Advanced Placement
Advanced Placement and Other Credit
Students who wish to receive academic credit and/or advanced placement for college-level work undertaken before entering the College should take the College Board Advanced Placement Examination in American and/or European history before the start of their freshman year. These examinations are graded by the College Entrance Examination Board on a 5-point scale. Points awarded turn into the following credits and exemptions:
Score of 5 in American History Credit for Hist 121 and 122 (6) Score of 4 in American History Exemption for Hist 121 and 122 Score of 5 in European History Credit for Hist 111 and 112 (6) Score of 4 in European History Exemption for Hist 111 and 112 Score of 5 in World History Credit for Hist 192 Score of 4 in World History Exemption for Hist 192
Credit received through Advanced Placement may be applied toward degree requirements, including proficiency and GERs. Up to six Advanced Placement credits may be applied toward major requirements or requirements for a minor. Mere exemptions may not be applied toward GERs.
International Baccalaureate
Entering students who have taken the examinations for the International Baccalaureate (IB) can receive academic credit and/or exemption for college-level work undertaken before enrolling in the College. Information on current policies is available from the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies and in the Undergraduate Course Catalog.
Credit by Examination
Students at the College may request credit for courses by examination. Consult the Director of Undergraduate Studies to learn which courses may be fulfilled by examination, then petition the Committee on Degrees for permission to pursue an examination for credit. Students can not receive credit by examination after registration for their final semester, or when they are enrolled in the course at the time of the request, or when upper-level course work in the same subject has already begun, or when they have previously failed the course in question. In general, students should not request credit by examination unless they have an unusually good background in the area to be examined.
Transfer Credit
From U.S. institutions. The Office of Academic Advising is responsible for evaluating domestic transfer credit. Transfer credit is granted for any course taken at an accredited college or university in which the student, prior to coming to the College, has earned a grade of C or better, or, in the case of Pass/Fail, a P. The course in question must be comparable to a class offered for academic credit at the College, either by being similar to a class presently in the curriculum or by being recommended for credit by the department. When the transfer class matches a current undergraduate offering, it will be transferred as the equivalent of that course. When it does not match a current offering but is recommended for credit by the department, it is given elective transfer credit. Courses given equivalent status, which match current offerings, can be used to satisfy proficiency, GER, and minor or major requirements. Courses granted elective transfer credit will count toward the total number of academic credits required for the baccalaureate degree, but they can not meet GER, proficiency, or minor or major requirements unless approval has been granted by the Committee on Degrees.
From foreign institutions. Students entering William and Mary from foreign institutions may receive academic credit for college level work undertaken before enrolling at the College. The Dean of Undergraduate Studies evaluates each student's record and upon consultation with the Office of Admission and appropriate departments determines credit to be awarded. Information on current policies is available from the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Students who plan to study abroad should contact the Reves Center for International Studies during the semester prior to the study abroad experience and follow the appropriate procedures for prior approval of transfer credit.
Summer school elsewhere. Any student already at the College who proposes to attend school elsewhere, including a summer session, must have written permission in advance from the Office of the Registrar in order to insure that credit will be transferred. No retroactive transfer of such credit will be permitted. Forms are available in the Office of the Registrar. After a student enrolls at the College, courses taken at other institutions, either during the regular academic year or in a summer session may not be used to satisfy proficiency, GER, minor or major requirements unless special approval has been granted by the Committee on Degrees. One exception is that modern language courses at the 101, 102 and 201 levels may count toward satisfying the language proficiency requirement even though taken at summer school elsewhere. This exception applies solely to these three language course levels.
