AP Physics 1 credit: what score you need
The minimum qualifying score, credit hours and course equivalent at 1,639 colleges that publish an AP Physics 1 policy.
1,215 of 1,639 colleges (74%) award credit for AP Physics 1 at a score of 3. 397 require a 4 and 27 require a 5. The most commonly awarded amount is 4 credit hours. Each row below links to the college’s own published policy page. Data captured July 30, 2026.
Placement is not credit
A further 9 colleges publish an AP Physics 1 policy that grants placement only — you may skip the introductory course, but you earn no credit hours toward the degree and the cost of those hours does not go away. Those colleges are deliberately excluded from the counts above.
Colleges that award credit for AP Physics 1
Showing 120 of 1,639 colleges, lowest qualifying score first. Narrow by state below for the full list in your state.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania Western University California, Pennsylvania | 1 | 1 | PHYS 1510 | Policy |
| Southern New Hampshire University Manchester, New Hampshire | 3 | 4 | PHY-101 & PHY-101L | Policy |
| Grand Canyon University Phoenix, Arizona | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 205 | Policy |
| University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida | 3 | — | PHY 2053C | Policy |
| Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, Indiana | 3 | 4 | PHYS 101 | Policy |
| Liberty University Lynchburg, Virginia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 201 General Physics I | Policy |
| University of Maryland Global Campus Adelphi, Maryland | 3 | 4 | PHYS 111 and PHYS Lab | Policy |
| Lone Star College System The Woodlands, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1401 | Policy |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, Ohio | 3 | 5 | Physics 1200 | Policy |
| The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHY 302K, 105M | Policy |
| Brigham Young University-Idaho Rexburg, Idaho | 3 | 3 | PH 105 | Policy |
| Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, Indiana | 3 | — | PHYS 1XXXX | Policy |
| Kennesaw State University Kennesaw, Georgia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1111 & PHYS 1111L | Policy |
| Florida International University Miami, Florida | 3 | 5 | PHY 2053/ 2048L | Policy |
| Houston Community College Houston, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1401 - College Phyics I | Policy |
| University of Houston Houston, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1101, 1301 | Policy |
| California State University-Fullerton Fullerton, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 211 (3), PHYS 211L (1) | Policy |
| Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington, Indiana | 3 | 3 | PHYS-UN 100 | Policy |
| University of South Florida Tampa, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY 2053 (3) PHY 2053L (1) | Policy |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | PHYSICS X15 | Policy |
| Valencia College Orlando, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY 2053C | Policy |
| Miami Dade College Miami, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY 2053 & PHY 2053L | Policy |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, Illinois | 3 | 3 | Physics 1-- | Policy |
| Texas State University San Marcos, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1115 & 1315 | Policy |
| California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 100A | Policy |
| University of Florida Gainesville, Florida | 3 | 5 | PHY 2053/L | Policy |
| University of California-San Diego La Jolla, California | 3 | 8 | PHYS 10 & Elective | Policy |
| University of North Texas Denton, Texas | 3 | 3 | PHYS 1210 | Policy |
| San Diego State University San Diego, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 180A and PHYS 182A | Policy |
| University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, California | 3 | 5 | — | Policy |
| University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, California | 3 | 8 | PHYSICS General | Policy |
| Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1403 | Policy |
| California State University-Northridge Northridge, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 100A/AL | Policy |
| The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Alabama | 3 | 4 | PH 101 | Policy |
| Florida State University Tallahassee, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY 2053C | Policy |
| University of California-Davis Davis, California | 3 | 8 | — | Policy |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, Washington | 3 | 5 | PHYS 101 | Policy |
| University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado | 3 | 4 | 4 lower-division Arts & Science credits that fulfill the lab portion of and count toward the A&S Gen. Ed. Natural Science requirement and the CMCI Core Natural World requirement | Policy |
| University of Georgia Athens, Georgia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1111 + Lab | Policy |
| The University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, Texas | 3 | — | PHYS 1441 | Policy |
| University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis, Minnesota | 3 | 4 | Physics 1101 | Policy |
| University of Maryland-College Park College Park, Maryland | 3 | 4 | Lab Science (DSNL) | Policy |
| The University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, Texas | 3 | 3 | PHY 1603 | Policy |
| Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon | 3 | 4 | PH 106 | Policy |
| University of California-Irvine Irvine, California | 3 | 8 | Elective credit only | Policy |
| University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati, Ohio | 3 | 5 | PHYS 1051 & PHYS 1051L | Policy |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, South Carolina | 3 | 4 | PHYS 201 and 201L | Policy |
| California State University-Sacramento Sacramento, California | 3 | 6 | — | Policy |
| College of Southern Nevada Las Vegas, Nevada | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| University of Arkansas Fayetteville, Arkansas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 20103/PHYS 20101 | Policy |
| Georgia State University Atlanta, Georgia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1111K | Policy |
| George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 103 | Policy |
| The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1401 | Policy |
| San Jose State University San Jose, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 002A | Policy |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, North Carolina | 3 | 4 | PY 131 | Policy |
| University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1010 & PHYS 1XXX | Policy |
| Austin Community College District Austin, Texas | 3 | — | PHYS 1401 | Policy |
| Collin County Community College District McKinney, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1401 | Policy |
| American River College Sacramento, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| Mt San Antonio College Walnut, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins, Colorado | 3 | 5 | PH 121 | Policy |
| East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| California State Polytechnic University-Pomona Pomona, California | 3 | 4 | PHY 1020 | Policy |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada | 3 | 3 | General Education Science without Lab | Policy |
| Broward College Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY 2053/ PHY 2053L | Policy |
| Ashford University San Diego, California | 3 | 4 | SCIENTIFIC REASONING COMPETENCY | Policy |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst, Massachusetts | 3 | 4 | Physics 131 | Policy |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, North Carolina | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1101 + Lab | Policy |
| Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY 2053, PHY 2053L or PHY 2053C | Policy |
| University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, California | 3 | 8 | — | Policy |
| University of Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky | 3 | 3 | PHY 151 | Policy |
| University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia, Missouri | 3 | 4 | Physics 1210 | Policy |
| San Jacinto Community College Pasadena, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1301/1101 | Policy |
| El Paso Community College El Paso, Texas | 3 | — | PHYS 1301 and 1101 | Policy |
| Clemson University Clemson, South Carolina | 3 | 4 | PHYS 2070, 2090 | Policy |
| University of California-Riverside Riverside, California | 3 | 8 | — | Policy |
| Santa Ana College Santa Ana, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, Illinois | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| Washington State University Pullman, Washington | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, California | 3 | 9 | PHYS 104 and GE B3 and Elective Units | Policy |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman, Oklahoma | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1114 | Policy |
| California State University-Los Angeles Los Angeles, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, Texas | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| Santa Monica College Santa Monica, California | 3 | 4 | Physics 6 | Policy |
| California State University-Fresno Fresno, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 2A | Policy |
| Georgia Southern University Statesboro, Georgia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1111K | Policy |
| Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater, Oklahoma | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1114 | Policy |
| Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 201 | Policy |
| Pasadena City College Pasadena, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 002A | Policy |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina | 3 | 3 | PHYS Elective | Policy |
| The University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, Texas | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1403 | Policy |
| Palm Beach State College Lake Worth, Florida | 3 | 5 | PHY 2053 and PHY 2048L | Policy |
| James Madison University Harrisonburg, Virginia | 3 | 4 | ISCI 101 & ISCI 104 or PHYS 140 & PHYS 140L | Policy |
| Utah State University Logan, Utah | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1010 (BPS) + PHYS 1015 | Policy |
| University at Buffalo Buffalo, New York | 3 | 5 | PHY101LR + PHY151LAB | Policy |
| San Francisco State University San Francisco, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina | 3 | 4 | PHYS 1250, 1251 | Policy |
| University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon | 3 | 4 | Physics elective (1 Science Area course) | Policy |
| Appalachian State University Boone, North Carolina | 3 | 4 | PHY 1123 & 1113 | Policy |
| Kent State University at Kent Kent, Ohio | 3 | 5 | PHY 13001 & 13021 | Policy |
| Grand Valley State University Allendale, Michigan | 3 | 4 | PHY general credit | Policy |
| University of Mississippi University, Mississippi | 3 | 4 | Phys 213, Phys 223 | Policy |
| University of Delaware Newark, Delaware | 3 | 3 | PHYS 166DE | Policy |
| Fresno City College Fresno, California | 3 | 4 | PHYS 2A (Complete with Physics 2) | — |
| St Petersburg College St. Petersburg, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY X053Ccore or PHY X053/ X053Lcore | Policy |
| Cerritos College Norwalk, California | 3 | 4 | — | Policy |
| Wake Technical Community College Raleigh, North Carolina | 3 | 4 | PHY 151 | Policy |
| Ohio University-Main Campus Athens, Ohio | 3 | 4 | PHYS 2001 | Policy |
| Illinois State University Normal, Illinois | 3 | 5 | PHY 108 | Policy |
| Portland Community College Portland, Oregon | 3 | 4 | PHY 101 | Policy |
| Sam Houston State University Huntsville, Texas | 3 | 3 | PHYS 1301 | Policy |
| Mississippi State University Mississippi State, Mississippi | 3 | 3 | PH 1113 | Policy |
| University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California | 3 | 8 | — | Policy |
| Florida State College at Jacksonville Jacksonville, Florida | 3 | 4 | PHY2053C or PHYX053/X053L | Policy |
| West Virginia University Morgantown, West Virginia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 101 | Policy |
| Old Dominion University Norfolk, Virginia | 3 | 4 | PHYS 101N | Policy |
| Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| Riverside City College Riverside, California | 3 | 4 | Physics 10 and 11 | Policy |
| Salt Lake Community College Salt Lake City, Utah | 3 | 3 | PHYS 1010 | Policy |
AP Physics 1 credit by state
How we ranked this
One row per college: the lowest score that earns actual credit under the policy that applies to all students, and the largest credit award published at that score. Placement-only policies are excluded and counted separately above. Where a college publishes only a major-specific rule, we do not promote it to a school-wide minimum. Credit hours and course equivalents are reproduced as the college published them; “—” means the college published no value for that field. Colleges are ordered by minimum score, then by enrolment, so the easiest routes to credit appear first — this is not a quality ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What AP Physics 1 score do you need for college credit?+
Of the 1,639 colleges with a published AP Physics 1 credit policy, 1,215 (74%) award credit at a score of 3, 397 require a 4, and 27 require a 5. There is no single national threshold — the requirement is set by each college, so check the table on this page for the schools on your list.
How many college credits is AP Physics 1 worth?+
The most commonly published award is 4 credit hours, but it varies by college and by the score earned — several colleges award more hours for a 4 or 5 than for a 3. The Credits column in the table shows each college's own published figure; a dash means the college publishes a policy but no credit-hour number, and we do not estimate one.
Do all colleges accept AP Physics 1?+
No. This page covers the 1,639 colleges that publish a credit-bearing policy for AP Physics 1, plus 9 more whose policy for this exam grants placement only — permission to skip a course without earning credit hours. Colleges absent from this list either publish no policy for this exam or grant nothing for it. Absence here is not proof a college rejects the exam; it means we have no published rule to cite.
Where can I verify a college's AP Physics 1 policy?+
Every row links to the college's own advanced-standing or AP credit page in the Source column. That page is authoritative and current; our copy is a snapshot taken July 30, 2026. Policies change between admission cycles, so verify at the source before counting on credit in a graduation plan.
Keep exploring
Data sources: Each college's own published AP / advanced-standing credit page (captured July 30, 2026) · IPEDS institution directory (names, control, location). Figures are the most recent values published in each federal dataset; cells with no published value are shown as “—” and never estimated. CertiHomes Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.