First-year credit
If you complete university-level courses while in high school, you may be able to take fewer courses to complete your degree. Find out which Advanced Placement, British-patterned education, and International Baccalaureate courses are eligible for first-year credit at UBC.
More on After you’ve applied:
If you are eligible for credit for a first-year course, please consult an academic advisor at UBC before registering for second-year courses. You may choose to refuse the first-year credit and take the course anyway.
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Advanced Placement
If you got a grade of 4 or better on approved Advanced Placement exams, UBC will grant you first-year credit. The table below is not exhaustive, so credit may be granted for courses not shown.
| High school subject | UBC course granted (including credits) |
| 2-D Art and Design | VISA 1st-year level (3) |
| 3-D Art and Design | VISA 180 (3) |
| Art History | ARTH 101 (3) and ARTH 102 (3) |
| Biology | BIOL 1st-year level (8), with exemption from BIOL 111, BIOL 121, and BIOL 180 |
| Calculus AB or subscore of AB in Calculus BC | MATH 100 (3) |
| Calculus BC | MATH 100 (3) and MATH 101 (3) |
| Chemistry | CHEM 121 (4)
Students entering the BASc degree will be granted an exemption from CHEM 154. |
| Chinese Language and Culture | CHIN 241 (3) and CHIN 243 (3) |
| Computer Science A | CPSC 1st-year level (3) |
| Computer Science Principles | CPSC 100 (3) |
| Drawing | VISA 180 (3) |
| Economics: Macroeconomics | ECON 102 (3); or ECON 1st-year level (3) for the Bachelor of International Economics degree |
| Economics: Microeconomics | ECON 101 (3); or ECON 1st-year level (3) for the Bachelor of International Economics degree |
| English Language and Composition | ENGL 1st-year level (6)
When AP ENGL Language/Composition and AP ENGL Literature/Composition are taken together, credit is granted as ENGL 1st-year level (12). |
| English Literature and Composition | ENGL 1st-year level (6)
When AP ENGL Language/Composition and AP ENGL Literature/Composition are taken together, credit is granted as ENGL 1st-year level (12). |
| Environmental Science | EOSC 1st-year level (3) |
| French Language and Culture | FREN 301 (3) and FREN 302 (3) |
| German Language and Culture | GERN 301 (3) and GERN 2nd-year level (3) |
| Government and Politics: Comparative | POLI 220 (3) |
| History: European | HIST 1st-year level (6) |
| History: United States | HIST 1st-year level (6) |
| Human Geography | GEOG 122 (3) and GEOG 1st-year level (3) |
| Italian Language and Culture | ITAL 201 (3) and ITAL 202 (3) |
| Japanese Language and Culture | JAPN 100 (3) and JAPN 101 (3) |
| Latin | LATN 201 (3) and LATN 2nd-year level (3) |
| Music Theory | MUSC 1st-year level (6) |
| Physics 1 | No credit |
| Physics 2 | PHYS 131 (3) |
| Physics C (Electricity and Magnetism) | PHYS 118 (3) |
| Physics C (Mechanics) | PHYS 117 (3) |
| Psychology | PSYC 101 (3) and PSYC 102 (3) |
| Spanish Language and Culture | SPAN 201 (3) and SPAN 202 (3) |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | SPAN 221 (3) and SPAN 222 (3) |
| Statistics | STAT 200 (3) |
| United States Government and Politics | POLI 1st-year level (3) |
| World History: Modern | HIST 1st-year level (3) |
British-patterned education
If you studied British-patterned education and got a final A-Level grade of A or B in most academic science, math, and arts subjects, UBC will grant you first-year credit. If you got an A or B on an A-Level-examined subject not listed in the table below, UBC will determine your first-year credit on a case-by-case basis.
| High school subject | UBC course granted (including credits) |
| Accounting | COMM 293 (3) |
| Biology | BIOL 1st-year level (8), with exemption from BIOL 111, BIOL 121, and BIOL 180 |
| Business Studies | COMM 1st-year level (3), not for credit in Commerce |
| Chemistry | CHEM 120 (3) and CHEM 115 (1), and CHEM 130 (3) and CHEM 135 (1) |
| Computer Science | CPSC 1st-year level (6) |
| Economics | ECON 101 (3) and ECON 102 (3); or ECON 1st-year level (6) for the Bachelor of International Economics degree |
| French | FREN 301 (3) and FREN 302 (3) |
| German | GERN 202 (3) and GERN 2nd-year level (3) |
| Islamic Studies | RELG 1st-year level (3) |
| Literature (English) | ENGL 110 (3) and ENGL 1st-year level (3) |
| Mathematics | No credit |
| Mathematics (Applied) | No credit |
| Mathematics (Further) | MATH 100 (3) and MATH 101 (3) |
| Physics | PHYS 100 (3) and PHYS 101 (3) |
| Psychology | PSYC 1st-year level (6) |
| Sociology | SOCI 100 (6) |
| Spanish | SPAN 201 (3) and SPAN 202 (3) |
International Baccalaureate
If you completed the International Baccalaureate diploma, all Higher Level and some Standard Level IB courses will be considered for first-year credit. The table below is not exhaustive, so credit may be granted for courses not shown.
| High school subject | Minimum IB score | UBC course granted (including credits) |
| Arabic A: Literature SL | 5 | ARBC 1st-year level (3) |
| Arabic A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARBC 1st-year level (6) |
| Arabic B HL | 5 | ARBC 1st-year level (6) |
| Afrikaans A or B HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Afrikaans A SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Burmese A or B HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Burmese A SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Biology HL | 6 | BIOL 1st-year level (8), with exemption from BIOL 111, BIOL121, and BIOL 180 |
| Business Management HL | 5 | COMM 1st-year level (3), not for credit in Commerce |
| Chemistry HL | 6 | CHEM 121 (4)
Students entering the BASc degree will be granted an exemption from CHEM 154. |
| Chinese A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | CHIN 1st-year level (6) |
| Chinese A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | CHIN 1st-year level (3) |
| Chinese A: Literature HL | 5 | CHIN 1st-year level (6) |
| Chinese A: Literature SL | 5 | CHIN 1st-year level (3) |
| Chinese B: Mandarin HL | 5 | CHIN 1st-year level (6) |
| Classical Languages: Greek SL | 5 | GREK 201 (3) |
| Classical Languages: Greek HL | 5 | GREK 201 (3) and GREK 202 (3) |
| Classical Languages: Latin SL | 5 | LATN 201 (3) |
| Classical Languages: Latin HL | 5 | LATN 201 (3) and LATN 2nd-year level (3) |
| Computer Science HL | 6 | CPSC 1st-year level (3) |
| Design Technology HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Digital Society HL | 6 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Dutch B HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Economics HL | 5 | ECON 1st-year level (6) |
| English Language and Literature A HL | 5 | ENGL 1st-year level (6) |
| English Literature A HL | 5 | ENGL 1st-year level (6) |
| Film HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Filipino B HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| French A SL | 5 | FREN 301 (3) and FREN 302 (3) |
| French B HL | 5 | FREN 301 (3) and FREN 302 (3) |
| French Language and Literature A HL | 5 | FREN 401 (3) and FREN 402 (3) |
| French Literature A HL | 5 | FREN 311 (3) and FREN 3rd-year level (3) |
| Geography HL | 6 | GEOG 1st-year level (6) |
| Georgian A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Georgian B: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Georgian A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Georgian A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| German A SL | 5 | GERN 201 (3) |
| German A HL | 5 | GERN 201 (3) and GERN 202 (3) |
| German B HL | 5 | GERN 102 (3) and GERN 201 (3) |
| Global Politics HL | 5 | POLI 1st-year level (6) |
| History HL | 5 | HIST 1st-year level (6) |
| Icelandic A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Icelandic A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Icelandic A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Icelandic A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Indonesian A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | INDO 1st-year level (3) |
| Indonesian A: Literature SL | 5 | INDO 1st-year level (3) |
| Indonesian B HL | 5 | INDO 1st-year level (6) |
| Islamic History HL | 5 | RELG 1st-year level (6) |
| Italian A SL | 5 | ITAL 202 (3) |
| Italian A or B HL | 5 | ITAL 202 (3) and ITAL 2nd-year level (3) |
| Japanese A HL | 5 | JAPN 1st-year level (6) |
| Japanese B HL | 5 | JAPN 1st-year level (6) |
| Japanese A SL | 5 | JAPN 1st-year level (3) |
| Korean A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | KORN 1st-year level (6) |
| Korean A: Literature HL | 5 | KORN 1st-year level (6) |
| Korean A SL | 5 | KORN 1st-year level (3) |
| Korean B HL | 5 | KORN 1st-year level (6) |
| Lao A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Lao A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Lao A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Lao A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Malay A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Malay A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Malay A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Malay A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Math Analysis and Approaches SL | Not applicable | No credit |
| Math Analysis and Approaches HL | 6 | MATH 100 (3) & MATH 101 (3) |
| Math Applications and Interpretations SL | Not applicable | No credit |
| Math Applications and Interpretations HL | 6 | MATH 1st-year level (3) Exempt MATH 104 |
| Mongolian A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Mongolian A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Mongolian A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Mongolian A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Norwegian A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Norwegian A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Norwegian A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Norwegian A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Persian A: Literature HL or B HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Persian A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Philosophy HL | 5 | PHIL 100 (6) |
| Physics SL | 6 | PHYS 100 (3) |
| Physics HL | 6 | PHYS 100 (3) and PHYS 1st-year level (3), with exemption from PHYS 101 |
| Polish A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Polish A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Polish A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Polish A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Portuguese A SL | 6 | PORT 1st-year level (3) |
| Portuguese A or B HL | 5 | PORT 202 (3) and PORT 2nd-year level (3) |
| Psychology HL | 5 | PSYC 100 (6) |
| Punjabi A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Punjabi A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Punjabi A or B: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Punjabi A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Russian A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Russian A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Russian A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Russian A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Slovak A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Slovak A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Slovak A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Slovak A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Social and Cultural Anthropology HL | 5 | ANTH 100 (3) and ANTH 1st-year level (3) |
| Sports, Exercise, and Health Science HL | 5 | SCIE 1st-year level (6) |
| Spanish B HL | 5 | SPAN 201 (3) and SPAN 202 (3) |
| Spanish Language and Literature A SL | 5 | SPAN 2nd-year level (3), with exemption from SPAN 202 |
| Spanish Language and Literature A HL | 5 | SPAN 221 (3) and SPAN 222 (3) |
| Spanish Literature A SL | 5 | SPAN 2nd-year level (3), with exemption from SPAN 202 |
| Spanish Literature A HL | 5 | SPAN 221 (3) and SPAN 2nd-year level (3) |
| Swahili A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Swahili A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Swahili A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Swahili A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Swedish A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Swedish A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Swedish A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Swedish A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Thai A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Thai A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Thai A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Thai A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Thai B HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Theatre HL | 5 | THTR 230 (3) and THTR 1st-year level (3) |
| Theory of Knowledge | A or B | PHIL 1st-year level (6) |
| Turkish A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Turkish A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Turkish A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Turkish A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Ukrainian A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Ukrainian A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Ukrainian A: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Ukrainian A: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Vietnamese A: Language and Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Vietnamese A: Language and Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Vietnamese: Literature HL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (6) |
| Vietnamese: Literature SL | 5 | ARTS 1st-year level (3) |
| Visual Arts HL | 5 | VISA 180 (3) and VISA 1st-year level (3) |