At NIU, you can receive credit for the Advanced Placement (AP) exam and the Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy.
Advanced Placement Exams
You can receive credit for an AP exam in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese or Japanese.
- Score of 3: credit for FL 101 and 102
- Score of 4: credit for FL 101, 102 and 201
- Score of 5: credit for FL 101, 102, 201 and 202
To receive credit for AP exams, request to have your AP scores sent directly to NIU.
Illinois State Seal of Biliteracy
You can receive language credits for the Seal of Biliteracy or the Commendation.
- Seal of Biliteracy: 12 credits
- Commendation: 9 credits
You must ask for the credits to be applied.
Requests for credits must be received within three academic years after graduating from high school. You will need to notify the Department of World Languages and Cultures at askfl@niu.edu that you would like to receive credit for the Seal of Biliteracy.
For additional information about credit by examination, visit Testing Services.
Note: Students with the Seal of Biliteracy or Commendation in multiple languages can receive a maximum of 12 credit hours. Please contact askfl@niu.edu with any questions.
