College Level Examination Program (CLEP) EXAM CREDIT
The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) is a credit-by-examination program that measures a student’s level of comprehension of introductory college-level material and consecutively earns college credit. CLEP credit can be applied towards College of Marin's local general education with a passing score of 50 on the CLEP exam.
For students interested in transferring to the CSU system, the CSU requires a passing score of at least 50 on the CLEP exam. Each campus in the CSU system determines how it will apply external examinations toward credit in the major.
CLEP cannot be used on Cal-GETC.
CLEP cannot be used on IGETC.
The following chart shows how CLEP Exams can be applied to COM's Local GE (new effective Fall 2025). For students who started prior to Fall 2025 (and maintained catalog rights), CLEP exam credit may be applied to CSU Breadth and the previous version of COM's local GE:
| CLEP Exam | Passing Score | CSU Units | CSU Breadth AREA (Prior to Fall 2025) | COM Local GE AREA (Prior to Fall 2025) | COM Local GE AREA (Effective Fall 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Government | 50 | 3 | D | B | 4 |
| American Literature | 50 | 3 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Analyzing and Interpreting Literature | 50 | 3 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Biology | 50 | 3 | B2 | A | 5 |
| Calculus | 50 | 3 | B4 | E | 2 |
| Chemistry | 50 | 3 | B1 | A | 5 |
| College Algebra/Algebra-Trigonometry | 50 | 3 | B4 | E | 2 |
| College Composition/Composition-Modular | N/A | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| College Mathematics | N/A | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| English Composition w/ or w/o essay | N/A | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| English Literature | 50 | 3 | C2 | N/A | N/A |
| Financial Accounting | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| French Level I** | 50 | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| French Level II** (until FA15) | 59 | 12 | C2 | C | 3 |
| French Level II** (after FA15) | 59 | 9 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Freshman College Composition | N/A | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| German I** | 50 | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| German II** (until FA15) | 60 | 12 | C2 | C | 3 |
| German II** (after FA15) | 60 | 9 | C2 | C | 3 |
| History, United States I | 50 | 3 | D & US-1 | B | 4 |
| History, United States II | 50 | 3 | D & US-1 | B | 4 |
| Human Growth and Development | 50 | 3 | E | B | 4 |
| Humanities | 50 | 3 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Information Systems and Computer Applications | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Introduction to Educational Psychology | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Introductory Business Law | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Introductory Psychology | 50 | 3 | D | B | 4 |
| Introductory Sociology | 50 | 3 | D | B | 4 |
| Natural Sciences | 50 | 3 | B1 or B2 | A | 5 |
| Pre-Calculus** | 50 | 3 | B4 | E | 2 |
| Principles of Accounting | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Principles of Macroeconomics | 50 | 3 | D | B | 4 |
| Principles of Management | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Principles of Marketing | 50 | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Social Sciences and History | 50 | 0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Spanish Level I** | 50 | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Spanish Level II** (until FA15) | 63 | 12 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Spanish Level II** (after FA15) | 63 | 9 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Spanish with Writing I** | 50 | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Spanish with Writing II** | 63 | 9 | C2 | C | 3 |
| Trigonometry** | 50 | 3 | B4 | E | E |
| Western Civilization I | 50 | 3 | C2 or D | B | 4 |
| Western Civilization II | 50 | 3 | D | B | 4 |
**If a student passes more than one CLEP test in the same language other than English (e.g., two exams in French), calculus, computer science, or physics, then only one examination may be applied to the baccalaureate