Dual Credit

A dual credit course is the specific term used for a college-level class taught concurrently for high school and college credit.

Credit through testing is the specific term used for earning college credit based on scores from testing services (AP, CLEP, IB, etc.). See Credit Through Testing (AP, IB, A-Level and More) for details.

Fast Start is a Purdue program designed to help Indiana high school students earn college credit by providing them with free online courses and funding for corresponding CLEP exams. This program may be especially helpful for you if you have limited or no access through your high school to take Advanced Placement (AP) or dual credit courses. For more information or questions regarding this program, please contact A.J. Frigo, Senior Assistant Director of Admissions – Indiana Relations.

You are not required to have dual credit in order to be admitted to Purdue. However, if you have opportunities to earn dual credit, you may be wondering how much is right for you. When making this decision, it is important to consider both the advantages and disadvantages of dual credit, which can vary depending on your specific situation.

Some major advantages for taking dual credit include saving time, saving money, and possibly improving your chances of admission to the university. However, earning too much dual credit could potentially have some disadvantages as well. Some disadvantages may be earning dual credit for courses that do not count toward your Purdue degree, having poor dual credit grades on college transcripts, needing to start at Purdue in upper-level courses (more advanced and academically rigorous than entry-level courses), or missing out on some valuable extracurricular activities during high school.

So, it is important to have a plan when deciding what amount of dual credit is right for you. Taking dual credit for the sole purpose of getting a large number of college credits is not a good plan. Instead, ask yourself 2 important questions:

1. “Will this dual credit help to show that I am a competitive candidate for admission to Purdue?”

   Note: See below for information about dual credit & admission to Purdue, including recommendations for planning your high school class schedule.

2. “Will this dual credit count for my degree in the College of Agriculture?”

   Important: Dual credit could transfer to Purdue, and even count in the College of Agriculture; however, that same credit may not actually be needed for your specific major or program. Please contact an academic advisor in your desired area of study for their recommendations.

The number of college credits earned while in high school could possibly have a negative effect on some types of financial aid. Please contact the Division of Financial Aid at Purdue for more information.

To be transferable, a dual credit course must meet the following criteria:

• It was earned from a regionally accredited college or university.
• It is a college-level course (not remedial or developmental).
• You received a grade of at least C- (minimum 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale).
• The credit is “transcripted” (meaning the earned credit appears on the student’s college transcript).

While C- or higher grades (minimum 2.0 on a 4.0 grading scale) are required for dual credit courses to be transferable, only the credits (not the grades) transfer to Purdue.

Exception: Grades earned in dual credit courses from Purdue University (including Purdue West Lafayette, Purdue Northwest, and Purdue Fort Wayne) will count toward your Purdue GPA.

However, please be aware that grades in all your classes (high school & college) are taken into consideration for admission to Purdue! See below for admission requirements and for specific recommendations.

Advanced Placement (AP) and the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) are 2 of the more common types of credit through testing.

AP exam scores of 4 or 5 are often needed to earn credit for specific Purdue courses. An AP exam score of 3 is the minimum score the university accepts, which often results in undistributed credit (1XXXX, meaning Purdue does not have an equivalent course). See the Purdue credit for AP Tests for the list of AP credit that Purdue accepts, which includes scores & corresponding Purdue course credit. For detailed information regarding how AP credit can apply to our majors and programs, see Transfer and Advanced Placement Credit Applicability in Purdue College of Agriculture Plans of Study.

CLEP exam scores of 50+ are often required to earn course credit at Purdue. See Purdue credit for CLEP Exams for the list of CLEP credit that Purdue accepts, which includes required scores & corresponding Purdue course credit.

Transfer credit for all college courses (including dual credit courses) accepted by Purdue West Lafayette is posted in the Transfer Credit Course Equivalency Guide. The “Equivalency Guide” is an online tool that allows you to enter your courses one-by-one to see how your credit transfers to Purdue. You will need to enter the college course numbers for your dual credit courses (not the high school course numbers).

If a specific Purdue course number is listed in the Equivalency Guide for the college course number that you entered (and you received a grade of at least C-), then the credit will transfer to Purdue. However, exclusions and restrictions apply for some courses in the College of Agriculture (listed below).

• Course Exclusions: The following courses are not applicable as credit toward graduation for any College of Agriculture major or program: CHM 10000; ENGL 10000, 10900; ENGR 19100, 19200, 19300; MA 11100, 12300, 13300, 13400, 15100, 15555; PHYS 14900; STAT 11300, 11400; and all General Studies (GS) courses.
• Course Restrictions: Credits earned in one (1) of the following courses - MA 15200, 15300, 15400 or MA 15800 - may be used as an unrestricted elective in the College of Agriculture undergraduate plans of study, but may not be used as a Mathematics and Sciences elective.

If a course is listed as undistributed credit (1XXXX, 2XXXX, 3XXXX, or 4XXXX), this means Purdue does not have an equivalent course. The College of Agriculture determines whether undistributed credit can be used to satisfy any degree requirements for our majors and programs. For more information about how your specific course credit may apply for your intended major or program, please contact an academic advisor in your desired area of study.

Technical dual credit courses may or may not count in the College of Agriculture. The Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dual Credit Crosswalk (found here) shows the types of courses that are considered “Technical” courses. Here is some specific information for using Technical dual credit courses, including important rules and restrictions in the College of Agriculture:

• As indicated above, you can use the Transfer Credit Course Equivalency Guide online tool to find out how your courses transfer to Purdue. You will need to enter the college course numbers (not the high school course numbers). 
• Any agriculture course that transfers to Purdue with the “UND” course prefix does not count in the College of Agriculture.
• All other courses (not UND) that transfer to Purdue with1XXXX, 2XXXX, 3XXXX, or 4XXXX course numbers may count in the College of Agriculture, depending on your intended major or program (academic department approval required). Please contact an academic advisor in your desired area of study for more specific information. Any courses in the CTE crosswalk (found here) listed as Agriculture Career Cluster do not count in the College of Agriculture. These courses will appear as “UND” credit in the Equivalency Guide. Specifically, the following courses do not count in the College of Agriculture:
• From Ivy Tech Community College: AGRI 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 115, 116, 119, 164; SUST 100, 101, 123.
• From Vincennes University: AGBS 101; HORT 105, 205, 255.
• See transferin.net/ways-to-earn-credit/dual-credit-programs for additional information.

No. You may transfer an unlimited number of college credits to Purdue but must earn at least 32 Purdue credits to earn a degree from the university.

If you are an Indiana resident, we strongly encourage you to pursue the Academic Honors or Technical Honors Diploma (or an equivalent diploma, if you are out-of-state). This does not guarantee admission to Purdue, but students who earn these diplomas are generally stronger candidates.
To be a competitive candidate for admission to Purdue’s College of Agriculture, a student should take as much advanced coursework as possible in math and science (pre-calculus, AP/IB Calculus, AP/IB Biology, AP/IB Chemistry, and AP/IB Physics).
Please see the High School Course Requirements page for additional information about types of dual credit Purdue’s Office of Admissions recommends for high school students.

Please see Freshman Admission Criteria (Application Evaluation section) for a list of specific factors Purdue Admissions uses to evaluate applications to the university.

Since requirements for each of our majors can vary significantly, here are recommendations to help you plan your high school class schedule. We encourage you follow these recommendations, to make sure you are taking the dual credit courses you will ultimately need for your Purdue degree.

1. Review Purdue's Minimum High School Course Requirements to find out if you are deficient in  any of the areas listed for Admission to Purdue (1 semester of college coursework = 2 high school semesters).
2. If you are a high school student in Indiana, find dual credit courses in the Liberal Arts (LA) Dual Credit Crosswalk or Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dual Credit Crosswalk. See transferin.net/ways-to-earn-credit/dual-credit-programs for additional information, if needed.
3. Consult with your guidance counselor for classes you want to take, to ensure they are needed for your high school diploma.
4. For any dual credit courses you are considering, enter the college course numbers into the Equivalency Guide. This will help you see how the courses transfer to Purdue.
5. In the University Catalog, use the plan of study for your intended major or program to make sure you will need the dual credit courses you are planning to take.
6. Consult with an academic advisor in the College of Agriculture for specific course suggestions.

High school transcripts are not used to award college credit. You must submit official college transcripts from the college or university that administered the dual credit courses or from the testing service. Be sure to request or send transcripts at least 2 weeks before the application deadline.
How to submit your official transcripts to Purdue Admissions:

• For College or University Transcripts, see Transfer Credit Guidelines (Submitting Official Transcripts section)
• For AP Score Reports, see Sending AP Scores
• For CLEP Transcripts, see Sending CLEP Scores and Requesting Transcripts
• For International Baccalaureate (IB) Transcripts, see Requesting transcripts and certificates

In order to meet our accreditation requirements, instructors must achieve certain academic standings (namely, MS minimum and higher, in the subject matter or discipline) to teach our courses in agriculture. These credentials apply for transfer course credit in the College of Agriculture as well. Since Ivy Tech and Vincennes do not monitor and require high school teachers to meet these stated credentialing requirements to teach these courses (specifically, the Agriculture Career Cluster courses that are listed in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dual Credit Crosswalk found here), the credit from these courses will not count in the College of Agriculture.

Transfer course credit is evaluated based on what is listed on a student’s college transcript (including course numbers, course titles, credit hours, and grades). Transfer credit decisions are not based on individual teacher credentials. Therefore, credit for these Agriculture Career Cluster courses (as listed in the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Dual Credit Crosswalk found here) will not count in the College of Agriculture, regardless of the degree level attained by the teacher.