The University of South Carolina Aiken awards credit for:
- AP (Advanced Placement courses - offered through the College Board)
- IB Program (International Baccalaureate)
- CLEP (College Level Examination Program - offered through the College Board)
- Institutional Challenge Exams
- Educational Experiences in the Military.
For additional information about any of these programs, contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken SC, 29801, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Additionally, Transfer students can be given credit for their previous college work.
Advanced Placement
The University of South Carolina Aiken supports the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program, which allows high school students the opportunity to pursue college-level courses in their own schools and to be taught the material by their own teachers. After completion of the AP courses, students take the appropriate AP test to determine their level of achievement.
Credit is awarded for AP scores in the following areas:
| Test Name | AP Score 3 | AP Score 4 | AP Score 5 | |
| Art 2D Design | ARTS A103 | ARTS A103 | ARTS A103 | |
| Art 3D Design | ARTS A103 | ARTS A103 | ARTS A103 | |
| Art Drawing | ARTS A111 | ARTS A111 | ARTS A111 | |
| Art History | ARTH A105 | ARTH A105 | ARTH A105 | |
| Biology | BIOL A121 or A122 | BIOL A121 and A122 | BIOL A121 and A122 | |
| Calculus AB | MATH A141 | MATH A141 | MATH A141 | |
| Calculus AB Subscore | MATH A141 | MATH A141 | MATH A141 | |
| Calculus BC | MATH A141 and A142 | MATH A141 and A142 | MATH A141 and A142 | |
| Chemistry | CHEM A111 | CHEM A111 and A112 | CHEM A111 and A112 | |
| Computer Science A | CSCI A145 | CSCI A145 | CSCI A145 | |
| Computer Science Principles | CSCI A101 | CSCI A101 | CSCI A101 | |
| English Lang/Comp | ENGL A101 | ENGL A101 | ENGL A101 and A102 | |
| English Lit/Comp* | ENGL A101 | ENGL A101 | ENGL A101 and A102 | |
| Environmental Science | BIOL A106 | BIOL A106 and GEOL A103 | BIOL A106 and GEOL A103 | |
| European History | HIST A102 | HIST A102 | HIST A101 and A102 | |
| French Language | FREN A101 | FREN A101 and A102 | FREN A101 and A102 | |
| German Language | GERM A101 | GERM A101 and A102 | GERM A101 and A102 | |
| Govern & Poli-Comparative | ||||
| Govern & Poli-US | POLI A201 | POLI A201 | POLI A201 | |
| Human Geography | GEOG A103 | GEOG A103 | GEOG A103 | |
| Italian Language | ITAL A101 | ITAL A101 and ITAL A102 | ITAL A101 and ITAL A102 | |
| Latin | LATN A101 | LATN A101 and A102 | LATN A101 and A102 | |
| Macroeconomics | ECON A221 | ECON A221 | ECON A221 | |
| Microeconomics | ECON A222 | ECON A222 | ECON A222 | |
| Music Aural Subscore | ||||
| Music Nonaural Subscore | ||||
| Music Theory | MUSC A196 | MUSC A196 and MUSC A198 | MUSC A196, A198 and A296 | |
| Physics C-E&M | PHYS A202 | PHYS A212 | PHYS A212 | |
| Physics C-Mech | PHYS A201 | PHYS A211 | PHYS A211 | |
| Physics I | PHYS A201 | PHYS A201 | PHYS A201 | |
| Physics II | PHYS A202 | PHYS A202 | PHYS A202 | |
| Psychology | PSYC A101 | PSYC A101 | PSYC A101 | |
| Spanish Language | SPAN A101 | SPAN A101 and A102 | SPAN A101 and A102 | |
| Statistics | STAT A201 | STAT A201 | STAT A201 | |
| United States History | HIST A201 | HIST A201 | HIST A201 and A202 | |
| World History | HIST A101 | HIST A101 | HIST A101 and A102 |
IB (International Baccalaureate) Credit
The University of South Carolina Aiken recognizes the academic challenge inherent in the IB Program and encourages students who have completed the IB diploma to apply. IB graduates who score well (4-7) on their Higher Level exams will be awarded college credit as determined by the academic departments. No credit is awarded for subjects passed at the Subsidiary level of IB, nor for scores below 4 on the higher level exams.
IB credit is awarded for IB higher-level examination scores in the following areas:
| Test Name | IB Score 4 | IB Score 5 | IB Score 6 or 7 | |
| IB Biology | BIOL A121 | BIOL A121 and A122 | BIOL A121 and A122 | |
| IB Business and Mgmt. | BADM A371 | BADM 371 and MGMT 376 | BADM 371 and MGMT 376 | |
| IB Chemistry | CHEM A111 | CHEM A111 and A112 | CHEM A111 and A112 | |
| IB Computing Studies | CSCI A145 | CSCI A145 and A146 | CSCI A145 and A146 | |
| IB Economics | ECON A221 | ECON A221 | ECON A221 | |
| IB English 1A | ENGL A101 | ENGL A101 and A102 | ENGL A101 and A102 | |
| IB European History | HIST A102 | HIST A102 | HIST A102 | |
| IB French B | FREN A101 and A102 | FREN A101 and A102 | FREN A210 | |
| IB Geography | GEOG A103 | GEOG A103 | GEOG A103 | |
| IB German B | GERM A101 and A102 | GERM A101 and A102 | GERM A210 | |
| IB History of Africa/ME | No Equivalent | HSSI A002T (Non-West) | HSSI A002T (Non-West) | |
| IB History of Asia | No Equivalent | HSSI A002T (Non-West) | HSSI A002T (Non-West) | |
| IB Latin B | LATN A101 and A102 | LATN A101 and A102 | LATN 210 | |
| IB Math | MATH A141 | MATH A141 and A142 | MATH A141 and A142 | |
| IB Music | MUSC A173 | MUSC A173 | MUSC A173 | |
| IB Physics | PHYS A201 | PHYS A201 and A202 | PHYS A201 and A202 | |
| IB Psychology | PSYC A101 | PSYC A101 | PSYC A101 | |
| IB Social Anthropology | ANTH A102 | ANTH A102 | ANTH A102 | |
| IB Spanish B | SPAN A101 and A102 | SPAN A101 and A102 | SPAN A210 | |
| Visual Arts | No Equivalent | ARTS A103 | ARTS A103 |
CLEP Credit
The University awards credit by examination for CLEP SUBJECT exams only. By attaining an acceptable score, a student may receive credit equal to that normally earned in the comparable University course.
CLEP credit is awarded for CLEP subject examination scores in the following areas:
| Test Name | Equivalent Course | Minimum Score |
| CLEP Financial Accounting | BADM A225 Financial Accounting | 55 |
| CLEP Business Law | BADM A324 Commercial Law | 50 |
| CLEP Information Systems | BADM A390 Business Information Mgmt | 50 |
| CLEP Macroeconomics | ECON A221 Principles of Macroeconomics | 50 |
| CLEP Microeconomics | ECON A222 Principles of Microeconomics | 50 |
| CLEP Management | BADM A371 Principles of Management | 50 |
| CLEP Marketing | BADM A350 Principles of Marketing | 50 |
| CLEP American Government | POLI A201 American National Government | 50 |
| CLEP US History I | HIST A201 History of the US TO 1865 | 50 |
| CLEP US History II | HIST A202 History of the US Since 1865 | 50 |
| CLEP Western Civilizations I | HIST A101 World Civilization up to 1750 | 50 |
| CLEP Western Civilizations II | HIST A102 World Civilization Since 1750 | 50 |
| CLEP Analyz & Interp Lit | ENGL A102 Composition and Literature | 57 + essay |
| CLEP College Composition | ENGL A101 Composition | 51 + essay |
| CLEP American Literature | ENGL A285 Survey of American Literature II | 57 + essay |
| CLEP English Literature | ENGL A289 Survey of British Literature II | 57 + essay |
| CLEP Biology | BIOL A121 | 50 |
| CLEP Biology | BIOL A121 and BIOL A122 | 56 |
| CLEP Chemistry | CHEM A111 General Chemistry I | 50 |
| CLEP College Algebra | MATH A108 Applied College Algebra | 50 |
| CLEP Precalculus | MATH A111 Precalculus Math I | 50 |
| CLEP Calculus | MATH A141 Calculus I | 47 |
| CLEP Psychology | PSYC A101 Introductory Psychology | 50 |
| CLEP Sociology | SOCY A101 Introductory Sociology | 50 |
Institutional Challenge Exams
In some disciplines students may receive credit for a course by requesting and earning a B or better on a challenge exam. Departments and Schools determine which of their courses may be challenged and the number of challenge exams that may be applied to major course requirements. Department chairs/school heads should be consulted concerning individual unit guidelines.
Educational Experiences in the Military
USC Aiken recognizes the educational experiences and training that members of the armed forces receive during their time of enlistment. Academic credit may be awarded for educational experiences in the military if they are in accordance with recommendations published by the American Council on Education (ACE) and are consistent with University policy on transfer of credit. Credit will be applied to a degree program upon the approval of the Department Chair or School Head from which the degree is to be awarded.
Transferable Credit from Other Colleges
Transfer students are given credit for their previous college work by means of a Transfer Credit Summary, prepared by the Office of Admissions. Students can expect to receive their Transfer Credit Summary 2-4 weeks after they have been admitted.
Each course will be evaluated by the appropriate department chair/dean to determine whether to award credit towards the student's major. In general, transfer credit is awarded when:
- earned at a school accredited by a regional accrediting association;
- a grade of C or higher is earned;
- course content is similar to the corresponding course at USC Aiken
- the course completes requirements in the general education or elective areas.
Although a course may be transferable, it may not necessarily apply to all majors, programs, or degrees. For additional information, please contact the Office of Admissions.
Transfer from Technical Colleges
USC Aiken subscribes fully to the statewide policy on Transfer from Technical College (a copy of this policy can be found on the USC Aiken website). Any questions are welcome, so please feel free to contact the USC Aiken Office of Admissions.