AP Music Theory credit at New York colleges
Every New York college with a published AP Music Theory credit policy — minimum score, credit hours, and the course it replaces.
Quick answer
84 of 108 New York colleges (78%) award credit for AP Music Theory at a score of 3. 23 require a 4 and 1 requires a 5. The lowest bar in the state is a 3 at University at Buffalo (3 credit hours). 106 of these colleges link to their own policy page below. Captured July 30, 2026.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 University at Buffalo Buffalo | 3 | 3 | APC999TR | Policy |
 Stony Brook University Stony Brook | 3 | 3 | MUS 119 | Policy |
CBMC | 3 | 3 | MUS 105 | Policy |
 CUNY Hunter College New York | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 CUNY Bernard M Baruch College New York | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Syracuse University Syracuse | 3 | 3 | HOM/MTC 125 | Policy |
 Binghamton University Vestal | 3 | 4 | Elective credit | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | MUS 122 | Policy | |
 Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester | 3 | 3 | Free 100 - Free Elective Credit | Policy |
| 3 | — | MUS 1202 | Policy | |
 University at Albany Albany | 3 | 6 | AMUS 110 , AMUS E10 | Policy |
 CUNY City College New York | 3 | 3 | MUS 99902 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | MUS 101 | Policy | |
 Nassau Community College Garden City | 3 | 3 | MUS 101 | Policy |
 CUNY LaGuardia Community College Long Island City | 3 | 9 | HUM 140, 144, & 240 | Policy |
CBC CUNY Brooklyn College Brooklyn | 3 | 6 | MUSC.-1000E | Policy |
 CUNY Lehman College Bronx | 3 | 3 | MST-299 | Policy |
 College of Staten Island CUNY Staten Island | 3 | 6 | MUS 199 | Policy |
 Farmingdale State College Farmingdale | 3 | 3 | MUS 108 | Policy |
| 3 | — | MUSIC 110 - Basic Musicianship | Policy | |
 Monroe Community College Rochester | 3 | 7 | MUS 101 & 109 | Policy |
 Fashion Institute of Technology New York | 3 | 6 | MU010, HU010 | Policy |
 Empire State University Saratoga Springs | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | MUSC 900 | Policy | |
 Hofstra University Hempstead | 3 | 3 | LA 999 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | MUS001 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | MUS 111 Intro Music Theory or MUS 201 Music Theory I | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | Electives | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | MUS 100 | Policy | |
 Mercy University Dobbs Ferry | 3 | 3 | MUSI107 | Policy |
 Long Island University Brookville | 3 | 3 | MUS 102 | Policy |
 SUNY Brockport Brockport | 3 | 3 | MUS 1TR | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | MUS 210 and MUS 1XX | Policy | |
 Adelphi University Garden City | 3 | 3 | MUA110 | Policy |
 Marist College Poughkeepsie | 3 | 3 | MUS 120L Music Theory I | Policy |
 CUNY York College Jamaica | 3 | 3 | MUS 999 | Policy |
 Rockland Community College Suffern | 3 | 6 | MUS 201 & 202 | — |
 SUNY Old Westbury Old Westbury | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 SUNY College at Geneseo Geneseo | 3 | 3 | F/MUSC 110 | Policy |
SCP SUNY College at Plattsburgh Plattsburgh | 3 | 3 | MUS120 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | FNAT 2413-Music History | Policy | |
 CUNY Medgar Evers College Brooklyn | 3 | — | — | Policy |
SJSU St. Joseph's University-New York Brooklyn | 3 | 3 | MUS 101 | Policy |
 New York Institute of Technology Old Westbury | 3 | 6 | Liberal Arts Elective | Policy |
 Molloy College Rockville Centre | 3 | 6 | MUS ELEC, MUS ELEC (Awarded with a score of 4) | Policy |
 SUNY at Purchase College Purchase | 3 | 3 | Music Theory elective | Policy |
 Finger Lakes Community College Canandaigua | 3 | 6 | MUS 106 & MUS 106L | Policy |
SF SUNY at Fredonia Fredonia | 3 | — | MUS 1TR | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | MUS 102 | Policy | |
| 3 | 6 | General Elective | Policy | |
 Iona University New Rochelle | 3 | 3 | FPA Core | Policy |
 Niagara University Niagara University | 3 | 6 | FAA Elective | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HUMN 000 | Policy | |
 St. John Fisher University Rochester | 3 | 3 | Liberal arts credit hours | Policy |
 Utica University Utica | 3 | 3 | MUS Elective | Policy |
 Le Moyne College Syracuse | 3 | 3 | MUS 116 | Policy |
 Genesee Community College Batavia | 3 | 3 | MUS 201 | Policy |
 SUNY College at Potsdam Potsdam | 3 | 3 | MULT 101 | Policy |
 St. Francis College Brooklyn | 3 | 3 | FA-1401 Music of the Western World (Gen Ed - Creative Voices Across Cultures) | Policy |
 St Bonaventure University Saint Bonaventure | 3 | 3 | MU-121 | Policy |
 Nazareth University Rochester | 3 | 6 | VPA.Q*PEQ, MUS 1T1 | Policy |
 SUNY Morrisville Morrisville | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| 3 | — | — | Policy | |
| 3 | 4 | — | Policy | |
 Canisius University Buffalo | 3 | 3 | Free Elective | Policy |
 Daemen University Amherst | 3 | 3 | MUS-100 | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | — | Policy | |
 Marymount Manhattan College New York | 3 | 6 | MUS ELECTIVE | Policy |
 Wagner College Staten Island | 3 | — | MU111 | Policy |
 Jefferson Community College Watertown | 3 | 5 | MUS 101 and MUS 000(2 credits) | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | MUSI 108 and MUSI 109 | Policy | |
 D'Youville University Buffalo | 3 | 3 | IMA-100 | Policy |
 Ulster County Community College Stone Ridge | 3 | 6 | MUS 101, 102 | Policy |
 Manhattanville College Purchase | 3 | 4 | MUTR 1010 | Policy |
 SUNY Maritime College Throggs Neck | 3 | 3 | GERA 000 General Education: The Arts | Policy |
 Hartwick College Oneonta | 3 | 3 | MUSI-140 | Policy |
 Dominican University New York Orangeburg | 3 | 3 | Liberal Arts Elective | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | MUS ELCT | Policy | |
 St. Thomas Aquinas College Sparkill | 3 | 3 | MUS 201 | Policy |
 Keuka College Keuka Park | 3 | 3 | MUS-ELE | Policy |
 Houghton University Houghton | 3 | 4 | Art and Music General Education | Policy |
NCCC North Country Community College Saranac Lake | 3 | 6 | MUS 103 and MUS 104 | — |
FTC Five Towns College Dix Hills | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
CCC Clinton Community College Plattsburgh | 3 | — | — | Policy |
 New York University New York | 4 | 4 | — | Policy |
 Fordham University Bronx | 4 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Pace University New York | 4 | 3 | LA MUS | Policy |
 University of Rochester Rochester | 4 | 4 | MUSC 110 | Policy |
| 4 | 4 | ARTS 1380 | Policy | |
 Ithaca College Ithaca | 4 | 2 | MUTH 18888 - Music Theory Elective | Policy |
 Touro University New York | 4 | 6 | COA BLCR | Policy |
 Pratt Institute-Main Brooklyn | 4 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Siena College Loudonville | 4 | 3 | CREA 165 | Policy |
 Barnard College New York | 4 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Colgate University Hamilton | 4 | 1 | MUSI 203 | Policy |
| 4 | 3 | HU183 | Policy | |
 Yeshiva University New York | 4 | 3 | Mus/Musi Elective | Policy |
 Skidmore College Saratoga Springs | 4 | 4 | — | Policy |
 Clarkson University Potsdam | 4 | 3 | ARTS 101 | Policy |
 Vassar College Poughkeepsie | 4 | 1 | — | Policy |
 St Lawrence University Canton | 4 | 1 | MUS-100 | Policy |
| 4 | 2 | — | Policy | |
 Sarah Lawrence College Bronxville | 4 | 2 | — | Policy |
 Alfred University Alfred | 4 | 4 | MUSC 120 | Policy |
 Roberts Wesleyan University Rochester | 4 | 3 | Theory I | Policy |
 Elmira College Elmira | 4 | 3 | Fine Arts Pillar | Policy |
| 4 | 3 | — | Policy | |
 Bard College Annandale-On-Hudson | 5 | — | — | Policy |
AP Music Theory credit in other states
How we ranked this
One row per New York 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 New York colleges give credit for AP Music Theory?+
108 colleges in New York publish a credit-bearing policy for AP Music Theory. 84 of them (78%) award credit at a score of 3, 23 require a 4, and 1 requires 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 Music Theory score that earns credit in New York?+
3. University at Buffalo in Buffalo awards credit at a score of 3, worth 3 credit hours, counting as APC999TR. 84 New York colleges in total set their bar at a 3 or lower.
Does in-state residency change AP credit in New York?+
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 New York AP credit policies?+
106 of the 108 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.