Credits & Grades

The regulations published in the Undergraduate Catalog are a digest of the rules of the institution. Changes may be made in the regulations at any time to promote the best interests of the university and its students. Students are responsible for knowing the published regulations, policies, and standards of the university and of their college or school.

Credit by Examination

A student may be granted college-level credit for the following types of learning, examinations, or experiences:

• Advanced Placement
• Cambridge International
• College Level Examination Program
• International Baccalaureate

The total number of hours one may earn through credit by examination is no more than half of the total hours required for the degree program. The grade of Z is granted for these credits. The credits will be posted to a student’s academic record upon enrollment.

Advanced Placement (AP)

Students who participate in the College Entrance Examination Board Advanced Placement Program offered through their high school, and who earn appropriate scores on the AP examination, will receive the following academic credit:

Cambridge International

Cambridge International Examinations (CIE) offers many subjects at both the Advanced Subsidiary (AS) level and the Advanced (A) level, with credit given at UM as indicated in the table below.

*If the optional statistics portion of the course is completed, then student should contact the Department of Mathematics. In no case will a student earn more than 9 hours of credit for Further Mathematics Exam.

**If the optional statistics portion of the course is completed, then student should contact the Department of Mathematics. In no case will a student earn more than 6 hours of credit for Mathematics A Level Exam.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

Receiving CLEP credit in a specific degree program requires the approval of the dean and department chair concerned prior to taking the examination.

Students who earn appropriate scores on selected CLEP examinations will receive the following academic credit:

* Credit is granted in chemistry only if the student also submits a passing score on the American Chemical Society Test administered by the university’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. No credit is granted for chemistry lab courses.

International Baccalaureate (IB) Credit

The University of Mississippi accepts credit by examination from the International Baccalaureate program as indicated in the following table:

As students present transcripts for other International Baccalaureate courses taken at the Higher Level (HL), then the appropriate department will review the course/exam and decide the appropriate University of Mississippi credit.

Advanced Standing Examination

An advanced standing examination is one taken by a student who has had the equivalent of the course under competent instruction but cannot secure credit by transcript. An Application for Special Examination Form, provided by the registrar, must be approved by the instructor giving the examination and the student’s academic dean. A fee is assessed for an advanced standing examination.

No more than 6 semester hours may be credited through advanced standing examinations. Credit by examination will not be given on work completed in high school (except for the Advanced Placement Program), or on work in excess of 65 semester hours transferred from a junior college. If a student enters a more advanced course in the subject, the advanced standing examination should precede registration for the course, and in no case may the examination be given for credit later than three weeks after entering the more advanced course.

Credit for Educational Experiences in the Armed Forces

Credit toward a degree may be granted to those students who submit to the Office of Admissions a certified copy of either D.D. Form 295 or D.D. Form 214, which indicates an honorable discharge and a period of continuous active duty for at least 90 days. Four semester hours in one of the university ROTC programs, or as physical education or elective credit, will be granted for basic training or its equivalent. Upon successful completion of 18 months with the Army National Guard/Active Army Reserve, an additional 6 hours will be awarded in the Army ROTC program. An additional 12 semester hours of credit in one of the ROTC programs may be granted to students who earned a commission while in service. Additional credit for training in formal service schools will be granted on the basis of recommendations published in Guide to the Evaluation of Educational Experiences in the Armed Services or the recommendations of the Commission on Accreditation of Service Experiences to the extent that the recommended credit can be evaluated as equivalent to a specific university course. The maximum credit allowed from these sources is 40 semester hours.

Credit also may be granted for correspondence courses completed through a United States Armed Forces Institute program up to the maximum of 33 semester hours for credit from all correspondence courses. Credit is not granted for correspondence courses administered by the armed services.