 12 credits, BIO 191, BIO 192 and BIO 193 |
| Florida | 3 | BSC 2005/BSC 2005L (4 credits) | BSC 2010/BSC 2010L and BSC 2011/BSC 2011L (8 credits) |
| Florida Atlantic University | 3 | 4 credits, BSC 1005 and BSC 1005L | 8 credits, BSC 1010, 1010L, 1011 and 1011L |
| Florida International University | 3 | 4 credits, BSC UCC1/UCC1L | 8 credits, BSC 2010/2010L and BSC 2011/2011L |
| Florida State University | 3 | BSC 1005 (3), BSC 1005L (1) | BSC 2010 (3), BSC 2010L (1), BSC 2011 (3), BSC 2011L (1) |
| George Mason | 3 | 3 credits, BIOL 103 | 8 credits, BIOL 103, 105 and 102 |
| Hofstra | 3 | 3 credits, LA 999 | 3 credits, BIOL 111 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | 3 | 3 credit hours, BIOL-L 104 | 6 credit hours, BIOL-E 111/112 |
| James Madison | 3 | 4 credits, BIO 140/BIO 140L | 8 credits, BIO 140/140L and BIO 150/150L, or ISAT 113, ISCI 104 and BIO 000 |
| Kansas | 3 | 3 hours, BIOL 100 | 5 hours, BIOL 150 and 154 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 3 credit hours, BIO 102 and BIO 103 | 3 credit hours, BIO 103, BIO 148 and BIO 152 |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 3 | 3 hours, BIOL 1001 | 8 hours, BIOL 1201, 1202, 1208 and 1209 |
| Miami | 3 | 3 credits, BIL 101 | 10 credits, BIL 150, 151, 160, 161 |
| Miami University-Oxford | 3 | 4 hours, BIO 116/MBI 116 | Same |
| Michigan | 3 | Biology 100, 4 credit hours | Biology 195 (5), Biology 196 (1), 6 credit hours |
| Mississippi State University | 3 | 3 hours, BIO 1023 (no lab credit) | 8 hours, BIO 1134 and BIO 1144 |
| NC State | 3 | 4 hours, BIO 105 and BIO 106 | 8 hours, BIO 181, BIO 181 Lab, BIO 183 and BIO 183 Lab |
| New Hampshire | 3 | 4 credits, Biological Sciences (BS) / Discovery Lab credit | Same |
| North Texas | 3 | 6 hours, BIOL 1112, BIOL 1142 | 8 hours, BIOL 1710, BIOL 1720, BIOL 1760 |
| Ohio State | 3 | Biology 1101 (4) (score 3 or 4) | Biology 1113 (4); Biology 1114 (4) |
| Ole Miss | 3 | 4 hours, BISC 1600 and BISC 1610 | Same |
| Oregon State University | 3 | 12 credits, BI 101, 102 and 103 | 15 credits, BI 221Z, BI 222Z and BI 223Z |
| Purdue | 3 | BIOL 1XXXX (undistributed credit) | BIOL 11000 and 11100 |
| San Diego State | 3 | 6 units, BIOL 100, BIOL 100L and 2 units of BIOL 299 | Same |
| San Jose State University | 3 | 6 units, BIOL 10 | Same |
| Stony Brook | 3 | 3 credits, no course equivalent | Same |
| Temple | 3 | 8 credits, Biology 1001 & 1002 | 8 credits, Biology 1111 & Biology 1112 |
| Texas A&M University-College Station | 3 | BIOL 113, 3 credit hours | BIOL 111 and 112, 8 credit hours (required score 4) |
| Texas Christian University | 3 | 3 hours, BIOL 10003 | 8 hours, BIOL 10000, BIOL 10511 and BIOL 10513 |
| Texas Tech | 3 | 8 hours, BIOL 1401 and BIOL 1402 | 8 hours, BIOL 1403 and BIOL 1404 |
| The University of Alabama | 3 | 8 credits, BSC 108 and BSC 109 | 8 credits, BSC 114, BSC 115, BSC 116 and BSC 117 |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 3 | BIOL 101 | BIOL 101-102 and BIOL 160 |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | 3 | 3 hours, BIOL lower-level transfer elective | 10 hours, BIOL 2311, 2111, 2312, 2112, 2281 |
| UC Berkeley | 3 | 5.3 semester units | Same |
| UC Davis | 3 | 8 quarter units, BIS 010 | Same |
| UC Irvine | 3 | 8 units elective credit for Biological Sciences majors; one Biological Sciences course toward GE category II for other majors | Same |
| UC San Diego | 3 | 8 units; score of 3 = BILD 10 (may take BILD 1, 2, 3 for credit) | 8 units; score of 4 or 5 exempts BILD 1, 2, and 3 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 3 | 8 units; one Science, Mathematics, and Technology GE course | Same |
| UC Santa Cruz | 3 | 8 units, no course equivalent | 8 units, BIOL 20A and BIOE 20B |
| UCLA | 3 | 8.0 units, LIFE SCI Unassigned | Same |
| UGA | 3 | BIOL 1103 + BIOL 1103L (4 credit hours) | BIOL 1107 + BIOL 1107L (4 credit hours) and BIOL 1108 + BIOL 1108L (4 credit hours) |
| UIC | 3 | 8 hours, BIOS 110 and BIOS 120 | Same |
| UIUC | 3 | IB 100, 3 credit hours (score 3 or 4) | IB 150 and MCB 150, 4 and 4 credit hours |
| UNC Chapel Hill | 3 | BIOL 101, 101L; 4 credit hours | Same |
| University at Albany | 3 | 8 credits, ABIO E00 and ABIO E01 | 8 credits, ABIO 120, ABIO 121, ABIO 201 and ABIO 202Z |
| University of California-Merced | 3 | 5.3 semester units | Exempts Biological Sciences 1 and 1L (score of 4 or 5) |
| University of California-Riverside | 3 | 4 units Biological Sciences breadth credit plus 4 units elective credit | Same |
| University of Central Florida | 3 | BSC 1005/BSC 1005L | BSC 2010C and BSC 2011C |
| University of Maryland-College Park | 3 | 4 credits, Lab Science (DSNL) | 8 credits, BSCI 160, BSCI 161 and BSCI 170, BSCI 171 (score 4 or 5) |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities | 3 | 4 credits, Biology 1009 | Same |
| University of Missouri-Columbia | 3 | 5 credits, Biology 1030 | 5 credits, Bio Sci 1500 |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 3 | BIOL 1013 plus 1 elective hour (BIOL 1999) | BIOL 1124 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | 3 | BIOL 101 and 101L | BIOL 101, 101L, 102 and 102L |
| University of South Florida | 3 | 4 credits, BSC 1005 and BSC 1005L | 8 credits, BSC 2010, BSC 2010L, BSC 2011 and BSC 2011L |
| UT Austin | 3 | BIO 311C (score 3-4) | BIO 311C, 311D |
| Utah | 3 | 3 hours, BIOL 1010 | 4 hours, BIOL 1610 |
| UW | 3 | BIOL 161, 5 credits | BIOL 161, 162; 5,5 credits (score 4, 5) |
| UW-Madison | 3 | BIO SCI X01, 3 credits | BIOLOGY/BOTANY/ZOOLOGY 151, 5 credits (score 4-5) |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | 3 | 4 credits, BIOL 101 and BIOZ 101 | 8 credits, BIOL 151, BIOZ 151, BIOL 152 and BIOZ 152 |
| Virginia Tech | 3 | BIOL 1014, 3 credits | BIOL 1105 + BIOL 1115 + BIOL 1106 + BIOL 1116, 3+1+3+1 credits (score 4 or 5) |
| Washington State University | 3 | 4 credits, Biology elective (1 lab granted) | 8 credits, Biology 106 and 107 (2 labs granted) |
| West Virginia | 3 | 3 credit hours, BIOL 1AP | 3 credit hours, BIOL 101 |
| Barnard College | 4 | 3 points | Same |
| Boston College | 4 | 6 advanced placement units; 2 Natural Science Core | Same |
| Boston University | 4 | 4 credits, CAS BI 105 or CAS BI 107 or CAS BI 108 | 8 credits (two Biology course equivalents, e.g. CAS BI 105 & CAS BI 107) |
| Brown | 4 | BIOL 0200 notation | Same |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 4 | 9 units, 03-011, AP Biology | 03-110, AP Biology |
| Case Western | 4 | 3 credit hours, BIOL 114 | 3 credit hours, BIOL 214 |
| Colby College | 4 | 6 credits, BI163 and BI164 | Same |
| Colgate | 4 | 1 course credit, BIOL 101 | Same |
| Cornell | 4 | 4 credits; non-Biological Sciences majors: placement out of 4 credits of Introductory Biology Cluster Courses | 8 credits; non-Biological Sciences majors: placement out of 8 credits of Introductory Biology Cluster Courses |
| Davidson | 4 | Credit for BIO 107 | Same |
| Denver | 4 | 5 credits, BIOL 1011 and BIOL 1021 | 10 credits, BIOL 1010, 1011, 1020 and 1021 |
| Drexel | 4 | 4 credits, BIO 132 | Same |
| Duke | 4 | BIOLOGY 20 or 21 | Same |
| Emory | 4 | 3 credit hours, BIOL 141 (lecture only) | Same |
| George Washington | 4 | 8 credits, BISC 1111 and BISC 1112 | Same |
| Georgetown University | 4 | three credits | four credits |
| Georgia Tech | 4 | BIOS 1107 and BIOS 1107L, 4 hours (score 4 or 5) | Same |
| Gonzaga | 4 | 3 credits, Biology 104 and 104L | 3 credits, BIOL 104 and 104L or BIOL 105 (no lab credit) |
| Grinnell College | 4 | 4 credits in Science Division, not for major credit | Same |
| Howard | 4 | 4 credits, BIOL 101 | 8 credits, BIOL 101 & BIOL 102 |
| Iowa | 4 | 4 s.h., duplicates BIOL:1140 Human Biology: Nonmajors | 4 s.h., duplicates BIOL:1141 and BIOL:1411 Foundations of Biology |
| Iowa State | 4 | 4 credits, Biology 1000 | Same |
| Lehigh | 4 | 4 credits, BIOS 001 | Same |
| Loyola Chicago | 4 | 8 hours, BIOL 101/111 and BIOL 102/112 | Same |
| Marquette | 4 | 3 credits, BIOL 1009 | 6 credits, BIOL 1001 & BIOL 1002 |
| Michigan State | 4 | 8 credits, BS 161, BS 162 and 2 general biology credits; waives BS 171 and BS 172 | Same |
| Northeastern | 4 | 10 SH, BIOL1111/1112 & BIOL1113/1114 (General Biology 1/Lab & General Biology 2/Lab) | Same |
| Notre Dame | 4 | 3 credits, BIOS 10101 (appears on transcript as BIOS 10091) | 8 credits, BIOS 10098, 10099 |
| NYU | 4 | 8 credits, BIOL-UA 11, BIOL-UA 12 | Same |
| Oberlin | 4 | 1 full course, BIOL 604, not for major credit | Same |
| Penn State | 4 | Biology 011 and Biology 012 (4 credits) | Biology 110 (4 credits) |
| Pitt | 4 | 3 credits, BIOSC 0150 | 6 credits, BIOSC 0150 and BIOSC 0160 |
| Rice | 4 | 6 credit hours, BIOS 101 (3) and BIOS 102 (3) | Same |
| Rochester | 4 | 4 general credits (cannot satisfy biology major or minor requirements) | Same |
| RPI | 4 | 4 credits, BIOL 1010 and BIOL 1015 | Same |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 4 | 01:119:115, 116, 117, 10 credits (score 4 or 5) | Same |
| Santa Clara | 4 | 4 quarter units, elective credit | Same |
| Seton Hall University | 4 | 3 credits, BIOL 1101 | Same |
| Southern Methodist University | 4 | 4 hours, BIOL 1302/BIOL 1102 | Same |
| Syracuse University | 4 | 8 credits, BIO 121, 122, 123 and 124 | Same |
| Tulane | 4 | 3 credit hours, CELL 1500 | EBIO 1010/1015 (4 credit hours) plus CELL 1010 (3) or CELL 1500/1505 (4) |
| UConn | 4 | 8 credits, BIOL 1107 and 1108 | Same |
| University of Chicago | 4 | BIOS 10130 | Same |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 4 | 4 credits, Biology 110 | Same |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 4 | 4 credits, BIOS 101 and BIOS 101L | Same |
| USC | 4 | 4 semester units of elective credit; satisfies GE-D: Life Sciences; prerequisite either BISC 120 or BISC 220 can be waived (see undergrad advisor in Biological Sciences) | Same |
| UVA | 4 | 6 credits for BIOL 1000T | 4 credits for BIOL 2100 and 4 credits for BIOL 2200 |
| Vanderbilt | 4 | 3 credit hours, BSCI 1509: Biological Systems | Same |
| Vermont | 4 | 4 credits, BIOL 1000 | 8 credits, BIOL 1000 and BIOL 1005 |
| Villanova | 4 | 8 credits, BIO 2105 and BIO 2106 | Same |
| Wake Forest | 4 | 4 hours, BIO 111 | Same |
| WashU | 4 | 6 units of credit for BIOL 1996 (elective credit) | Same |
| Brandeis | 5 | 4 credits, BIOL 15b | Same |
| College of William & Mary | 5 | 8 credits, BIOL 203, 203L, 204 and 204L | Same |
| Columbia | 5 | 3 points of credit toward graduation | Same |
| Hamilton | 5 | 1 credit after BIO 100 with a grade of B or better | Same |
| Johns Hopkins | 5 | 6 credits, AS.020.151 & AS.020.152 | Same |
| Northwestern | 5 | 1 unit (BIOL_SCI 1XX) | Same |
| Princeton | 5 | Course exemption: EEB 211 for non-EEB majors only (no course credit) | Same |
| Swarthmore | 5 | 1 credit after completing one Swarthmore biology course with lab | Same |
| Tufts | 5 | 5 credits, BIO AP (equivalent to BIO 13 and 15 or BIO 14) | Same |
| Wellesley | 5 | 1 unit, no exact equivalent | Same |
| Bowdoin | None | No credit; used for course placement only | |
| MIT | None | No credit | |
| Penn | None | No credit | |
| Stanford University | None | No credit |
Frequently asked questions
Do colleges give credit for a 3 on AP Biology?
77 of the 143 colleges listed here do. 129 accept a 4, and 139 accept a 5. 4 give nothing for this exam at any score.
Does a 5 on AP Biology earn more than a 4?
At some colleges, yes. The last column of the table shows where a 5 earns more credit or a higher course than the minimum score does.
Each row was read from the college’s own registrar, catalog, or admissions page and last checked 2026-10-08. Colleges whose pages do not name this exam are left out. Confirm with the college before you plan around it.
