Pre-matriculation Credits
Pre-matriculation credits are credits you may have earned from certain scores on advanced placement and SAT II examinations, scores on examinations of certain international diplomas, or college courses you may have taken prior to matriculating at Tufts. Pre-matriculation credits are treated as regular course credits and accepted toward fulfilling your degree requirements.
- Liberal Arts BA/BS students can have a maximum of 5 pre-matriculation course equivalencies regardless of Semester-hour units (SHUs).
- Liberal Arts BFA students can have a maximum of 4 Semester-hour units (SHUs) for Studio Art pre-matriculation test credit, and the equivalent of up to two non-studio pre-matriculation course equivalencies, regardless of Semester-hour units.
- Engineering students can have a maximum of 27 Semester-hour units (SHUs) of pre-matriculation credit.
Please note, if a student elects to take the equivalent course at Tufts, the exam credit will be removed upon completion of the course. This applies only to scores for which departments award credits.
The following website provides the exam equivalencies for students who matriculated in Fall 2021: https://students.tufts.edu/registrar/what-we-assist/transfer-credit/undergraduate-exam-equivalencies.
Pre-matriculation credits and pre-health
Health professions schools will want to see how you perform in college science classes, which is why we advise students to opt NOT to use AP credit for prerequisite coursework in Biology, Chemistry, or Physics. Additionally, professional school policies regarding the acceptance of AP credit to satisfy required science coursework varies considerably, which further complicates the admissions process for students.
If you choose to use your AP or other pre-matriculation credits, you MUST take additional courses in that subject. Make sure to view the Registrar's information about exam equivalencies for more information and talk with a pre-health advisor about your plan.
Biology: If you have an AP score of 5 in Biology, you can use it to fulfill either Bio 13 or Bio 14. You should take at least one other biology course numbered higher than Bio 13 and 14, such as Genetics, Cell Biology, etc., before applying to health professions school. Please note: some schools will require upper division coursework when using AP credit to meet a prerequisite course. At Tufts is Biology courses between 100-200 are considered upper division. Starting this fall 2023, pre health students enrolling in bio 13 will also need to physically enroll in the concurrent lab (bio 15). This change is for students taking the course starting fall 2023. Students who took it prior to this date are not affected.
Chemistry: If you have an AP score of 5 in Chemistry, you can use it to fulfill Chem 1 and 2, but moving straight into college-level Organic Chemistry can be very challenging for some students. We generally advise students to either use their AP credit for Chem 1 and enroll in Chem 2, or to give up their AP credit entirely and enroll in Chem 11 and 12. We encourage students to speak with a health professions advisor and faculty in the Chemistry Department if they want to discuss their options.
Physics: Students with AP credit in Physics 1 should plan on taking Physics 2 and another science course that has Physics 1/11 or 2/12 as a prerequisite, such as Physical Chemistry. Students with AP credit for Physics 1 and 2 should take an additional semester of physics coursework with a lab as well as another course that has Physics 1 or 2 as a prerequisite, such as Physical Chemistry.
As with all professional school prerequisite courses, we strongly encourage students to research the requirements at each school to which they hope to apply in order to make sure that all requirements have been satisfied according to each program's individual policies.