USNA Course Validation Policy

Most validation occurs during plebe summer but a few midshipmen validate upper level courses at other times. Midshipmen who wish to validate courses for which opportunities were not provided during plebe summer may visit the department concerned to make appropriate arrangements. To be considered for validation of any course, a midshipman must have had equivalent college level experience elsewhere. Automatic validation for high AP or IB test scores is indicated below. Validation may also be achieved by good performance on the plebe summer validation tests listed below.

Department	^Validation opportunities during plebe summer	Validation requirements for upper level courses
	Division of Engineering and Weapons
Aerospace Engineering	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.	Interview, test
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Naval Architecture, Ocean, and Marine Engineering
Weapons and Systems Engineering
	Division of Mathematics and Science	Interview, test
Chemistry	Tests administered for Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2.  Biology AP=5 or IB>6 validates Biology 1.
Computer Science	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.  “A” or “B” (taken prior to 2004) AP >= 4 validates.
Mathematics	Tests administered for Calculus 1 ("AB" AP>4 validates), Calculus 2 ("BC" AP>4 validates) and Calculus 3.
Oceanography	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.
Physics	Tests administered for Physics 1 and Physics 2.
	Division of Humanities and Social Sciences
Economics	Test administered for Introductory Economics. Micro+Macro AP>8 validates.	Interview, test
English	Tests administered for English 1 (AP=5 or IB=7, Literature or Language, validates) and English 2.	Syllabus,
History	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.  European History AP=5 in validates.	transcript, and
Political Science	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.  American Government AP=5 validates.	interview
Language Studies	Tests administered for French 1&2 (AP>3 validates) and French 3&4 (AP>4 validates). Tests administered for German 1&2 (AP>3 validates) and German 3&4 (AP>4 validates). Tests administered for Japanese 1&2 and Japanese 3&4. Tests administered for Russian 1&2 and Russian 3&4. Tests administered for Spanish 1&2 (AP>3 validates) and Spanish 3&4 (AP>4 validates).	Interview, test
	Division of Officer Development
Leadership, Ethics, and Law	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.  Introductory Psychology AP>4 validates.	Syllabus, transcript, interview
	Division of Professional Development
Seamanship and Navigation	No validation tests are administered during plebe summer.	Interview, test

Last update: April 5, 2008