AP Biology credit at Massachusetts colleges
Every Massachusetts college with a published AP Biology credit policy — minimum score, credit hours, and the course it replaces.
Quick answer
37 of 65 Massachusetts colleges (57%) award credit for AP Biology at a score of 3. 24 require a 4 and 4 require a 5. The lowest bar in the state is a 3 at University of Massachusetts-Boston (0 credit hours). 64 of these colleges link to their own policy page below. Captured July 30, 2026.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 0 | Exempt from BIOL 111/112 | Policy | |
 Bridgewater State University Bridgewater | 3 | 8 | BIOL 100 & Biology Free Elective | Policy |
 Berklee College of Music Boston | 3 | 3 | LMSC 200 | Policy |
BHCC | 3 | 4 | BIO 105 | Policy |
 Quinsigamond Community College Worcester | 3 | 4 | BIO 107 | Policy |
 University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth North Dartmouth | 3 | 3 | BIO 800 | Policy |
 Middlesex Community College Bedford | 3 | 8 | BIO 121, BIO Elective | Policy |
| 3 | — | BIO121 and BIO122 | Policy | |
| 3 | 8 | BIO 101 & BIO 102 | Policy | |
 Merrimack College North Andover | 3 | 4 | STEM0051 | Policy |
 Springfield Technical Community College Springfield | 3 | 8 | BIO-101/L & BIO 102/L | Policy |
 Worcester State University Worcester | 3 | 6 | Biology, no specific classes; LASC NSP credit | Policy |
 Westfield State University Westfield | 3 | 8 | BIOL 0104 & BIOL 0106 | Policy |
 Northern Essex Community College Haverhill | 3 | 8 | BIO111 and BIO112 | Policy |
 Holyoke Community College Holyoke | 3 | 8 | BIO 101/107 | Policy |
 Massachusetts Bay Community College Wellesley Hills | 3 | 8 | BI 101 & 102 | Policy |
 Fitchburg State University Fitchburg | 3 | 4 | BIOL 1800 | Policy |
 Framingham State University Framingham | 3 | 4 | BIOL 1TR | Policy |
MWCC | 3 | 4 | BIO 109 | Policy |
 Western New England University Springfield | 3 | 3 | BIO 101 | Policy |
 Stonehill College Easton | 3 | 3 | BIO 800 Biology Elective | Policy |
 Cape Cod Community College West Barnstable | 3 | 4 | BIO109 | Policy |
 Springfield College Springfield | 3 | 4 | BIOL 101 BIOL 102 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | — | Policy | |
 Roxbury Community College Roxbury Crossing | 3 | 8 | SCI 103 + SCI 104 | — |
 Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay | 3 | 3.5 | MS-2221 | Policy |
 Gordon College Wenham | 3 | 4 | Free elective | Policy |
 Greenfield Community College Greenfield | 3 | 8 | BIO 126 & 127 | Policy |
 Bay Path University Longmeadow | 3 | 8 | BIO 110/111, BIO 110L/111L, BIO 112 & BIO 112L | Policy |
 Lasell University Newton | 3 | 6 | BIO101 and BIO102 | Policy |
 Nichols College Dudley | 3 | 3 | ESCI 200 Lab Science Elective (3 cr) | Policy |
 Dean College Franklin | 3 | 4 | BIO-151 | Policy |
 Berkshire Community College Pittsfield | 3 | 8 | BIO-101 BIO-102 | Policy |
AIC American International College Springfield | 3 | 8 | BIO1400/01- Biology II BIO1500/01- Biology II | Policy |
 Regis College Weston | 3 | — | BI - 103 | Policy |
 Anna Maria College Paxton | 3 | 4 | BIO 103 | Policy |
 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts North Adams | 3 | 4 | BIOL 150 - Introduction to Biology | Policy |
| 4 | 4 | Biology 110 | Policy | |
 Boston University Boston | 4 | 4 | CAS BI 105 or CAS BI 107 or CAS BI 108 or CGS NS 201 | Policy |
 Northeastern University Boston | 4 | 10 | BIOL1111/1112 & BIOL1113/1114 | Policy |
| 4 | 8 | BIOL.1110, BIOL.1170L, BIOL.1120, BIOL.1180L | Policy | |
 Boston College Chestnut Hill | 4 | 6 | 2 Natural Science Core | Policy |
 Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester | 4 | 3 | BB 1000 | Policy |
 Bristol Community College Fall River | 4 | 4 | BIO 121 | Policy |
 Suffolk University Boston | 4 | 4 | BIO 111, L111 | Policy |
 Bentley University Waltham | 4 | 3 | NAS 1123 | Policy |
 Emerson College Boston | 4 | 4 | Scientific Perspective | Policy |
 Massasoit Community College Brockton | 4 | — | BIOL 140 | Policy |
| 4 | 4 | BIOL1100 | Policy | |
 Endicott College Beverly | 4 | 4 | BIO 102/102L | Policy |
 College of the Holy Cross Worcester | 4 | 1 | — | Policy |
 Babson College Wellesley | 4 | 4 | NST1050 | Policy |
 Smith College Northampton | 4 | 4 | BIO 130 or 132 | Policy |
 Clark University Worcester | 4 | 4 | BIOL 102: Introduction to Biology II | Policy |
 Mount Holyoke College South Hadley | 4 | 4 | — | Policy |
 Emmanuel College Boston | 4 | 4 | BIOL 1101 (NSL) | Policy |
| 4 | 4 | BIO 100 | Policy | |
 Assumption University Worcester | 4 | 4 | BIO-160 | Policy |
 Lesley University Cambridge | 4 | 4 | CBIOL 1101 | Policy |
NECM | 4 | 2 | — | Policy |
 Montserrat College of Art Beverly | 4 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Tufts University Medford | 5 | 5 | BIO 13 & 15 or BIO 14 | Policy |
 Brandeis University Waltham | 5 | 4 | BIOL 15b | Policy |
 Wellesley College Wellesley | 5 | 1 | — | Policy |
 Amherst College Amherst | 5 | — | BIOL 191 | Policy |
AP Biology credit in other states
How we ranked this
One row per Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts colleges give credit for AP Biology?+
65 colleges in Massachusetts publish a credit-bearing policy for AP Biology. 37 of them (57%) award credit at a score of 3, 24 require a 4, and 4 require 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 Massachusetts?+
3. University of Massachusetts-Boston in Boston awards credit at a score of 3, worth 0 credit hours, counting as Exempt from BIOL 111/112. 37 Massachusetts colleges in total set their bar at a 3 or lower.
Does in-state residency change AP credit in Massachusetts?+
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 Massachusetts AP credit policies?+
64 of the 65 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.