College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The College Entrance Examination Board offers examinations covering material taught in courses that most students take in the first two years of college. Students may earn credit for CLEP exams with a passing score of 50 or more. Coastline grants unit and Option 1 general education credit for most exams.

CLEP credits will count towards general education, major, or elective credits for the Associate degree or CSU General Education Certification. See the CLEP Chart for the required scores and applicability.
The University of California does not grant credit for CLEP.
CLEP may or may not be accepted by other colleges and universities. A student must check with the specific transfer institution to determine regulations regarding CLEP. General CLEP policies can be found in the college catalogs.
CLEP exams may not be used to retake or improve a grade in a course at Coastline or any other institution.
CLEP credit posted to another institution’s transcript will be reevaluated based on Coastline’s standards and may or may not be equal to credit received at another institution. CLEP credit posted to a student’s Coastline transcript may or may not be accepted for equal units at another institution.
Coastline has a CLEP and DSST National Test Center on base at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

Transfer Students: The CSU requires a passing score of at least 50 on the CLEP exam. CSU campuses will grant unit credit toward admission, CSU GE Breadth, and American Institutions requirements. Some CSUs will grant credit toward the major, but this is determined by each individual campus. Check with your counselor for more information.

CLEP Chart

CLEP Exam	Coastline Passing Score	Coastline AA GE Units (GE Area)	Coastline Units Towards AA/AS	CSU Passing Score	Min. CSU Units Earned Toward Admission	Units Towards CSU/GE Breadth	American Institutions and/or GE Breadth Area
American Government	50	(3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D
American Literature	50	(3) Area C	3	50	3	3	C2
Analyzing, Interpreting Literature	50	(3) Area C	3	50	3	3	C2
Biology	50	BIOL C100 (3) Area B	3	50	3	3	B2
Calculus	50	MATH C180 (5) Area B	5	50	3	3	B4
Chemistry	50	CHEM C130 (4) Area B	4	50	3	3	B1
College Algebra	50	MATH C115 (4) Area A3	4	50	3	3	B4
College Composition	50	N/A	0	50	0	0	N/A
College Composition-Modular	50	N/A	0	50	0	0	N/A
College Mathematics	50	(3) Area A3	6	50	0	0	N/A
English Literature	50	(3) Area C	3	50	3	3	C2 (F'11) 2
Financial Accounting	50	N/A	3	50	3	0	N/A
French Level I 1	50	(6) Area C	6	50	6	0	N/A
French Level II 1	59	(9) Area C	12	59	12	3	C2 (F'15) 2
French Level II 1	59	(9) Area C	9	59	9	3	C2
German Level I 1	50	(6) Area C	6	50	6	0	C2
German Level II 1	50	(9) Area C	12	60	12	3	C2 (F'15) 2
German Level II 1	50	(9) Area C	9	60	9	3	C2
History, US I	50	(3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D+US+I
History, US II	50	(3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D+US+I
Human Growth and Development	50	(3) Area D or E	3	50	3	3	E
Humanities	50	(3) Area C	3	50	3	3	C2
Information Systems	50	N/A	3	50	3	0	N/A
Introduction to Educational Psychology	50	N/A	3	50	3	0	N/A
Introduction Business Law	50	N/A	3	50	3	0	N/A
Introduction Psychology	50	PSYC C100 (3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D
Introduction Sociology	50	SOC C100 (3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D
Natural Sciences	50	(6) Area B	6	50	3	3	B1/B2
Pre-Calculus	50	MATH C170 (5) Area A3	5	50	3	3	B4
Principles of Macroeconomics	50	ECON C175 (3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D
Principles of Management	50	N/A	0	50	3	0	N/A
Principles of Marketing	50	N/A	0	50	3	0	N/A
Principles of Microeconomics	50	ECON C170 (3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D
Social Science & History	50	N/A	0	50	0	0	N/A
Spanish Level I 1	50	(6) Area C	0	50	6	0	N/A
Spanish Level II 1	50	(9) Area C	12	63	12	3	C2 (F'15) 2
Spanish Level II 1	50	(9) Area C	9	63	9	3	C2
Trigonometry	50	MATH C120 (3) Area A3	3	50	3	3	B4 (F'06) 2
Western Civilization I	50	(3) Area D	3	50	3	3	C2/D
Western Civilization II	50	(3) Area D	3	50	3	3	D

If a student passes more than one CLEP test in the same language other than English (e.g. two exams in French), then only one examination may be applied to the baccalaureate. For each test in a language other than English, a passing score of 50 is considered “Level I” and earns six units of baccalaureate credit; the higher score listed for each test is considered “Level II” and earns additional units of credit and placement in Area C2 of GE Breadth, as noted.

Students seeking certification in GE Breadth prior to transfer must have passed the test before this date.