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. For students who did not complete the full IB diploma, credit may be granted for individual Higher Level scores only. (No credit for Subsidiary Level.) Incoming students should have their official diploma or exam scores sent to the Barnard Registrar’s Office by the examiner of record.
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.
For example:
-A student with AP credit for Art History cannot also receive credit for AHIS BC1001.
-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.
For example:
-A student with AP credit for Art History cannot also receive credit for AHIS BC1001.
-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 AP credit for Art History cannot also receive credit for AHIS BC1001.
-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
The granting of credit for summer courses taken at other accredited institutions (including Columbia summer session) is treated as transfer credit and is subject to some additional regulations. A maximum of 16 course credits of summer points can be applied toward the degree, subject to approval. Although a student may not receive degree credit for summer courses exceeding this 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.
The full regulations on credit for summer study are available at the Office of the Registrar on the Application for Approval of Summer Session Courses. Students may learn in advance whether the summer courses they wish to take in summer school will be approved, by completing the form (which includes obtaining written approvals) and submitting it to the Office of the Registrar well before the end of the Spring term. Although the application may also be retroactive, the student is at risk of being denied degree credit if they fail to receive prior written approval. Download the Application for Approval of Summer Session Courses.
The Registrar's Office will apply credit to the student's transcript when we have on file both the approved Application 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.
Read about Columbia University Summer School.
- 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. If your proposed course does not meet these criteria, you must file the Summer Petition. No undergraduate lecture course that meets for under 35 hours will be approved. Barnard does not give credit for online courses.
- No more than two courses for a total of no more than eight points may be taken in a single summer session of no less than 5 weeks. (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 College 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.