AP Research credit: what score you need
The minimum qualifying score, credit hours and course equivalent at 641 colleges that publish an AP Research policy.
Quick answer
542 of 641 colleges (85%) award credit for AP Research at a score of 3. 95 require a 4 and 4 require a 5. The most commonly awarded amount is 3 credit hours. Each row below links to the college’s own published policy page. Data captured July 30, 2026.
Placement is not credit
A further 2 colleges publish an AP Research policy that grants placement only — you may skip the introductory course, but you earn no credit hours toward the degree and the cost of those hours does not go away. Those colleges are deliberately excluded from the counts above.
Colleges that award credit for AP Research
Showing 120 of 641 colleges, lowest qualifying score first. Narrow by state below for the full list in your state.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, New Hampshire | 3 | 3 | IDS Elective | Policy |
 Arizona State University Campus Immersion Tempe, Arizona | 3 | 3 | Elective | Policy |
 Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, Texas | 3 | — | See academic Advisor | Policy |
 University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida | 3 | — | IDS 1911 | Policy |
 Liberty University Lynchburg, Virginia | 3 | 3 | ASCS 1XX Academic Success Elect-Lower Level | Policy |
 University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, Maryland | 3 | 3 | WRTG 391 | Policy |
 Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, Ohio | 3 | 3 | COMSTD SPL | Policy |
 University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona | 3 | 3 | Elective Credit | Policy |
 Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, Indiana | 3 | — | UND 1XXXX | Policy |
 Florida International University Miami, Florida | 3 | 3 | GRW UCC1 | Policy |
 Houston Community College Houston, Texas | 3 | — | — | Policy |
 University of Houston Houston, Texas | 3 | 3 | Non-core Social Science elective hours | Policy |
 University of South Florida Tampa, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS 1930 | Policy |
 University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | GEN ELCT X10 | Policy |
 Valencia College Orlando, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS 2930 | Policy |
 Miami Dade College Miami, Florida | 3 | 3 | TNFR 9902 | Policy |
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, Illinois | 3 | 3 | LAS 1-- | Policy |
 Texas State University San Marcos, Texas | 3 | 2 | Honors Elective (non-advanced) | Policy |
 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS L000 | Policy |
 San Diego State University San Diego, California | 3 | 3 | GEN S 299 | Policy |
 Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS **** | Policy |
 University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, Washington | 3 | 5 | UW 115 | Policy |
 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia | 3 | 3 | VT 1XXX(ELECTIVE) | Policy |
 University of Maryland-College Park College Park, Maryland | 3 | 3 | Lower Level Elective | Policy |
 The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, Texas | 3 | 3 | WRC 1013 | Policy |
 University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, Ohio | 3 | 3 | INTR 1000BLOCK | Policy |
 University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, South Carolina | 3 | 3 | UNEL 002T | Policy |
 California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, California | 3 | 6 | — | Policy |
 George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia | 3 | 3 | GENL Elective | Policy |
 California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, California | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada | 3 | 3 | General Elective | Policy |
 Ashford University San Diego, California | 3 | 3 | WRITTEN COMMUNICATION I CORE COMPETENCY; OR INFORMATION LITERACY CORE COMPETENCY | Policy |
 University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina | 3 | 3 | General Elective | Policy |
 Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS 1930 | Policy |
 University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky | 3 | 3 | GEED 1-- | Policy |
 University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, Missouri | 3 | 3 | Misc Elec 1 | Policy |
 Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, Arizona | 3 | 3 | Elective Credit | Policy |
 Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina | 3 | 3 | ELEC 0001 | Policy |
 University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, Illinois | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Washington State University Pullman, Washington | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California | 3 | 5 | Elective Units. Once Seminar has been taken and passed. | Policy |
 University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, Oklahoma | 3 | 3 | UNIV 1999 | Policy |
 California State University-Fresno Fresno, California | 3 | 3 | ENGL 10 | Policy |
 Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, Oklahoma | 3 | 3 | A&S 2000 | Policy |
 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia | 3 | 3 | UNIV 200 | Policy |
 The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina | 3 | 3 | ZELE 1XXX (Elective) | Policy |
 University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas | 3 | 3 | LA&S U | Policy |
 Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina | 3 | 3 | Elective Credit | Policy |
 Kent State University at Kent Kent, Ohio | 3 | 3 | TRAN2X000 | Policy |
 Grand Valley State University Allendale, Michigan | 3 | 3 | IDS 180 | Policy |
 University of Mississippi University, Mississippi | 3 | 3 | US 102 | Policy |
 University of Delaware Newark, Delaware | 3 | 3 | UNIV 166T | Policy |
 St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS XXXX | Policy |
 Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, Ohio | 3 | 3 | UNIV 1XXL | Policy |
 Illinois State University Normal, Illinois | 3 | 3 | Elective | Policy |
 University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California | 3 | 0 | — | Policy |
 Florida State College at Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDSXXXX | Policy |
 West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia | 3 | 2 | HONR 297 | Policy |
 Montclair State University Montclair, New Jersey | 3 | 3 | TRNS FE1 | Policy |
 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Boise State University Boise, Idaho | 3 | 3 | GENED 100XF | Policy |
CBMC CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College New York, New York | 3 | — | — | Policy |
 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | Free Elective | Policy |
 University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, New Mexico | 3 | 3 | HNRS 2980 | Policy |
 CUNY Hunter College New York, New York | 3 | 1 | LIBR 10000 | Policy |
 Towson University Towson, Maryland | 3 | 3 | TSEM 102 (Students must take both AP Research and AP Seminar exams to receive credit) | Policy |
 Miami University-Oxford Oxford, Ohio | 3 | 3 | UNV 172 | Policy |
 University of Nevada-Reno Reno, Nevada | 3 | 3 | Lower-division elective credit | Policy |
 Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan | 3 | 3 | GEN 1000 ELECTIVE | Policy |
 Baylor University Waco, Texas | 3 | 3 | ELE 1000 | Policy |
 Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas | 3 | 3 | General Elective 100-level credit | Policy |
 Rowan University Glassboro, New Jersey | 3 | 3 | INTR 99070 | Policy |
SCAD Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, Georgia | 3 | — | Social/behavioral science requirement or general education or free elective | Policy |
 Binghamton University Vestal, New York | 3 | 4 | Elective credit | Policy |
 University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii | 3 | 3 | ENG ELEC | Policy |
 University of Louisville Louisville, Kentucky | 3 | 3 | UNIV 200X | Policy |
 University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, North Carolina | 3 | 3 | Information Literacy | Policy |
 Suffolk County Community College Selden, New York | 3 | 3 | Liberal Arts and Sciences Elective | Policy |
 West Chester University of Pennsylvania West Chester, Pennsylvania | 3 | 3 | TRN 199 (elective credit) | Policy |
 University of North Florida Jacksonville, Florida | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 University of Rhode Island Kingston, Rhode Island | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, Florida | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Portland State University Portland, Oregon | 3 | 2 | GEN LD | Policy |
 Western Washington University Bellingham, Washington | 3 | 3 | General electives | Policy |
 Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester, New York | 3 | 3 | Free 100 - Free Elective Credit | Policy |
 CUNY New York City College of Technology Brooklyn, New York | 3 | 3 | 3-credit elective; see Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences for research area evaluation if credit for a specific 3- to 5-credit liberal arts course is sought | Policy |
 University of Houston-Downtown Houston, Texas | 3 | 3 | SOS 1XXX | Policy |
 California State University-Dominguez Hills Carson, California | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Cuyahoga Community College District Cleveland, Ohio | 3 | 3 | General Elective (Other) | Policy |
 Sinclair Community College Dayton, Ohio | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Oakland University Rochester Hills, Michigan | 3 | 4 | Transfer Elective Credit | Policy |
 Western Kentucky University Bowling Green, Kentucky | 3 | 3 | Lower Level Elective | Policy |
 Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green, Ohio | 3 | 3 | HNRS 1XXX | Policy |
 University at Albany Albany, New York | 3 | 3 | ACAS E10 | Policy |
 CUNY City College New York, New York | 3 | 3 | HUM 99902: Elective Credit Liberal Arts | Policy |
 Seminole State College of Florida Sanford, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS 1000 | Policy |
 Oakland Community College Auburn Hills, Michigan | 3 | 3 | ENG ELEC | Policy |
 Eastern Kentucky University Richmond, Kentucky | 3 | 3 | ENG 102 or ENG Elective at 200 level, if credit for ENG 102 exists | Policy |
 Indian River State College Fort Pierce, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS XXXX | Policy |
 New Mexico State University-Main Campus Las Cruces, New Mexico | 3 | 3 | HNRS 2980 | Policy |
 CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice New York, New York | 3 | 3 | SSC elective | Policy |
 Northern Illinois University Dekalb, Illinois | 3 | 3 | General Elective | Policy |
 University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham, New Hampshire | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
 Santa Fe College Gainesville, Florida | 3 | — | — | Policy |
 Nassau Community College Garden City, New York | 3 | 3 | HUM 999 | Policy |
 Eastern Michigan University Ypsilanti, Michigan | 3 | 3 | General Credit | Policy |
 Florida SouthWestern State College Fort Myers, Florida | 3 | 3 | IDS | Policy |
 CUNY LaGuardia Community College Long Island City, New York | 3 | 6 | ELEC 1000 | Policy |
 Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, Michigan | 3 | 3 | OPN 999 | Policy |
 Wichita State University Wichita, Kansas | 3 | 3 | English 102 | Policy |
CBC CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn, New York | 3 | 6 | ELEC-1000 | Policy |
 CUNY Lehman College Bronx, New York | 3 | 3 | HUM-1000 | Policy |
 University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, Maryland | 3 | 3 | Lower-level elective | Policy |
 College of Charleston Charleston, South Carolina | 3 | 3 | ENGL 1EE | Policy |
 University of Toledo Toledo, Ohio | 3 | 3 | General Elective | Policy |
GCC Glendale Community College Glendale, Arizona | 3 | 3 | Elective | Policy |
 Eastern Florida State College Melbourne, Florida | 3 | — | IDS 2XXX | Policy |
 The University of Tampa Tampa, Florida | 3 | 4 | UT TR | Policy |
 Troy University Troy, Alabama | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
AP Research credit by state
How we ranked this
One row per 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 are excluded and counted separately above. Where a college publishes only a major-specific rule, we do not promote it to a school-wide minimum. Credit hours and course equivalents are reproduced as the college published them; “—” means the college published no value for that field. Colleges are ordered by minimum score, then by enrolment, so the easiest routes to credit appear first — this is not a quality ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What AP Research score do you need for college credit?+
Of the 641 colleges with a published AP Research credit policy, 542 (85%) award credit at a score of 3, 95 require a 4, and 4 require a 5. There is no single national threshold — the requirement is set by each college, so check the table on this page for the schools on your list.
How many college credits is AP Research worth?+
The most commonly published award is 3 credit hours, but it varies by college and by the score earned — several colleges award more hours for a 4 or 5 than for a 3. The Credits column in the table shows each college's own published figure; a dash means the college publishes a policy but no credit-hour number, and we do not estimate one.
Do all colleges accept AP Research?+
No. This page covers the 641 colleges that publish a credit-bearing policy for AP Research, plus 2 more whose policy for this exam grants placement only — permission to skip a course without earning credit hours. Colleges absent from this list either publish no policy for this exam or grant nothing for it. Absence here is not proof a college rejects the exam; it means we have no published rule to cite.
Where can I verify a college's AP Research policy?+
Every row links to the college's own advanced-standing or AP credit page in the Source column. That page is authoritative and current; our copy is a snapshot taken July 30, 2026. Policies change between admission cycles, so verify at the source before counting on credit in a graduation plan.
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.