Advanced Coursework

The UW Bothell encourages and applauds students who have chosen to take advanced courses as part of their high school curriculum. These courses are challenging and demanding, and we believe they provide excellent preparation for university study.

Advanced Placement (AP) Policies

Submitting Your Scores

The easiest way to ensure that the UW receives your AP scores is to name us as a recipient when you sign up for exam(s). You can use this procedure even if you take the exam as a junior in high school; the UW will keep your scores until your senior year. If you do not name the UW as a recipient when you take your exam, just contact the College Board and request that scores be sent to the UW Office of Admissions. When you are admitted to the UW, you may be eligible for UW credit; if so, information about courses and credit awards will be accessible to you via MyUW. To ensure that your AP scores match up with your UW academic record, be sure to identify your name, date of birth, and Social Security Number with the College Board in the exact same way you identify, or expect to identify, yourself on your UW application.

AP Credit Policies

College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams are scored on a scale of 1 – 5. At UW Bothell, scores of 3 or higher are considered for college credit awards or placement into UW courses. For exams where departmental equivalencies are not awarded for a score of 3, UW general elective credit may be granted at the request of the student; contact the Admissions Office for more information.

Click here for necessary AP scores to receive departmental credit at UW Bothell.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Policies

Policy Overview

In most cases, five quarter credits (or more) are granted for Higher Level subjects in which a grade of 5 or higher is earned. Students who earn an IB diploma may be awarded up to 45 quarter credits for a combination of subject grades and 15 general education credits distributed equally among the three Areas of Knowledge (general education): Visual, Literary and Performing Arts (VLPA), Individuals and Societies (I&S), and The Natural World (NW). No credit is awarded for Standard Level subject grades. Consult the IB Table for more detailed information about credit awards in particular disciplines.

A maximum of 45 quarter credits may be awarded for IB.

The University is in the process of conducting a review of Higher Level exams for grades of 4, along with a comprehensive review of Standard Level (SL) subjects to determine credit award policies for exams with grades of 4 or higher.

Submitting Your IB Transcript

The easiest way to ensure that the UW Bothell receives your IB transcript is to name the UW Bothell as a recipient when you sign up for IB program exam(s). If you do not name the UW Bothell as a recipient when you take your exam, contact the IB Organization to request that an official IB transcript be sent directly to the UW Bothell Admissions Office.

When you are admitted to the UW Bothell, you may be eligible for UW course credit; if so, the courses and credits awarded will be accessible to you via MyUW. Duplicate credit for the same subject taken on different exams like A-level, AS-level, AP or IB will not be granted.

Click here for required IB scores to receive college credit at UW Bothell.

A-Level & AS-Level Exam Policies

Policy Overview

In general, up to 15 quarter credits will be granted for each A-level exam with a passing grade. Up to 7.5 quarter credits will be granted for each AS-level exam with a passing grade. All AS-level exams receiving college credit will be assigned 1XX general elective credit in the academic subject area of the exam. No UW equivalencies will be assigned for AS-level exams. No more than 45 quarter credits (one year) from all A-level and AS-level exams may be applied towards a UW Bothell degree.

General elective credits in the subject area will be awarded unless the discipline’s academic department has previously approved UW Bothell course equivalencies. General elective credits may be applied towards the Areas of Knowledge (general education) graduation requirements. If UW Bothell equivalent courses are needed for a specific major, students will need to consult the academic department once they arrive on campus to have them evaluate the syllabus/content of the A-level or AS-level exam.

No grades are posted for A-level or AS-level exams.

Duplicate credit for the same subject taken on different exams like A-level, AS-level, AP or IB will not be granted.

Advanced credit policies are reviewed on a regular basis and are subject to change.

Submitting A-Level or AS-Level Exams for Credit

The UW Bothell will only award credit once the official A-level or AS-level exam certificate has been issued. Preliminary results, Statement of Results and unofficial photocopies cannot be used to grant credit. Official certificates for exams taken in June are generally issued in October.

Once you have received your official A-level or AS-level exam certificate, either have your school make an official photocopy of the original by stamping the copy as official or submit the original exam certificate to the Office of Admissions.

Once an official copy of the final exam certificate is received, the Office of Admissions will post credit to your student record. Information about courses and credits awarded will be accessible via MyUW on your unofficial UW Bothell transcript. Please allow 2-4 weeks for exam certificates to be processed and credit posted.

Click here for required A-Level or AS-Level scores to receive college credit at UW Bothell.

Note: Any document submitted to the Office of Admissions to supplement the application becomes part of the official admissions record and cannot be released back to the student.