AP African American Studies credit at Illinois colleges
Every Illinois college with a published AP African American Studies credit policy — minimum score, credit hours, and the course it replaces.
Quick answer
26 of 35 Illinois colleges (74%) award credit for AP African American Studies at a score of 3. 7 require a 4 and 2 require a 5. The lowest bar in the state is a 3 at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (3 credit hours). 35 of these colleges link to their own policy page below. Captured July 30, 2026.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | AFRO 100 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | Black Studies | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | HIS 111 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | HIST 364 | Policy | |
 College of Lake County Grayslake | 3 | 6 | HST 240 & HST 241 | Policy |
 Joliet Junior College Joliet | 3 | 3 | SSC 101E (social science elective) | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville | 3 | 3 | HIST 130A or HIST 130B | Policy |
 William Rainey Harper College Palatine | 3 | 3 | BAC901 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale | 3 | 3 | AFR 109: Intro to Black America | Policy |
 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills | 3 | 3 | GEN-999 | Policy |
 Columbia College Chicago Chicago | 3 | — | Historical and Cultural Understanding | Policy |
 Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove | 3 | 3 | Elective Credit | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | AAS 100 | Policy | |
 Saint Xavier University Chicago | 3 | 3 | AAS 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HUM 200 | Policy | |
 Prairie State College Chicago Heights | 3 | 3 | Hist 240 | Policy |
 John A Logan College Carterville | 3 | 3 | HIS 223 | Policy |
 Kankakee Community College Kankakee | 3 | 3 | Humanities Elective | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HIST 1HT (QHT) | Policy | |
 Chicago State University Chicago | 3 | 3 | AFAM 1000 | Policy |
 Concordia University-Chicago River Forest | 3 | 3 | HIS 2500 | Policy |
 Quincy University Quincy | 3 | 3 | General Elective | Policy |
 Highland Community College Freeport | 3 | 3 | HIST 247 | Policy |
 Monmouth College Monmouth | 3 | 4 | HIST-112 | Policy |
 Eureka College Eureka | 3 | 3 | HIS Elective | Policy |
 Principia College Elsah | 3 | 3 | INTS XXX | Policy |
 DePaul University Chicago | 4 | 4 | ABD 100 | Policy |
 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield | 4 | 3 | HIS 222 | Policy |
NCC North Central College Naperville | 4 | 4 | HIST 112 | Policy |
 Dominican University River Forest | 4 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Lake Forest College Lake Forest | 4 | 1.0 | AFAM 110 | Policy |
 Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington | 4 | 1 | Elective100 level elective, CHC, U | Policy |
 Illinois College Jacksonville | 4 | 4 | HI 211 or HI 212 | Policy |
 Northwestern University Evanston | 5 | 1 | BLK_ST 2XX | Policy |
 University of Chicago Chicago | 5 | 100 | — | Policy |
AP African American Studies credit in other states
How we ranked this
One row per Illinois 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 — permission to skip a course without earning credit hours — are excluded. Credit hours and course equivalents are reproduced exactly as the college published them; “—” means no value was published and we do not estimate one. A page is published for a state only when at least 8 colleges back it.
Frequently asked questions
Which Illinois colleges give credit for AP African American Studies?+
35 colleges in Illinois publish a credit-bearing policy for AP African American Studies. 26 of them (74%) award credit at a score of 3, 7 require a 4, and 2 require a 5. The full list, with credit hours and the course each exam replaces, is in the table on this page.
What is the lowest AP African American Studies score that earns credit in Illinois?+
3. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign awards credit at a score of 3, worth 3 credit hours, counting as AFRO 100. 26 Illinois colleges in total set their bar at a 3 or lower.
Does in-state residency change AP credit in Illinois?+
No. AP credit policy is set per institution and applies to admitted students regardless of residency — residency affects tuition rate, not credit awards. What does vary is the school within a university: engineering and nursing colleges commonly set higher bars than arts and sciences. The rules shown here are the ones that apply to all students at each college.
How do I verify these Illinois AP credit policies?+
35 of the 35 colleges on this page link to their own published AP credit page in the Source column; our snapshot was taken July 30, 2026. The college's page is authoritative and can change between admission cycles, so confirm there before building a graduation plan around the credit.
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. Education does not sell rankings or accept placement fees.