Transfer Credits
Credit for Advanced Placement exams & International Baccalaureate diploma
Advanced Placement exams: Students who earned an upper-level score on an AP exam may receive college credit. (For the specific scores required, please click the link below for your entering class year.) Incoming students should have ETS send their official scores to the Barnard Registrar’s Office.
International Baccalaureate diploma: Students who earned an International Baccalaureate diploma may receive credit for the number of points indicated on the diploma, up to the maximum credit limit for their entering class year. Incoming students should have their official diploma or exam scores sent to the Barnard Registrar’s Office by the examiner of record.
** FOR EXAMS TAKEN IN SPRING 2020**: Barnard will accept AP and IB exams in the new format this year for credit. AP scores of 4 or 5 or IB scores of 5, 6 or 7 on HL exams will be considered for credit. Scores can determine placement into Barnard class sequences, but they will not exempt students from Foundations requirements. Students who would like their scores considered for credit should have their official scores sent to the Office of the Registrar. Barnard will accept a maximum of 16 credits.
Select National Examinations and Diplomas: Students who complete the French Baccalaureate, the German Arbitur or the Italian Maturità may receive college credit, up to the maximum AP/IB credit limit for their entering class year. We may grant similar credit for the Israeli Bagrut. Each GCE A-level or A2-level grade is individually evaluated for college credit. No credit is given for O-level or AS-level examinations. Credit for other national exams or diplomas will be evaluated for college credit on a case-by-case basis.
Barnard’s policy on AP/IB credit varies depending on the year a student entered the College:
For students entering Barnard in fall 2019 and forward
Credit Limit: Maximum 16 credits
General education requirements: Students receive credit for AP/IB work (see chart below), but you cannot satisfy any General education requirements using AP/IB credit.
Class Placement & Exemptions: The AP/IB score can determine placement into Barnard class sequences and/or exemptions from course requirements.
Barnard’s policies on duplicate credit and placement will apply. Credit may be granted either for AP/IB or for the equivalent college course, but not for both. Students who take a college class considered to be equivalent to AP credit will forfeit their AP credit in that subject.
For example:
-A student with a score of 4 or 5 in a foreign language cannot receive credit for elementary or intermediate courses in that language.
-A student with AP credit for AP Calculus cannot receive credit for Calculus I.
(An exception: A student may receive credit for both AP Psychology and PSYC BC1001.)
Click here for details on the accepted scores for each subject.
For students entering Barnard in fall 2016 through spring 2019
Credit Limit: Maximum 30 credits
General education requirements: Students receive credit for AP/IB work (see chart below), but you cannot satisfy any General education requirements using AP/IB credit.
Class Placement & Exemptions: The AP/IB score can determine placement into Barnard class sequences and/or exemptions from course requirements.
Barnard’s policies on duplicate credit and placement will apply. Credit may be granted either for AP/IB or for the equivalent college course, but not for both. Students who take a college class considered to be equivalent to AP credit will forfeit their AP credit in that subject.
For example:
-A student with a score of 4 or 5 in a foreign language cannot receive credit for elementary or intermediate courses in that language.
-A student with AP credit for AP Calculus cannot receive credit for Calculus I.
(An exception: A student may receive credit for both AP Psychology and PSYC BC1001.)
Click here for details on the accepted scores for each subject.
For students entering Barnard prior to fall 2016
Credit Limit: Maximum 30 credits
General education requirements: In addition to earning credit, AP/IB work may make a student exempt from a general education requirement (see chart below).
Class Placement & Exemptions: The AP/IB score can determine placement into Barnard class sequences and/or exemptions from course requirements.
For example:
-A student with a score of 4 or 5 in a foreign language cannot receive credit for elementary or intermediate courses in that language.
-A student with AP credit for AP Calculus cannot receive credit for Calculus I.
(An exception: A student may receive credit for both AP Psychology and PSYC BC1001.)
Similarly, a student who entered before fall 2016 with AP credit for a science can use it for QR or toward lab science but not both.
Click here for details on the accepted scores for each subject.
Credit for College Work Prior to Barnard
Prior to Barnard: Please fill out the form below to request credit:
Credit for College Work Completed Prior to Admission to Barnard
Semester & Academic Year Study Abroad
Semester & Academic Year Study Abroad
In order to earn credit for the courses you take while studying abroad, you need to complete two steps:
- Before you go (or before registering for your courses abroad): Submit each course for approval using the Course Approval form in the Academics tab of myBarnard. See the “Course Approval Process” section of this page for instructions.
- When you return:
-Verify that each course was fully approved by the registrar’s office and/or department chair in myBarnard. If any approvals are pending, follow up with the appropriate person.
-Have your program or university send an official transcript to the Barnard Registrar’s Office no later than October 15 (if you studied abroad in the spring) or Feb 15 (if you studied abroad in the fall).
If you have questions about the process, email externalcredit@barnard.edu.
Summer Course Approval
Summer Course Approval
Credit for summer courses taken at other accredited institutions (including Columbia summer session) is treated as transfer credit and requires approval by your adviser and the Registrar’s Office.
The full regulations on summer credit are located on the Summer Course Approval form. Please note:
- All summer courses require approval, including all Columbia summer courses.
- Courses must meet for at least 35 hours and at least 5 weeks. In some exceptional circumstances, a 4-week course may be considered if it meets the 35-hour requirement.
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In general, Barnard does not grant credit for online courses. As an exception, we will consider courses taken online during the summer of 2020. These online courses must be synchronous, with regularly scheduled meetings times during which students and faculty meet, albeit remotely, for the requisite 35 hours per session.
- A maximum of 16 credits of summer coursework can be applied towards the degree. Students may take no more than 2 courses (totaling no more than 8 Barnard credits) in a single summer session.
- A class must earn at least 3 Barnard credits in order to satisfy general education (Foundations or Nine Ways), major, or minor requirements.
To receive credit for summer courses, fill out the Summer Course Approval form in advance, including information about the courses you wish to take, and obtain all necessary signatures. Submit the form to the Registrar’s Office at externalcredit@barnard.edu. Although we will accept retroactive applications for summer credit, you run the risk of being denied credit after taking the course.
Official transcripts for summer coursework are due to the Registrar’s Office by October 15. Credit will be transferred when we have received both the approved Summer Course Approval form and an official transcript (sent directly to the Registrar's Office by the institution attended) showing that the student completed the coursework with a grade of C- or higher. Some academic departments may have additional requirements.
Although a student may not receive degree credit for summer courses exceeding the 16-credit maximum, they may fulfill degree requirements with additional summer courses, subject to approval, and in some cases, subject to satisfactory performance on a Barnard placement examination.
Read about Columbia University Summer School.
**For Incoming First-Year students, summer classes are offered here through College Edge.
- To be credited toward the degree, courses must be given at accredited institutions.
- Courses should meet for at least 5 weeks and must meet for at least 35 hours. In some exceptional circumstances, a 4-week course may be considered if it meets the 35-hour requirement. No undergraduate lecture course that meets for under 35 hours will be approved.
- With the exception of classes taken in summer 2020, Barnard does not give credit for online courses.
- No more than 2 courses (for a total of no more than 8 credits) may be taken in a single summer session. (Some institutions may have more than one session in a summer.)
- Courses that earn fewer than 3 semester credits or 5 quarter credits will not be accepted in fulfillment of general education, major, or minor requirements. They may count toward the 122 (or 121 for transfers) points for the degree. (3 quarter points are equal to 2 semester points.)
- Credit will be given only for grades of C- or higher. P (Pass) is not acceptable.
- Summer course grades are not included in the Barnard grade point average but they will be included in the calculation for Latin honors.
- These courses and grades may be considered by graduate or professional schools, which normally require the submission of an applicant's transcripts from all the colleges attended.
No more than 16 semester points of summer session credit may be counted toward the degree.
- No credit will be given for a language course, whether or not taken to fulfill the requirement, if it is at the same level as a previously credited course.
- Prior approval for courses taken to satisfy the language requirement is at the discretion of the department, which may require a placement test in September.
- A minimum of 6 courses in the major must be taken in the autumn or spring terms while the student is enrolled at Barnard.
- Additional major courses may be taken in the summer if approved by the major adviser and the major department chair.
Summer session credit may not be counted in the minimum 60 points which must be completed at Barnard, or in the minimum of 6 courses which must be taken in the major while you are enrolled at Barnard.
- The Application for Approval of Summer Session Courses must include the appropriate signatures before being submitted to the Registrar's Office for approval by the committee.
- Catalogue descriptions of courses must be attached for evaluation.
- Documentation of summer session start and end dates and of the hours of class meetings must be attached to the Application.
- Columbia courses that do not require approvals in the fall or spring terms do not require course descriptions in summer. NOTE: All courses for major credit require approvals, including Columbia courses.
- Once a student files the application, she will normally receive notification of the Committee's action within three weeks.
A fee of $100 will be charged to the student's account when credit is applied toward the Barnard degree.