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Placement and Proficiency
Room 247 Armory
(217) 244-4437
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International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme

Cutoff Scores, Placement Messages, and Credit Policies for 2020-2021

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Due to COVID-19, the International Baccalaureate Organization announced the cancellation of their May 2020 exams. Nevertheless, IB gave students a grade for each of their registered exams on the normal 1-7 scale, using a calculation that took into account their coursework grades and their predicted grades. Read the IBO's explanation as to why they re-graded many predicted scores for the May 2020 exams.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is committed to supporting our incoming students and ensuring that they have a smooth transition to their higher education studies. Thus, academic credit is still being awarded for strong performance on all IB exams based on the calculated grades that the IBO has provided. The credit policies below apply to all students entering Illinois in Summer 2020, Fall 2020, or Spring 2021. Only scores resulting in credit are shown.

If you are not seeing the new 2020-2021 policies in either the webpage or the downloadable PDF, please clean out your cache and refresh the page.

For descriptions of the courses listed in the table below, please see the Courses of Instruction section in the Academic Catalog.

Course numbers listed as 1 - - or 2 - - are considered elective credit within the stated subject area. This is because our campus does not have an equivalent course that corresponds to the AP course. Students can apply elective credit towards their graduation requirements. Students should consult with their academic advisor to determine how this test-based credit may best be used to meet their specific curriculum and program requirements.

To view credit policies for any foreign language, scroll down to "Languages Other Than English."

Questions? Contact "Placement & Proficiency" staff by emailing pnp@illinois.edu or by calling 217-244-4437 during business hours.

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  1. Art History (SBS)

  2. Astronomy (SBS)

  3. Biology

  4. Brazilian Social Studies (SBS)

  5. Business Management

  6. Chemistry

  7. Classical Greek & Roman Studies (SBS)

  8. Classics - Greek

  9. Classics - Latin

  10. Computer Science

  11. Dance

  12. Design Technology

  13. Economics

  14. English A: Language and Literature

  15. English A: Literature

  16. English A: Literature and Performance

  17. English B

  18. Environmental Systems and Societies

  19. Film

  20. Food Science & Technology (SBS)

  21. Geography

  22. Global Politics

  23. History (HL cutoffs are regardless of region)

  24. Information Technology (ITGS)

  25. Languages Other Than English

  26. Mathematical Studies

  27. Mathematics

  28. Mathematics - Further Mathematics

  29. Music

  30. Music - Group Performance

  31. Music - Solo Performance

  32. Music Creating

  33. Philosophy

  34. Physics

  35. Political Thought (SBS)

  36. Psychology

  37. Social and Cultural Anthropology

  38. Sports, Exercise, and Health Science

  39. Theatre

  40. Visual Arts

  41. World Religions

  42. X_any school-based syllabus not listed here (Humanities)

  43. X_any school-based syllabus not listed here (interdisciplinary)

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  1. Any "Language A: Language and Literature" not listed here

  2. Any "Language A: Literature" not listed here

  3. Any "Language B" not listed here

  4. Arabic B

  5. Catalan A: Literature

  6. Chinese B - Cantonese

  7. Chinese B - Mandarin

  8. French A: Language and Literature

  9. French A: Literature

  10. French B

  11. German A: Language and Literature

  12. German A: Literature

  13. German B

  14. Hebrew B

  15. Hindi B

  16. Italian A: Language and Literature

  17. Italian A: Literature

  18. Italian B

  19. Japanese A: Language and Literature

  20. Japanese A: Literature

  21. Japanese B

  22. Korean A: Language and Literature

  23. Korean A: Literature

  24. Korean B

  25. Modern Greek A: Language and Literature

  26. Modern Greek A: Literature

  27. Portuguese A: Language and Literature

  28. Portuguese A: Literature

  29. Portuguese B

  30. Russian B

  31. Spanish A: Language and Literature

  32. Spanish A: Literature

  33. Spanish B

  34. Swedish B

 

Questions? Contact pnp@illinois.edu or call 217-265-6248.

The University of Illinois recognizes the value of the Advanced Placement (AP) Program and the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme. Students should be aware that there are times when it is in their best interest to take the course that corresponds to the AP or IB credit instead of accepting the test-based credit. The course might better prepare you for the rigors of the subsequent course in the sequence. For descriptions of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign courses listed in the table below, please see the Courses of Instruction section in the Academic Catalog. Students are able to consult with their academic advisors during Registration in order to determine how test-based credit may best be used to meet their specific curriculum and program requirements and what will be most appropriate for their individual plan of study.

New undergraduate students who barely miss earning IB proficiency credit and who have not already earned college-level credit in the subject are allowed to take a departmental proficiency exam in math, science, and certain LOTEs if they wish to try to proficiency out of an introductory course.