AP United States History credit at Illinois colleges
Every Illinois college with a published AP United States History credit policy — minimum score, credit hours, and the course it replaces.
Quick answer
77 of 90 Illinois colleges (86%) award credit for AP United States History at a score of 3. 11 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). 90 of these colleges link to their own policy page below. Captured July 30, 2026.
| College | Min score | Credits | Counts as | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | History 1-- | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | — | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | U.S. Traditions general education elective credit or IAI H2 904 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | HIST 261 | Policy | |
 College of Lake County Grayslake | 3 | 6 | HST 221 & 222 | Policy |
 Joliet Junior College Joliet | 3 | 3 | HIST 103 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Edwardsville | 3 | 3 | HIST 200 or 201 | Policy |
 William Rainey Harper College Palatine | 3 | 3 | HST 111 | Policy |
 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale | 3 | 3 | HIST 110 | Policy |
 Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills | 3 | 6 | HIS-201 and HIS-202 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HIS 151 | Policy | |
 Columbia College Chicago Chicago | 3 | 3 | HIST 151 US History to 1877 | Policy |
 Triton College River Grove | 3 | 3 | HIS 151 | Policy |
 Waubonsee Community College Sugar Grove | 3 | 6 | HIS 121 & HIS 122 | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | Hist 105 & 106 | Policy | |
ICC Illinois Central College East Peoria | 3 | 3 | HIST 201 | Policy |
 Eastern Illinois University Charleston | 3 | 3 | HIS 2010G or 2020G | Policy |
 Rock Valley College Rockford | 3 | 3 | HST 142 | Policy |
 McHenry County College Crystal Lake | 3 | 6 | HIS-170 & HIS-172 | Policy |
 National Louis University Chicago | 3 | 5 | — | Policy |
 Aurora University Aurora | 3 | 4 | HIS1200 | Policy |
 Lincoln Land Community College Springfield | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HIST 214 | Policy | |
 Bradley University Peoria | 3 | 3 | History 203 | Policy |
 Lewis University Romeoville | 3 | 3 | HIST 10600 | Policy |
 Parkland College Champaign | 3 | — | HIS 289 | Policy |
 Saint Xavier University Chicago | 3 | 6 | HIST 103-104 | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | HIST 135 & 136 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | HUM 200 | Policy | |
| 3 | 3 | — | Policy | |
 Morton College Cicero | 3 | 6 | HIS 105 & HIS 106 | Policy |
 Roosevelt University Chicago | 3 | 3 | HIST 106 | Policy |
 Governors State University University Park | 3 | 3 | HIST 1110 | Policy |
 Lake Land College Mattoon | 3 | 3 | HIS 155 or 156 | Policy |
 Olivet Nazarene University Bourbonnais | 3 | 6 | HIST 231 & HIST 232 | Policy |
 Prairie State College Chicago Heights | 3 | — | HIST 201 | Policy |
 University of Illinois Springfield Springfield | 3 | 3 | HIS 204 or 205 | Policy |
 Black Hawk College Moline | 3 | 3 | HIST 105 | Policy |
 John A Logan College Carterville | 3 | 3 | HIS 201 | Policy |
 South Suburban College South Holland | 3 | 6 | HIS 203 and HIS 204 | Policy |
 Kankakee Community College Kankakee | 3 | 3 | Elective | Policy |
IVCC | 3 | 6 | HIS 2000 AND HIS 2001 | Policy |
 Kaskaskia College Centralia | 3 | 6 | HIST 103 & HIST 104 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HIST 1111 (QHT) | Policy | |
 Kishwaukee College Malta | 3 | 3 | HIS 220 | Policy |
 McKendree University Lebanon | 3 | 6 | HIS-261 (US History to 1877) & HIS-262 (US History since 1877) | Policy |
 Moody Bible Institute Chicago | 3 | 6 | Humanities or Open Elective | Policy |
 Millikin University Decatur | 3 | 3 | HI203 | Policy |
 Chicago State University Chicago | 3 | 3 | HIST 1310 | Policy |
 Richland Community College Decatur | 3 | — | HIST 101 | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | HIS 121 & HIS 122 | Policy | |
DACC Danville Area Community College Danville | 3 | 6 | HIST 151 & 152 | Policy |
 Concordia University-Chicago River Forest | 3 | 3 | HIS 1200 | Policy |
 University of St Francis Joliet | 3 | 3 | HIST 121 | Policy |
| 3 | 6 | HIST 2101 & HIST 2102 | Policy | |
| 3 | 6 | HIS 221 HIS 222 | Policy | |
 Carl Sandburg College Galesburg | 3 | 6 | HIS 105 & 106 | Policy |
 Quincy University Quincy | 3 | 3 | HIS 111 OR HIS 112 | Policy |
 Rockford University Rockford | 3 | 3 | HIST 110 | Policy |
 Highland Community College Freeport | 3 | 3 | HIST 143 | Policy |
 Illinois College Jacksonville | 3 | 4 | HI 101 or 102 | Policy |
 Greenville University Greenville | 3 | 3 | HIST 204 | Policy |
 Trinity Christian College Palos Heights | 3 | 3 | Elective credit | Policy |
JU Judson University Elgin | 3 | 3 | HIS171 | Policy |
 Spoon River College Canton | 3 | 6 | HIS260/261 | Policy |
 Monmouth College Monmouth | 3 | 8 | HIST-110 and HIST-111 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HIS 214 | Policy | |
 Southeastern Illinois College Harrisburg | 3 | 6 | HIST 241 & 242 | Policy |
| 3 | 3 | HIS 2101 or HIS 2102 | Policy | |
 Wabash Valley College Mount Carmel | 3 | 3 | HIS 2101 or HIS 2102 | Policy |
 Eureka College Eureka | 3 | 3 | HIS150, U.S. History to 1865 | Policy |
 Lincoln Trail College Robinson | 3 | 3 | HIS 2101* or HIS 2102 | Policy |
 Principia College Elsah | 3 | 3 | HIST 110 | Policy |
FCC Frontier Community College Fairfield | 3 | 3 | HIS 2101 or HIS 2102 | Policy |
TIUI | 3 | 3 | HI 121 or HI 122 | Policy |
 VanderCook College of Music Chicago | 3 | 3 | — | Policy |
 Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences Rock Island | 3 | 3 | Humanities Elective | Policy |
 DePaul University Chicago | 4 | 4 | One from HST 181, 182 or 183 | Policy |
 Loyola University Chicago Chicago | 4 | 6 | HIST 211 and HIST 212 | Policy |
 Augustana College Rock Island | 4 | 8 | HIST-130, 131 | Policy |
NCC North Central College Naperville | 4 | 4 | HIST Elective (100-level) | Policy |
 Dominican University River Forest | 4 | 3 | HIST 144 | Policy |
 Wheaton College Wheaton | 4 | 4 | HIST 2US | Policy |
 North Park University Chicago | 4 | 8 | HIST 2110/2120 | Policy |
 Lake Forest College Lake Forest | 4 | 1.0 | HIST 200 OR HIST 201 | Policy |
 Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington | 4 | 1 | Elective 100 level elective, CHC, U | Policy |
 Knox College Galesburg | 4 | 1 | HIST 160 and 161 | Policy |
| 4 | 6 | — | Policy | |
 Northwestern University Evanston | 5 | 2 | HISTORY 2US | Policy |
 University of Chicago Chicago | 5 | 100 | — | Policy |
AP United States History 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 United States History?+
90 colleges in Illinois publish a credit-bearing policy for AP United States History. 77 of them (86%) award credit at a score of 3, 11 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 United States History 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 History 1--. 77 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?+
90 of the 90 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.