Exam Policies

MSU will accept up to 60 hours of credit by examination, limiting CLEP and DANTES to a maximum of 30 hours. MSU Admissions evaluates AP, CLEP, IB and DANTES credit as transfer credit. 

Credit by examination may be earned through the College Board Advanced Placement Program (AP), Proficiency examinations administered through the MSU College Offices, the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) Subject examination only, International Baccalaureate Program (IB) and the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational Support (DANTES) standardized examinations. DANTES credit will not be accepted for business, speech, history, English, or foreign language courses.

Credit by examination may not be used to satisfy the minimum residence requirements for the degrees or for honors awarded at graduation. Credit by examination assumes the student has had no formal classroom instruction, as an enrolled student or as an auditor, in the course being challenged. 

The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a national testing program administered by the Educational Testing Service of Princeton, New Jersey. The CLEP is administered in two parts, the CLEP General Examinations and the CLEP Subject Examinations. MSU does not award credit on the basis of CLEP General Examinations. MSU will grant credit on the basis of CLEP Subject Examinations scores according to the following policy:

1. Credit will be granted only if the student enrolls at Midwestern State University
2. Credit earned by examination while enrolled at Midwestern State University may not be used to meet the minimum residence requirement for that degree or for honors awarded at graduation.
3. Credit by CLEP examination assumes the student has had no formal classroom instruction, as an enrolled student or as an auditor, in the course being challenged.
4. There is a six month waiting period before repeating an exam.

Credit will be posted to the permanent record by the Midwestern State University course number, hours, and grade points, but will be designated as CLEP credit.

High school students with superior academic achievements in any of the following areas may earn college credit in these fields through the College Board Advanced Placement Program. Midwestern State University reserves the right to change policy in keeping with actions of the Texas State Legislature or the University Board of Regents. It is to the prospective student's advantage to contact MSU Admissions. The following grades may be awarded for the test scores: 5 = A, 4 = B, and 3 = Credit. If the student takes both English Composition & Literature and English Language & Composition and scores at least a 3 on both exams, the student will receive 3 hours for Academic Research and Writing (ENGL 1143), and 3 hours of sophomore literature elective credit. The course and grade are posted to the student's permanent record and designated as Advanced Placement credit.

Effective Fall 2016, a score of 3 on all exams will be required to receive credit for any Advanced Placement credit listed below. Please note that some subjects require a higher score to receive college credit. Those subjects are noted by an asterisk (*) and scores of 4 or 5 are required. 

The College Board Advanced Placement Program exams are administered only through cooperating high schools and only once each spring. Arrangements for the testing are to be made with the high school counselor. Official scores must be received from College Board. AP reports are mailed to MSU in June or July.

Midwestern State University's Code No. is 6408.

Note: N/A indicates that a Texas Common Course Number is not applicable to the course.

Credit will be awarded in some programs for DANTES Standardized Subject Tests based on ACE recommendations or on a percentile level which reflects at least 50% of test questions being answered correctly. Acceptable percentile levels are generally at the 40th percentile or above. DANTES SST's are not considered as part of the 12 hour limit on military credits. Credit will not be accepted for business, English, foreign languages, history, or speech courses.

CLEP tests administered and reported by DANTES will be accepted according to MSU's published CLEP guidelines. Midwestern's school code is 9870.

Midwestern State University's prospective students who earn the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma are offered unconditional admission status to MSU. Scholarships will be offered to these students who have earned the IB Diplomas if MSU is notified by March 1, and students enter MSU directly from high school. It is the responsibility of the prospective IB student to notify MSU Admissions. Students from high schools that offer IB courses but not the diploma may receive credit according to the same criteria. An official IB transcript must be sent to MSU Admissions. All IB students must show proof of meeting the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) requirements prior to their initial enrollment at MSU and meet published university application deadlines.

Midwestern State University recognizes the value of the International Baccalaureate program and has approved the granting of credit for the IB Higher and Standard level exams when a score of 5 or higher is obtained.  A score of 4 or higher on any Higher level or Standard level exam will be awarded to IB diploma candidates only.

*Any new student receiving the IB diploma with a score of at least a 4 on all subjects will be granted a minimum of 24 hours.

To request the International Baccalaureate transcript call (212) 696-4464 or visit IB Americas Transcript Request