AP Biology credit at Illinois colleges
Every Illinois college with a published AP Biology credit policy — minimum score, credit hours, and the course it replaces.
Quick answer
76 of 89 Illinois colleges (85%) award credit for AP Biology at a score of 3. 12 require a 4 and 1 requires a 5. The lowest bar in the state is a 3 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (3 credit hours). 89 of these colleges link to their own policy page below. Captured July 30, 2026.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | Integrative Biology 100 | Policy | |
| 3 | 8 | BIOS 110, BIOS 120 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | BSC 101 | Policy | |
 DePaul University Chicago | 3 | 4 | BIO 191 | Policy |
| 3 | 4 | BIOS 103 & 105 | Policy | |
 College of Lake County Grayslake | 3 | 4 | BIO 161 | Policy |
 Joliet Junior College Joliet | 3 | 5 | BIO 151 or 104 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville | 3 | 3 | BIOL 111 | Policy |
 William Rainey Harper College Palatine | 3 | 4 | BIO 110 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale | 3 | 3 | PLB/ZOOL 115 | Policy |
 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills | 3 | 8 | BIO-111 and BIO-112 | Policy |
| 3 | 4 | BIO 108 | Policy | |
 Columbia College Chicago Chicago | 3 | 4 | BIOL 101 Introductory Biology | Policy |
 Triton College River Grove | 3 | 4 | BIS 100 or 101 | Policy |
 Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove | 3 | 3 | BIO 100 | Policy |
| 3 | 8 | Bot 200 & Zool 200 | Policy | |
ICC Illinois Central College East Peoria | 3 | 4 | BIOL 160 | Policy |
 Eastern Illinois University Charleston | 3 | 4 | BIO 1500 | Policy |
 Rock Valley College Rockford | 3 | 3 | BIO 103 | Policy |
 McHenry County College Crystal Lake | 3 | 8 | BIO-157 & BIO-158 | Policy |
 National Louis University Chicago | 3 | 5 | — | Policy |
 Aurora University Aurora | 3 | 4 | BIO1210/Z | Policy |
 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | BIO 100 | Policy | |
 Bradley University Peoria | 3 | 3 | Biology elective credit | Policy |
 Lewis University Romeoville | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Parkland College Champaign | 3 | — | BIO 100 | Policy |
 Saint Xavier University Chicago | 3 | 3 | BIOL 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 4 | BIOL 161 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | — | Policy | |
 Morton College Cicero | 3 | 10 | BIO 110 & BIO 111 | Policy |
 Roosevelt University Chicago | 3 | 3 | BIOL 1XX | Policy |
 Governors State University University Park | 3 | 4 | BIOL 2102, 2107 | Policy |
 Lake Land College Mattoon | 3 | 4 | BIO 100 | Policy |
 Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais | 3 | 3 | BIOL 105 | Policy |
 Prairie State College Chicago Heights | 3 | — | BIOL 111 | Policy |
 University of Illinois Springfield Springfield | 3 | 4 | BIO 141 | Policy |
 Dominican University River Forest | 3 | 4 | BIOL 111 | Policy |
 Black Hawk College Moline | 3 | 4 | BIOL 101 | Policy |
 John A Logan College Carterville | 3 | 4 | BIO 101 | Policy |
 South Suburban College South Holland | 3 | 4 | BIO 102 | Policy |
 Kankakee Community College Kankakee | 3 | 4 | BIOL 1514 | Policy |
IVCC | 3 | 4 | BIO 1001 | Policy |
 Kaskaskia College Centralia | 3 | 4 | BIOL 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | BIOL 1LS (QLS) | Policy | |
 Kishwaukee College Malta | 3 | 3 | BIO 103 | Policy |
 McKendree University Lebanon | 3 | 4 | Core Science with Lab | Policy |
 Moody Bible Institute Chicago | 3 | 6 | Math/Science or Critical Thinking Elective | Policy |
 Millikin University Decatur | 3 | 4 | BI102 | Policy |
 Chicago State University Chicago | 3 | 3 | BIOL 1070 or BIOL 1080 | Policy |
 Richland Community College Decatur | 3 | — | BIOL 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 4 | BIO 101 | Policy | |
DACC Danville Area Community College Danville | 3 | 4 | BIOL 101 | Policy |
 Concordia University-Chicago River Forest | 3 | 4 | BIO 2011 | Policy |
 University of St Francis Joliet | 3 | 3 | BIOL 124 | Policy |
| 3 | 5 | BIO 1101 | Policy | |
| 3 | 4 | BIO 103 | Policy | |
 Carl Sandburg College Galesburg | 3 | 4 | BIO 101 | Policy |
 Quincy University Quincy | 3 | 4 | BIO 111 | Policy |
 Rockford University Rockford | 3 | 3 | BIOL 199 | Policy |
 Highland Community College Freeport | 3 | 4 | BIOL 110 | Policy |
 Illinois College Jacksonville | 3 | 4 | BI 105 | Policy |
 Greenville University Greenville | 3 | 4 | BIOL 108 | Policy |
 Trinity Christian College Palos Heights | 3 | 3 | Biology 100 | Policy |
JU Judson University Elgin | 3 | 4 | A non-equivalent course that meets the natural science general education requirement | Policy |
 Spoon River College Canton | 3 | 4 | BIO105 | Policy |
 Monmouth College Monmouth | 3 | 4 | Scientific Inquiry/Lab Science | Policy |
| 3 | 4 | BIO 111 | Policy | |
 Southeastern Illinois College Harrisburg | 3 | 4 | BIOL 121 | Policy |
| 3 | 4 | LSC 1101 | Policy | |
 Wabash Valley College Mount Carmel | 3 | 4 | LSC 1101 | Policy |
 Lincoln Trail College Robinson | 3 | 4 | LSC 1101 | Policy |
 Principia College Elsah | 3 | 3 | EEM XXX | Policy |
FCC Frontier Community College Fairfield | 3 | 4 | LSC 1101 | Policy |
TIUI | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 VanderCook College of Music Chicago | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Loyola University Chicago Chicago | 4 | 8 | BIOL 101/111 and BIOL 102/112 | Policy |
 University of Chicago Chicago | 4 | 100 | BIOS 10130 | Policy |
| 4 | 3 | BIOL 107 or BIOL 105 | Policy | |
 Augustana College Rock Island | 4 | 4 | BIOL-101-AP | Policy |
NCC North Central College Naperville | 4 | 4 | BIOL Elective | Policy |
 Wheaton College Wheaton | 4 | 4 | BIOL 201 | Policy |
 North Park University Chicago | 4 | 6 | BIOL 1260 | Policy |
 Lake Forest College Lake Forest | 4 | 1.0 | Biology credit | Policy |
 Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington | 4 | 1 | Biology 100 level elective, LSI | Policy |
 Knox College Galesburg | 4 | 1 | BIOL 120 | Policy |
 Eureka College Eureka | 4 | 4 | BIO141, Principles of Biology I | Policy |
| 4 | 4 | — | Policy | |
 Northwestern University Evanston | 5 | 1 | BIOL_SCI 1XX | Policy |
AP Biology credit in other states
How we ranked this
One row per Illinois college: the lowest score that earns actual credit under the policy that applies to all students, and the largest credit award published at that score. Placement-only policies — permission to skip a course without earning credit hours — are excluded. Credit hours and course equivalents are reproduced exactly as the college published them; “—” means no value was published and we do not estimate one. A page is published for a state only when at least 8 colleges back it.
Frequently asked questions
Which Illinois colleges give credit for AP Biology?+
89 colleges in Illinois publish a credit-bearing policy for AP Biology. 76 of them (85%) award credit at a score of 3, 12 require a 4, and 1 requires a 5. The full list, with credit hours and the course each exam replaces, is in the table on this page.
What is the lowest AP Biology score that earns credit in Illinois?+
3. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign awards credit at a score of 3, worth 3 credit hours, counting as Integrative Biology 100. 76 Illinois colleges in total set their bar at a 3 or lower.
Does in-state residency change AP credit in Illinois?+
No. AP credit policy is set per institution and applies to admitted students regardless of residency — residency affects tuition rate, not credit awards. What does vary is the school within a university: engineering and nursing colleges commonly set higher bars than arts and sciences. The rules shown here are the ones that apply to all students at each college.
How do I verify these Illinois AP credit policies?+
89 of the 89 colleges on this page link to their own published AP credit page in the Source column; our snapshot was taken July 30, 2026. The college's page is authoritative and can change between admission cycles, so confirm there before building a graduation plan around the credit.
Keep exploring
Data sources: Each college's own published AP / advanced-standing credit page (captured July 30, 2026) · IPEDS institution directory (names, control, location). Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.