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Home > Students > Undergraduate Guide > Exams

Exams

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Contact

Engineering Student Services

308 McLaughlin Hall # 1700
Berkeley, CA 94720-1700
(510) 642-7594
ess@berkeley.edu

In-person hours: Monday – Thursday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Some requirements can be satisfied with Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, A-Level and Transfer Credit. Below are the tests and scores needed to fulfill College of Engineering and major requirements. Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or A-Level exams can satisfy no more than two of the required six courses for the Humanities/Social Sciences requirement. There is no limit to the number of exams that can be used to satisfy technical requirements.

Advanced Placement exams
Exam name
Score
UCB units
Requirements fulfilled
Art, Studio (2-D Design, 3-D Design, Drawing)(1)
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Art History
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Biology
4 or 5
5.36
BIOLOGY 1A+1AL & BIOLOGY 1B(2)
Chemistry
3 or higher
5.36
CHEM 1A+1AL(3)
Chinese Language and Culture
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Computer Science A
3 or higher
5.36
None
Computer Science Principles 3 or higher 5.36 COMPSCI 10
Economics (Macro or Micro)
3 or higher
2.68(4)
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
English Literature/Language and Composition
3
5.36(1)
Entry Level Writing Requirement only
English Literature/Language and Composition
4 or 5
5.36(1)
Reading and Writing Composition “A”(5)
Environmental Science
3 or higher
2.68
None
French Language and Culture
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
German Language and Culture
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Government and Politics (U.S. or Comparative)
3 or higher
2.68(4)
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
History (U.S., European, or World: Modern)
3 or higher
5.36(4)
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Human Geography
3 or higher
2.68
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Italian Language and Culture
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Japanese Language and Culture
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Latin
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Math: Calculus AB
3 or higher
2.68(1)
MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A)(6)
Math: Calculus BC, AB subscore 3 or higher 2.68(1) MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A)(6)
Math: Calculus BC
3
5.36(1)
MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A)(6)
Math: Calculus BC
4 or 5
5.36(1)
MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A) & MATH 52 (fomerly MATH 1B)(7)
Music Theory
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Physics C: Mechanics
5
2.68(1)
PHYSICS 7A
Physics C: Mechanics
3 or 4
2.68(1)
None
Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism 3 or higher 2.68(1) None
Physics 1
3 or higher
5.36(1)
None
Physics 2
3 or higher
5.36(1)
None
Psychology
3 or higher
2.68
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Spanish Language and Culture 3 or higher 5.36 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Spanish Literature and Culture
3 or higher
5.36
One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(5)
Statistics
3 or higher
2.68
None

Note: AP credit will not be awarded if the test is taken after enrolling at UC Berkeley. No duplication of credit will be given for IB, AP, A-Level exams.

1The maximum units award for all exams in this area is 5.36.

2For Civil Engineering students who matriculate to UC Berkeley Fall 2019 or later, AP Biology will not fulfill the Basic Science Elective.

3Students who receive a score of 3 on the AP Chemistry exam who need to take further CHEM courses (CHEM 1B or CHEM 3A/3AL) will need to complete CHEM 1A/1AL in order to meet the prerequisites.

4For each exam.

5Up to the maximum allowance of two exams toward the Humanities/Social Sciences requirement.

6Students with a score of 3 should strongly consider taking MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A).

7Students with a score of 4 should strongly consider taking MATH 52 (formerly MATH 1B).

International Baccalaureate Higher Level exams
Exam name Score Requirements fulfilled
Anthropology 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Biology 5 or higher BIOLOGY 1A+1AL and BIOLOGY 1B(2)
Business Management 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Chemistry 5 or higher CHEM 1A+1AL
Computer Science 5 or higher COMPSCI 61B, if student completes COMPSCI 47B at UCB
Dance 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Economics 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
English Literature 5 or higher Entry Level Writing/Reading and Composition part A(1)
English Language A: Literature 5 or higher Entry Level Writing/Reading and Composition part A(1)
English Language A: Language and Literature 5 or higher Entry Level Writing/Reading and Composition part A(1)
English Language B None
Film 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Geography 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Global Politics 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
History, all 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Language other than English 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Math: Analysis and Approaches 5 or 6 MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A)
Math: Analysis and Approaches 7 MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A) & MATH 52 (formerly MATH 1B)
Math: Applications and Interpretation None
Music 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Philosophy 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Physics None
Psychology 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Theatre Arts 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Visual Arts 5 or higher One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)

Note: IB credit will not be awarded if the test is taken after enrolling at UC Berkeley. No credit is given for IB Subsidiary or Standard Level exams. No duplication of credit will be given for IB, AP, A-Level exams.  IB Higher Level exams completed with a grade of 5, 6, or 7 (with the exception of Math: Applications and Interpretation) are awarded 5.36 semester units, unless completed as part of the diploma, whereby a maximum 20.1 units are awarded. No unit credit is awarded for the Math: Applications and Interpretation exam.

1Up to the maximum allowance of two exams toward the Humanities/Social Sciences requirement.

2Will not fulfill the Basic Science Elective for Civil Engineering majors.

A-Level exams
Exam name UCB units Requirements fulfilled
Accounting 8 None
Art & Design 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Biology 8 BIOLOGY 1A+1AL and BIOLOGY 1B(2)
Chemistry 8 CHEM 1A+1AL (score of A satisfies 1A/1AL & 1B)(2)
Classical Studies 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Computing 8 COMPSCI 61B if programming language is C or C++(3)
Economics 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
English Language 8 None
English Literature 8 None
Geography 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
History 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Language other than English 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Marine Science 8 None
Math 8 MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A) & MATH 52 (formerly MATH 1B)(4)
Math, H2 8 MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A) & MATH 52 (formerly MATH 1B)(4)
Math, Further 8 MATH 51 (formerly MATH 1A) & MATH 52 (formerly MATH 1B)(4)
Media Studies 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Music 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Physics 8 None
Psychology 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)
Sociology 8 One lower division Humanities/Social Sciences(1)

UC grants credit for GCE and Singapore-Cambridge Advanced Level exams on which a student earns a grade of A, B or C. A-Level credit will not be awarded if the test is taken after enrolling at UC Berkeley. UC does not grant credit for any of the following A-Level exams: exams that are not designated as GCE, International A-Level exams, or other country-specific A-Level exams (except Singapore-Cambridge). No duplication of credit will be given for IB, AP, A-Level exams.

(1)Up to the maximum allowance of two exams toward the Humanities/Social Sciences requirement.

(2)Will not fulfill the Basic Science Elective for Civil Engineering majors.

(3)This exam does not exempt a student from completing COMPSCI 61A.

(4)The maximum units award for all exams in this area is 8.

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