Catalog 2023-2024

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International Baccalaureate Exams (IB)

West Valley College will grant general education credit towards graduation for some International Baccalaureate Higher Level (HL) examinations. Students must pass the examinations with a score 5, 6, or 7 to earn West Valley College credit. See table for general education credit for IB examinations to West Valley College (WVC), California State University (CSU), and University of California (UC). CSU and UC will accept certain IB exams to meet statewide general education requirements. Individual CSU or UC campuses may accept additional IB exams for credit and/or apply them towards graduation requirements. Students should check with the specific CSU or UC campus for information on how the campus applies IB exam credit.

Column 1: Applied to Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) certification with a score of 5, 6, or 7.

Column 2: Applied to California State University General Education (CSU GE) certification with a score of 5, 6, or 7 unless otherwise noted.

Column 3: Applied to Associate Degree General Education area at West Valley College with a score of 5, 6, or 7 unless otherwise noted.

IB Exam – HL EXAMS Column 1 Column 2 Column 3
  Application to IGETC Certification 3 semester units toward IGETC Area Application to CSU GE Certification 3 semester units toward CSU GE Application to Associate Degree General Education For West Valley College 3 semester units toward AA/AS GE
Biology HL IGETC Area 5B With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area B2 Natural Science Area B
Chemistry HL IGETC Area 5A With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area B1 Natural Science Area B
Economics HL IGETC Area 4 With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area D2 Social Science Area D
Geography HL IGETC Area 4 With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area D5 Social Science Area D
History HL (Any region) IGETC Area 3B or Area 4 With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area C2 or Area D6 Humanities Area C or Social Sciences Area D
Language A Literature HL (Any language) IGETC Area 3B and, for any language other than English, credit for Area 6A is also applied With a passing score of 4 CSU GE Area C2 With a passing score of 4 Humanities Area C
Language A Language AND Literature HL (Any language) IGETC Area 3B and, for any language other than English, credit for Area 6A is also applied With a passing score of 4 CSU GE Area C2 With a passing score of 4 Humanities Area C
Language A1 HL (Any language) IGETC Area 3B and, for any language other than English, credit for Area 6A is also applied With a passing score of 4 CSU GE Area C2 With a passing score of 4 Humanities Area C
Language A2 HL (Any language) IGETC Area 3B and, for any language other than English, credit for Area 6A is also applied with a passing score of 4 CSU GE Area C2 With a passing score of 4 Humanities Area C
Language B HL (Any language) IGETC Area 6A NA With a passing score of 4 Humanities Area C
Mathematics HL IGETC Area 2 With a passing score of 4 CSU GE Area B4 With a passing score of 4 Language and Rationality Area A
Physics HL IGETC Area 5A With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area B1 Natural Science Area B
Psychology HL IGETC Area 4 With a passing score of 5 CSU GE Area D9 Social Science Area D
Theater HL IGETC Area 3A With a passing score of 4 CSU GE Area C1 With a passing score of 4 Humanities Area C

Advising Note

CSU and UC transfer credit can be earned with a passing score of 5, 6, or 7. However, credit cannot be duplicated with another course or exam. West Valley College will allow 3 units of elective credit per exam toward degree. Please consult with a counselor for further guidance.

Last Updated 8/25/23