In most cases, students may receive anywhere from three to eight semester hours of credit for each AP examination score of 3 or higher. Students may also become eligible to enter intermediate or advanced courses in a field depending upon their performance on advanced placement tests.
The following is a list of advanced placement examinations for which Western Carolina University may award academic credit.
| AP Examination | Score Required | Hours Granted | WCU Course(s) Satisfied | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art: 2D Art & Design (since December 2020 only) | 3 or above | 3 | ART 132 | this is how much room we have |
| Art: 3D Art & Design (since December 2020 only) | 3 or above | 3 | ART 142 | |
| Art History | 3 or above | 6 | ART 136, 137 | |
| Art: Studio | 3 or above | 3 | ELECTIVE* | |
| Biology | 3 or 4 | 3 | BIOL 104 | |
| Biology | 5 | 4 | BIOL 140 | |
| Calculus AB | 3 or above | 4 | MATH 153 | |
| Calculus BC | 3 or above | 8 | MATH 153, 255 | |
| Chemistry | 3 | 4 | CHEM 139 | |
| Chemistry | 4 or above | 8 | CHEM 139, 140 | |
| Chinese Language & Culture | 3 | 6 | CHIN 102, 231 | |
| Chinese Langauge & Culture | 4 or above | 6 | CHIN 231, 232 | |
| Computer Science A | 3 or 4 | 3 | CS 150 | |
| Computer Science A | 5 | 4 | CS 150 | |
| Computer Science Principles | 3 or above | 3 | CS 130 | |
| English Language & Composition | 3 or above | 3 | ENGL 101 | |
| English Literature & Composition | 3 | 3 | ENGL 101 | |
| English Literature & Composition | 4 or above | 6 | ENGL 101, 202 | |
| Environmental Science | 3 or above | 3 | ENVH 130 | |
| European History | 3 or above | 6 | HIST 221, 222 | |
| French Language | 3 | 6 | FREN 102, 231 | |
| French Language | 4 | 6 | FREN 231, 232 | |
| French Language | 5 | 6 | FREN 232, 301 | |
| French Literature | 3 | 3 | FREN 310 | |
| French Literature | 4 or above | 3 | FREN 331 | |
| German Language | 3 | 6 | GER 102, 231 | |
| German Language | 4 | 6 | GER 231, 232 | |
| German Language | 5 | 6 | GER 232, 301 | |
| Government & Politics: United States | 3 or above | 3 | PSC 101 | |
| Government & Politics: Comparative | 3 or above | 3 | PSC 169 | |
| Human Geography | 3 or above | 3 | GEOG 103 | |
| Italian Language & Culture | 3 or above | 6 | WLL 101, 102 (LS P6) | |
| Japanese Language & Culture | 3 | 6 | JPN 102, 231 | |
| Japanese Language & Culture | 4 or above | 6 | JPN 231, 232 | |
| Latin | 3 or above | 6 | WLL 101, 102 (LS P6) | |
| Macroeconomics | 3 or above | 3 | ECON 232 | |
| Microeconomics | 3 or above | 3 | ECON 231 | |
| Music Theory | 3 or above | 4 | ELECTIVE | |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 3 or above | 4 | PHYS 230 | |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 3 or above | 4 | PHYS 231 | |
| Physics I | 3 or above | 4 | PHYS 130 | |
| Physics II | 3 or above | 4 | PHYS 131 | |
| Psychology | 3 or above | 3 | PSY 150 | |
| Research (since January 2019 only) | 3 | 3 | ELEC 19A | |
| Research (since January 2019 only) | 4 | 6 | ELEC 19A | |
| Seminar (since January 2019 only) | 3 | 3 | ELEC 19A | |
| Seminar (since January 2019 only) | 4 | 6 | ELEC 19A | |
| Spanish Language | 3 | 6 | SPAN 102, 231 | |
| Spanish Language | 4 | 6 | SPAN 231, 232 | |
| Spanish Language | 5 | 6 | SPAN 232, 301 | |
| Spanish Literature | 3 | 3 | SPAN 310 | |
| Spanish Literature | 4 or above | 3 | SPAN 330 | |
| Statistics | 3 or above | 3 | MATH 170 | |
| United States History | 3 or above | 6 | HIST 131, HIST 132 | |
| World History | 3 or above | 3 | LS P3 | |
| *Portfolio review required |