AP and Transfer Credits

AP Chemistry

Students who earn a 4 or 5 on the AP Chemistry Exam are eligible to receive credit for the lecture courses: Chem 177 and 178, General Chemistry I and II (7 credits). To receive the credit, official AP chemistry exam scores must be sent directly to Iowa State University from the College Board. Also, if a student earns a 4 or 5 on their AP Chemistry Exam, they are then eligible to receive general chemistry laboratory credit(s): AP credit for chemistry laboratory is awarded upon inspection of the student’s AP lab notebook, course syllabus, and formal lab reports by the ISU chemistry department. In order to receive credit in General Chemistry Laboratory, students must drop off or send the following information to the Undergraduate Chemistry Office in 1608 Gilman Hall (Ames, IA 50011).


1. The completed form apnotebookform.pdf or apnotebookform.doc
2. The AP Chemistry laboratory Notebook
3. The course syllabus for the AP chemistry class
4. Formal reports required for the AP chemistry class

Notebooks must 
•    be permanently bound or, if electronic, archived to prevent alteration,
•    be written in ink, and
•    have a table of contents.

For each experiment, the following information must be present:
•    Title of experiment
•    Synopsis of method (procedure)
•    Data collected
•    Analysis of data (calculations, graphs, etc.)
•    Results & Conclusion

Worksheets for experiments do NOT count as laboratory notebooks.
Virtual experiments and working with models do not count as experiments.


After the lab notebook, the syllabus, formal lab reports, and the completed notebook form have been reviewed, the Chemistry Department will determine how much credit will be awarded to the student. Depending upon the AP chemistry lab course coverage, students will receive one of the following:


a) 0 credits towards general chemistry lab
b) 1 credit towards General Chemistry Laboratory for Engineers, Chem 167L
c) 1 credit towards General Chemistry Laboratory I, Chem 177L
d) 2 credits towards General Chemistry Laboratory I & II, Chem 177L & 178L


The credit awarded (1 or 2 credits) is determined by the number and type of experiments. A minimum of 9 different experiments is required for 1 credit; 18 experiments are required for 2 credits. For experiments to count, they must be similar in scope and depth to the experiments performed in the general chemistry laboratories at Iowa State University.


Students who score less than 4 on the AP exam are NOT eligible for Chemistry Lab credit.

If you have any questions about the process, please send an email to apchem@iastate.edu.

Transfer Credit Evaluation

In order to have a course evaluated for credit at ISU, complete this Form (pdf) and drop it off in 1608 Gilman with support materials or email it to isuchemistry@iastate.edu

We need specific and detailed information in order to correctly assess course equivalencies. Failure to have sufficient documentation detailing previous course work will prevent transfer credit from transferring, so please fill out the form completely. Students should complete a separate form for each course being evaluated. 

If you have any questions, please contact:

Undergraduate Office: isuchemistry@iastate.edu, (515) 294-6352, 1608 Gilman Hall.