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Office of General Education

Revised Common Curriculum AP, IB, and Transfer Credit Policies for Fall 2023 Catalog

Students study before Spring Finals at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center, Tuesday, May 6, 2021 on the SMU Campus.

This post was updated on March 17 to reflect modifications to SLR rules for clarity. 

In response to an equity concern raised by the Lyle School of Engineering and supported by the Division of Enrollment Services, the Council on General Education modified Common Curriculum rules to become effective in Fall 2023.

The concern was that current rules privilege high-credit transfer students to the disadvantage of first-year and first-year transfer students. Modifications will be made in the Fall 2023 Catalog to regulations related to (a) Quantitative Reasoning, (b) Second Language, and (c) the ability to fulfill up to three Breath requirements using external credit.

In all cases where petitioning is required, no petition will be necessary if a direct equivalency has been established at SMU through the transfer process. The Council will monitor what percentage of undergraduate students use dual credit to satisfy requirements and what percentage of students satisfy requirements at SMU.

To that end, the following Common Curriculum rules will apply to the Fall 2023 Catalog and forward. These policies will be reflected on the Common Curriculum website on June 1, 2023.

  • All students are required to take one course in fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning Foundation; students may use AP, IB, dual, or transfer credit as well as SMU credit toward fulfillment of the requirement.  
    • One three-credit course is required to ensure that students possess these necessary skills. Students scoring a 4 or 5 on the Calculus AB, Calculus BC, or Statistics AP tests and those scoring 5, 6, or 7 on the IB Mathematics higher-level exam will satisfy this requirement.  
    • Students may petition to count qualifying Math or Statistics transfer or dual or concurrent enrollment courses toward this requirement. Math placement testing is also available through SMU’s Mathematics credit examinations.  
  • All students must take WRTR 1312 and WRTR 1313 (maintain current rules) 
    • FYR and FYT students must take WRTR 1312 and WRTR 1313 at SMU (current rules). 
    • TRN students may use transfer credit to satisfy these requirements (current rules). 
  • All students must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a Second Language either by passing an approved proficiency exam or taking a course equivalent to the second-semester course at SMU.  
    • FYR, FYT, and TRN students may satisfy this requirement by with dual or concurrent credit equivalent to a 3rd (2401) or a higher-level course at SMU.  
    • FYR, FYT, and TRN students may use AP and IB credit to satisfy this requirement (with an appropriate score).
    • TRN students may satisfy the requirement by transferring two consecutive semesters for a minimum of six-credit hours of the same language taken post-high school (regardless of the transfer equivalency).
    • TRN students may satisfy this requirement with post-high school transfer credit equivalent to one of SMU’s second-semester language courses (e.g., 1402).  
  • All FYR and FYT students will be allowed to fulfill up to three Breadth requirements using external credit.  Students may use any combination of AP, IB, dual, or transfer credit courses to fulfill the Breadth requirements. Only approved AP and IB exams with appropriate scores may be used. 
  • TRN students may fulfill up to seven Breadth requirements using external credit. 
  • In all cases where petitioning is required, no petition will be necessary if a direct equivalency has been established at SMU through the transfer process. 

These new rules above replaced the Fall 2022 Catalog and earlier Common Curriculum rules, which are as follows: 

  • All students are required to take one course in fulfillment of the Quantitative Reasoning Foundation; students may use AP, IB, dual or transfer credit as well as SMU credit toward fulfillment of the requirement. 
  • All students must take WRTR 1312 and WRTR 1313.   
    • All first-year and first-year transfer students are required to take both courses at SMU. 
    • TRN students (those with 24 hours of post-high school transfer credit) may satisfy one or both courses using post-high school transfer credit.   
    • AP and IB credit may not be used to satisfy this requirement. 
    • Dual credit may not be used to satisfy this requirement. 
  • All students must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in a Second Language either by passing an approved proficiency exam or taking a course, equivalent to the second semester course at SMU, after high school graduation.   
    • TRN students (those with 24 hours of post-high school transfer credit) may satisfy this requirement with two semesters of transfer credit, or transfer of a course equivalent to 1402 (or a high-level course).   
    • AP and IB credit can be used to satisfy this requirement. 
    • Dual credit cannot be used to satisfy this requirement. 
  • All first-year and first-year transfer students may use up to 3 AP, IB or transfer credit courses toward fulfillment of the Breadth requirements.   
    • These students may not use dual credit to satisfy Breadth requirements. 
  • All TRN students may use AP, IB or transfer credit courses toward fulfillment of the Breadth requirements.  Dual-credit courses that have been accepted and processed for credit by the institution from which the student transfers can be used to satisfy these requirements.