UC Irvine AP credit

What each AP score earns at UC Irvine for 2026-2027: 38 exams, credit shown in quarter units. Always confirm with the school before you plan your schedule.

Rules that apply to every exam

AP scores of 3, 4, or 5 on College Board exams earn credit toward UCI graduation as shown in the chart.
Duplicate credit: when AP, IB, and college courses overlap, UCI awards credit for only one of them.
Students cannot earn units or grade points in courses exempted by AP credit; enrolling in them is coded without credit.
If an exam exempts more units than the AP units earned, the student may elect to take the final course in the series for credit.
Maximum credit is 8 units for Art and Design, English, Mathematics, and Physics exams.
Precalculus, Capstone Research, Seminar, and Research awards award no university credit.
Scores of 4 or 5 on either English exam earn WRITING 50 credit and qualify students to take only WRITING 60 for GE Ia.
Students entering Chinese, Japanese, or Spanish courses must still take placement exams despite AP credit.

AP exam	Score	Credit	Courses
AP African American Studies	3+	4	—Satisfies one year of U.S. History for the Area A requirement.
AP Art and Design: 2-D Art and Design	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Art and Design: 3-D Art and Design	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Art and Design: Drawing	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Art History	4+	8	ART HIS 40A, ART HIS 40BTwo courses toward Art History major, minor, GE category IV and category VIII; may not replace School of Humanities requirements.
	3	8	ART HIS 40AOne course toward Art History major, minor, GE category IV as ART HIS 40A, and category VIII, plus 4 units of elective credit; may not replace School of Humanities requirements.
AP Biology	3+	8	—Non-Bio. Sci. majors earn one Biological Sciences course toward GE Category II. Bio. Sci. majors earn elective credit only.
AP Calculus AB	3+	4	MATH 2A, MATH 5A
AP Calculus BC	4+	8	MATH 2A-MATH 2B, MATH 5A-MATH 5B
	3	8	MATH 2A, MATH 5AStudents with a Calculus AB subscore of 3 or higher receive AB credit.
AP Chemistry	4+	8	CHEM 1A or ENGR 1APlus 4 units of elective credit.
	3	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Chinese Language and Culture	4+	8	CHINESE 1A, CHINESE 1B, CHINESE 1C, CHINESE 2ASatisfies GE categories VI and VIII. Additional course credit may be awarded following placement examination.
	3	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Comparative Government and Politics	4+	4	POL SCI 51AMay not be used for School of Social Sciences major requirements, except B.A. in Political Science.
	3	4	—Elective credit only.
AP Computer Science A	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Computer Science Principles	3+	8	I&C SCI 20
AP Economics: Macroeconomics	4+	4	ECON 20B or MGMT 4BMay not be used for School of Social Sciences major requirements, except B.A. in Economics, B.A. in Business Economics, and B.A. in Quantitative Economics. May also count toward Economics minor.
	3	4	—Elective credit only.
AP Economics: Microeconomics	4+	4	ECON 20A or MGMT 4AMay not be used for School of Social Sciences major requirements, except B.A. in Economics, B.A. in Business Economics, and B.A. in Quantitative Economics. May also count toward Economics minor.
	3	4	—Elective credit only.
AP English Language and Composition	4+	8	WRITING 505Plus one English course toward GE category IV; may not replace Literary Journalism, English, or School of Humanities requirements.
	3	8	—Elective credit only. Fulfills UC Entry Level Writing requirement.
AP English Literature and Composition	4+	8	WRITING 505Plus one English course toward GE category IV; two English courses toward category IV if 4 or 5 on both English exams. May not replace Literary Journalism, English, or School of Humanities requirements.
	3	8	—Elective credit only. Fulfills UC Entry Level Writing requirement.
AP Environmental Science	4+	4	EARTHSS 1
	3	4	—Elective credit only.
AP European History	5	8	—One lower-division course toward History major or minor (excluding HISTORY 70B), GE category IV, and category VIII; plus 4 units of elective credit. May not replace School of Humanities requirements.
	3–4	8	—Elective credit only.
AP French Language and Culture	4+	8	FRENCH 2A, FRENCH 2B, FRENCH 2CSatisfies GE categories VI and VIII.
	3	8	FRENCH 1A, FRENCH 1B, FRENCH 1CSatisfies GE category VI.
AP German Language and Culture	4+	8	GERMAN 2A, GERMAN 2B, GERMAN 2CSatisfies GE categories VI and VIII.
	3	8	GERMAN 1A, GERMAN 1B, GERMAN 1CSatisfies GE category VI.
AP Human Geography	3+	4	—Elective credit only.
AP Italian Language and Culture	4+	8	ITALIAN 2A, ITALIAN 2B, ITALIAN 2CSatisfies GE categories VI and VIII.
	3	8	ITALIAN 1A, ITALIAN 1B, ITALIAN 1CSatisfies GE category VI.
AP Japanese Language and Culture	4+	8	JAPANSE 2A, JAPANSE 2B, JAPANSE 2CSatisfies GE categories VI and VIII.
	3	8	JAPANSE 1A, JAPANSE 1B, JAPANSE 1CSatisfies GE category VI.
AP Latin	4+	8	—Satisfies GE categories VI and VIII. Course credit toward Classics major or School of Humanities language requirement awarded upon petition.
	3	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Music Theory	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Physics 1	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Physics 2	3+	8	—Elective credit only.
AP Physics C	4	4	PHYSICS 2Applies to Exam C, Part I or II.
	3	4	—Elective credit only. Applies to Exam C, Part I or II.
AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism	5	4	PHYSICS 3C
AP Physics C: Mechanics	5	4	PHYSICS 3A
AP Psychology	4+	4	PSY 9 or COGS 7A
	3	4	—Elective credit only.
AP Spanish Language and Culture	4+	8	SPANISH 2A, SPANISH 2B, SPANISH 2CSatisfies GE categories VI and VIII. Students may be authorized for SPANISH 3 or SPANISH 3H.
	3	8	SPANISH 1A, SPANISH 1B, SPANISH 1CSatisfies GE category VI. Placement exam required for further Spanish courses.
AP Spanish Literature and Culture	4+	8	SPANISH 3, SPANISH 3HSatisfies GE categories VI, VII, and VIII.
	3	8	SPANISH 1A, SPANISH 1B, SPANISH 1CSatisfies GE category VI.
AP Statistics	4+	4	MGMT 7
	3+	4	STATS 7, STATS 8, SOCECOL 13, EDUC 15Courses listed as STATS 7 or STATS 8 or SOCECOL 13 or EDUC 15.
AP United States Government and Politics	4+	4	POL SCI 21AAmerican Institutions and POL SCI 21A credit. May not be used for School of Social Sciences major requirements, except B.A. in Political Science.
	3	4	—Elective credit only.
AP United States History	5	8	HISTORY 40A, HISTORY 40B, HISTORY 40COne course toward these for GE category IV, plus 4 units of elective credit. Satisfies American History and Institutions requirement.
	3–4	8	—Satisfies American History and Institutions requirement.
AP World History: Modern	5	8	HISTORY 21B, HISTORY 21COne course toward these for GE category IV and category VIII; plus 4 units of elective credit.
	3–4	8	—Elective credit only.

Source: UC Irvine official AP credit policy . Read on October 22, 2026. Compare AP credit across colleges