Credit by Examination

Students who have acquired knowledge in subject areas from sources other than formal course registrations may be granted credit toward graduation by examination, under the following conditions and limitations. 

No more than 32 s.h. of credit by examination may be applied toward B.S.E. degree requirements. 

College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) credit may be counted toward the lower-level general education (humanities and social science) requirements. CLEP credit earned in natural science areas does not count toward the engineering degree. Credit also may be earned through Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. For details about CLEP and AP credit, see Credit by Exam Options on the Office of Admissions website. 

Engineering students may earn credit for equivalent experience or former course work in any of the required common core courses through successful completion of examinations prepared and graded by the core course committees. Students who fail a core course are not permitted to earn credit by examination for the failed course. Students who wish to earn credit for core courses by examination must obtain approval from the associate dean for academic programs. 

With the approval of departmental faculty, credit in three or fewer courses (totaling no more than 6 s.h.) may be awarded upon successful completion of final examinations in program elective courses. 

Language Incentive Program

The University's Furthering Language Incentive Program (FLIP) gives entering engineering students two options for earning college credit for the study of a world language. 

Option 1: Entering students who place into a fifth-semester language course and complete the course with a grade of B minus or higher receive 4 s.h. of exam credit for the fourth semester course. The credit is ungraded but may be counted toward the hours required for graduation. Incentive credit is not granted for college course work for which credit has been received. 

Students are eligible for incentive credit only during their first and second registrations at the University of Iowa. 

Option 2: Students may receive 2 s.h. of exam credit for earning a grade of B-minus or higher in the first-semester level course in a language different from the language used to satisfy their world languages requirement. They may earn another 2 s.h. for completing the second-semester-level course in that language for a grade of B-minus or higher. 

Visit the college's website for more information about FLIP credit. For more information on eligibility and restrictions, consult Engineering Student Services. 

Credit from Other Colleges

Course requirements in engineering may be satisfied with credit earned in courses taken in other University of Iowa colleges or at other accredited colleges or universities. When students apply for admission to the College of Engineering, they must submit official transcripts from each college attended along with their application for admission. After the credit has been certified by the Office of Admissions as college-level work from an accredited institution and after admission has been granted, the credit is evaluated by the Student Development Center either before or during the student's first semester of enrollment in the college. 

Satisfaction of engineering course requirements by transfer course work may be approved by the Student Development Center if, course-by-course, there is a match in the content and level of the transfer courses, and if the grades earned for such courses are C-minus or higher. Students who want to satisfy the engineering general education component requirements or the University of Iowa rhetoric requirement by transfer work must follow the College of Engineering transfer credit guidelines. 

Students planning to attend a two- or four-year institution before transferring to the College of Engineering should discuss the planned transfer with officials at both schools before embarking on a transfer program. The College of Engineering has recommended transfer course lists for most Iowa community colleges and some four-year colleges. Once students are enrolled in the College of Engineering, they must have prior approval for course work taken at other institutions. 

By policy of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, a student may apply a maximum of 64 s.h. of transfer credit earned at a two-year college toward the minimum 128 s.h. required for the B.S.E. However, transfer credit from a two-year school in excess of 64 s.h. is used in computing grade-point average and may be used to satisfy course requirements, even though the semester hours cannot be counted toward the total required for graduation. A grade of C-minus or higher is required in order for transfer credit to be applied toward a degree requirement. 

Contact the Student Development Center for more information.