USNA Course Validation Policy
There are many opportunities for midshipmen to earn validation credit for USNA courses. To be considered for validation of a course, a midshipman must have one or more of the following:
- equivalent college level experience elsewhere,
- high AP or IB test scores as indicated below, and/or
- good performance on one or more validation test(s).
In general, validation for a particular course is determined by the academic department in which the course is offered. A midshipman who wishes to validate courses for which opportunities are not provided during plebe summer may visit the relevant department nearly anytime after plebe summer to make appropriate arrangements to be interviewed or tested on coursework the student completed before matriculating at USNA.
A summary of our validation policies for the Class of 2030 is shown in the table below. Additional information about validation can be seen on the Course Validation Information page.
| School of Engineering, Computing and Weapons | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Validation via AP or IB scores |
Validation testing opportunities during plebe summer |
Validation requirements for upper level courses |
| Aerospace Engineering | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Syllabus, transcript, and interview | |
|
Computer Science |
No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. |
Interview, test |
|
|
Cyber Science |
No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. |
Interview, test |
|
| Electrical & Computer Engineering | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Interview, test | |
| Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Syllabus, transcript, and interview | |
| Naval Architecture & Ocean Engineering | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Interview, test | |
| Weapons, Robotics, and Control Engineering | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Syllabus, transcript, and interview | |
| School of Mathematics and Science | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Validation via AP or IB scores |
Validation testing opportunities during plebe summer |
Validation requirements for upper level courses |
| Chemistry |
For Class of 2026 and beyond: Biology 1 can no longer be validated by AP or IB score |
Tests administered for Chemistry 1 and Chemistry 2. | Interview, test. |
| Mathematics (Validation by AP Score or USNA Exam only) | Calculus "AB" or "AB subscore" AP>=4 validates Calc 1. Calculus "BC" AP>=4 validates Calc 1 and Calc 2. |
Tests administered for Calculus 1, Calculus 2 and Calculus 3. | Some combination of syllabus, transcript, interview and test |
| Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Interview, test. | |
| Physics | Tests administered for Physics 1 and Physics 2. | Interview, test. | |
| School of Humanities and Social Sciences | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Validation via AP or IB scores |
Validation testing opportunities during plebe summer |
Validation requirements for upper level courses |
| Economics | Micro AP>=4 and Macro AP>=4 validates FE210. Micro AP>=4 validates SE201. Macro AP>=4 validates SE202. |
No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Some combination of syllabus, transcript, interview and test. |
| English | English AP=5 or IB=7, Literature or Language, validates English 1. | Tests administered for English 1 and English 2. | Syllabus, transcript and interview. |
| History |
For Class of 2028 and earlier, World history AP=5 AND (US History AP=5 or European History AP=5) validates HH216 For Class of 2029 and later, World History AP=5 validates HH216. |
No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Syllabus, transcript and interview. |
| Political Science |
AP Government & Politics: United States >= 4 validates FP130 AP Government & Politics: Comparative >= 4 validates FP230 FP130 and FP230 can only be validated via AP score or transcript and syllabus from an in-residence equivalent college course taken after high school graduation. Dual enrollment or courses taken "in partnership" with a community college or local university as part of AP Gov in high school in lieu of taking the AP exam DO NOT QUALIFY for validation at USNA. |
No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Syllabus, transcript and interview. |
| Languages & Cultures |
For French, German, and Spanish: AP exam score of 4 or 5 in conjunction with USNA validation exam. For Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, or Russian: AP exam score of 5 in conjunction with USNA validation exam. |
Yes.
|
Interview tests available. |
| Division of Professional Development | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Validation via AP or IB scores |
Validation testing opportunities during plebe summer |
Validation requirements for upper level courses |
| Seamanship and Navigation | No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | ||
| Division of Leadership Education and Development | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Department | Validation via AP or IB scores |
Validation testing opportunities during plebe summer |
Validation requirements for upper level courses |
| Leadership, Ethics & Law |
Introductory Psychology AP>=4 validates NL200 (Science of Human Behavior). Note, no validation exists for NL110 (Applied Behavioral Sciences for the Naval Leader). All plebes take NL110.
|
No validation tests are administered during plebe summer. | Syllabus, transcript, and Department Chair permission. |
