Previous

||

Index

||

Next

Programs of Study

Placement and Credit

Placement Examinations

First-year students can select appropriate levels in French, German, Latin, or Spanish on the basis of scores on SAT II: Subject Tests or Advanced Placement Examinations in these subjects. All continuing language students who have not taken one of these tests must take a Columbia placement examination in order to enroll in language study at Columbia. The exact times and dates of examinations are provided in the orientation schedule distributed to first-year students when they arrive on campus. Upperclass students should contact departments before the beginning of each semester to inquire about other placement examination possibilities.

Credit

The College grants up to one semester (16 points) of college-level work completed before matriculation at Columbia College. This work may be done under the auspices of the Advanced Placement Program of the College Board, GCE Advanced Level Examinations, the International Baccalaureate Examination, or other national systems described below. In addition, the College will consider a maximum of 6 points for college courses taken after graduation from secondary school and prior to matriculation at Columbia. Those who enter as first-year students are subject to all rules for first-year students in their first two terms regardless of how many credits are earned from any of the approved advanced standing programs. Students who
wish to receive advanced credit may not take courses at Columbia that cover similar or more basic material than the advanced work already completed, nor may a student receive credit for two exams that cover the same material (for example, Calculus Advanced Placement and Mathematics GCE Advanced Level Exam). In some cases, credit will be awarded when a student successfully completes the course into which placement was awarded (or, in some cases the College may require a student to complete a particular course in order to receive advanced credit). The actual determination of advanced credit will be done after the student matriculates in accordance with stated departmental and College policies and will be awarded upon completion of the first year at Columbia. A more detailed explanation of particular programs follows.

Advanced Placement Examinations

Each year individual departments review the College Board Advanced Placement curriculum and make determinations as to appropriate placements, credit, and/or exemptions. For students entering the College in the 2007–2008 academic year, the following Advanced Placement policies apply.

NOTE: College Board Advanced Placement scores cannot be used toward exemption from any of the Core Curriculum courses; however, scores may be used toward satisfying the foreign language requirement (see The Core Curriculum—Foreign Language Requirement).

Subject	AP Score	Advanced Credit	Requirement or Placement Status
Biology	5	3	Placement determined by department. For additional information, see Frequently Asked Questions.
Chemistry	4 or 5	3	Requires completion of CHEM C2407 with a grade of C or better
Chemistry	4 or 5	6	Requires completion of CHEM C3045-C3046 with a grade of C or better.

Note: Students are expected to complete a placement exam prior to registration for either CHEM C2407 or C3045.

Subject	AP Score	Advanced Credit	Requirement or Placement Status
Computer Science A	4 or 5	3	Exemption from COMS W1004
Computer Science AB	4 or 5	3	Exemption from COMS W1004

Note: Students can receive credit for only one computer science sequence.

Subject	AP Score	Advanced Credit	Requirement or Placement Status
Economics	4 and 5	4	Exemption from ECON W1105

Note: Tests must be taken in both microeconomics and macroeconomics, with a score of 5 on one test and at least a 4 on the other.

Subject	AP Score	Advanced Credit	Requirement or Placement Status
English Language and Composition	5	3	No exemption
English Literature and Composition	5	3	No exemption
French Language	5	3	Satisfies foreign language requirement. Credit awarded upon succesful completion of a 3000-level (or higher) course* with a grade of B or higher.
French Language	4	0	Satisfies foreign language requirement.
French Literature	5	3	Satisfies foreign language requirement. Credit awarded upon succesful completion of a 3000-level (or above) course* with a grade of B or higher.
French Literature	4	0	Satisfies foreign language requirement.
German Language	5	3	Satisfies foreign language requirement. Credit awarded upon succesful completion of a 3000-level (or above) course* with a grade of B or higher.
German Language	4	0	Satisfies foreign language requirement.
Government and Politics: United States	5	3	Exemption from POLS W1201
Government and Politics: Comparative	5	3	Exemption from POLS V1501
History: European United States	5 5	3 3	No exemption No exemption
Italian Language	4	0	Satisfies foreign language requirement.
Italian Language	5	3	Satisfies foreign language requirement. Credit awarded upon successful completion of a 3000-level (or above) course* with a grade of B or higher.
Latin: Vergil	5 4	3 0	Satisfies foreign language requirement. Satisfies foreign language requirement.
Latin: Literature	5 4	3 0	Satisfies foreign language requirement. Satisfies foreign language requirement.
Mathematics: Calculus AB	4	3	Requires completion of MATH V1102 with a grade of C or better.
Mathematics: Calculus AB	5	3	Requires completion of MATH V1102 or MATH V1201 with a grade of C or better.
Mathematics: Calculus BC	4	3	Requires completion of MATH V1102 or MATH V1201 with a grade of C or better.
Mathematics: Calculus BC	5	6	Requires completion of MATH V1201 or V1207 with a grade of C or better.

Note: Students can receive credit for only one calculus sequence.

Note: Students may earn a maximum of 6 points in physics.

*The course used toward AP credit in language must be for at least 3 points of credit and be taught in that language. Courses taught in English may not be used for language AP credit.

International Baccalaureate

Entering students are granted 6 points of credit for scores of 6 or 7 on IB Higher Level examinations if taken in disciplines offered as undergraduate programs at Columbia College.

British Advanced Level Examinations

Pending review by the appropriate department at Columbia, students with grades of A or B on British Advanced Level examinations are granted 6 points of credit if the examinations were taken in disciplines offered as undergraduate programs at Columbia College. The appropriate transcript should be submitted to the Center for Student Advising, 403 Lerner.

Other National Systems

Pending review by the appropriate department at Columbia, students whose secondary school work was in other national systems (such as the French Baccalauréat or the German Abitur) may be granted credit in certain disciplines for sufficiently high scores. The appropriate transcript should be submitted to the Center for Student Advising, 403 Lerner.

Advanced Standing

Entering first-year students are not granted credit for courses taken at other colleges before graduation from secondary school. Six points of credit is the
maximum allowed for college courses taken after graduation from secondary school. The appropriate transcript should be submitted to the Center for Student Advising, 403 Lerner. Credit is not given automatically, but only after a review of the course description. A grade of B– or better is also required.

For information about SAT II: Subject Tests and about courses in other divisions of the University, see Admission and Programs of Study. For information about advanced standing for transfer students, see Requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Previous

||

Index

||

Next