Credit by Examination
Salem State University recognizes mastery of curriculum areas through Advanced Placement (AP), the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) and may consider other nationally-recognized examinations or departmentally mandated challenge exams of prior subject area knowledge subject to individual evaluation for course comparability and program applicability. Students seeking credit by examination must have official test scores submitted directly from the testing agency. For complete information about policies on credit by examination, please visit the academic catalog at catalog.salemstate.edu. For current examination credit equivalencies, please see below. All equivalencies are subject to periodic review and may change without notice.
Advanced Placement (AP)
| AP Component | Description | Score Range | SSU Equivalent |
| Art | Art History | 3 to 5 | ART100A |
| Art | Drawing Portfolio | 3 to 5 | ART102 |
| Art | Two-Dimensional | 3 to 5 | ART101 |
| Art | Three-Dimensional | 3 to 5 | ART203 |
| Biology | Biology | 3 to 5 | BIO121 & BIO122 |
| Calculus | Calculus AB | 3 to 5 | MAT220 |
| Calculus | Calculus BC | 3 to 5 | MAT220 & MAT221 |
| Chemistry | Chemistry | 3 to 5 | CHE130 |
| Computer Science | Computer Sci A | 3 to 5 | CSCT61 |
| Computer Science | Computer Sci AB | 3 to 5 | CSC201J & CSC260 |
| Economics | Macroeconomics | 3 to 5 | ECO201 |
| Economics | Microeconomics | 3 to 5 | ECO202 |
| English | Eng. Lang & Comp. | N/A | No Credit |
| English | Eng. Lit & Comp. | 3 to 5 | ENL101 |
| English | Internat. Eng. Lang | N/A | No Credit |
| French | French Language | 3 | FRE201 |
| French | French Language | 4 | FRE201 & FRE202 |
| French | French Language | 5 | FRE201 & FRE202 & FRET41 |
| Geography | Human Ggeography | 3 to 5 | GGR105 |
| German | German Language | 3 | GER201 |
| German | German Language | 4 | GER201 & GER202 |
| German | German Language | 5 | GER201 & GER202 & GERT41 |
| Govt & Politics | Comparative | 3 to 5 | POL271 |
| Govt & Politics | United States | 3 to 5 | POL201 |
| History | European | 3 to 5 | HST269 |
| History | United States | 3 to 5 | HST204 & HST205 |
| History | World History | 3 to 5 | HST101 & HST102 |
| Music | Music Theory | 3 to 5 | MUS132N |
| Physics | Physics B | 3 to 5 | PHS211A & PHS212A |
| Physics | Phys C Elec & Magn | 3 to 5 | PHS214 |
| Physics | Phys C Mechanics | 3 to 5 | PHS213 |
| Psychology | Psychology | 3 to 5 | PSY101 |
| Spanish | Spanish Language | 3 | SPN201 |
| Spanish | Spanish Language | 4 | SPN201 & SPN202 |
| Spanish | Spanish Language | 5 | SPN201 & SPN202 & SPN350 |
| Statistics | Statistics | 3 to 5 | MAT247 |
College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
| General Examinations | |||
| Component | Description | Required Score | SSU Equivalent |
| Composition and Literature | Humanities | 49 | IDST13 |
| Science & Mathematics | Natural Sciences | 49 | IDST23 |
| Science & Mathematics | College Mathematics | 49 | MATT23 |
| History & Social Sciences | Social Sciences & History | 48 | IDST33 |
| Subject Examinations | |||
| Composition and Literature | English Composition | 50 & Dept. Exam | ENL101 |
| Science & Mathematics | Biology | 50 | BIO121 & 122* |
| Science & Mathematics | Calculus | 50 | MAT220 |
| Science & Mathematics | Chemistry | 50 | CHE130 & 131 |
| Science & Mathematics | Precalculus | 50 | MAT110 |
| Foreign Languages | French | 50 | FRE102 |
| Foreign Languages | French | 62 | FRE201 & 202 |
| Foreign Languages | German | 50 | GER102 |
| Foreign Languages | German | 63 | GER201 & 202 |
| Foreign Languages | Spanish | 50 | SPN102 |
| Foreign Languages | Spanish | 66 | SPN201 & 202 |
| History & Social Sciences | American Gov't | 75 (for POL majors) | POL201 |
| History & Social Sciences | American Gov't | 50 (for non-POL majors) | POL201 |
| History & Social Sciences | History of the US I | 75 (for HIS majors) | HST204 |
| History & Social Sciences | History of the US I | 50 (for non-HIS majors) | HST204 |
| History & Social Sciences | History of the US II | 75 (for HIS majors) | HST205 |
| History & Social Sciences | History of the US II | 50 (for non-HIS majors) | HST205 |
| History & Social Sciences | Macroeconomics, Princ. of | 50 | ECO201 |
| History & Social Sciences | Microeconomics, Princ. of | 50 | ECO202 |
| History & Social Sciences | Psychology, Introductory | 47 | PSY101 |
| History & Social Sciences | Sociology, Introductory | 50 | SOC201 |
| History & Social Sciences | Western Civilization I | 50 | HST101 |
| History & Social Sciences | Western Civilization II | 50 | HST102 |
| Business | Accounting, Principles of | 50 | ACC106 |
| Business | Business Law, Introductory | 50 | BUS252 |
| Business | Information Systems & Computer Applications | 50 | CSC200A |
| Business | Management, Principles of | 50 | MGT231 |