To be considered for admission to the University of Iowa, students must successfully complete certain minimum high school course requirements. These requirements are usually satisfied through appropriate courses at an accredited high school.

Applicants who have not completed the unit requirements during high school may be admitted if they present a compelling situation to the Office of Admissions.*  These students must satisfy the requirements as soon as possible by enrolling in an appropriate course at a university, college, or community college, or by taking an appropriate placement test or other exam.

If you are planning to enroll in a course at another institution in order to fulfill a UI high school course requirement, consult with the UI Admissions Office first to verify that the prospective course will satisfy the intended requirement.

We're here to help

CLAS Undergraduate Programs can:
  • Answer questions about college policies
  • Help navigate academic concerns
  • Explain how to meet graduation requirements, and more!

We'll be with you every step of the way.

  • To satisfy the Algebra, Geometry, or Single World Language High School Course Requirement, you may submit a passing score from the appropriate University of Iowa Placement Test.
  • To satisfy the English/Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Algebra, or Geometry Requirement, you may submit standardized test scores. For AP, CLEP, and IB exam equivalencies, see Credit by Exam Options.

High School Course Requirements taken at the college level DO NOT satisfy the General Education requirements.

  • Exception: Rhetoric and World Languages course work may be used to satisfy both a high school course requirement and a GE requirement in Rhetoric or World Languages.

High School Course Requirement credits DO usually count toward the minimum of 120 semester hours needed for graduation. 

  • Exception: Credit hours earned from UI mathematics courses MATH:0100 Basic Algebra I and MATH:0300 Basic Geometry (or their equivalents) do not count toward  the 120 s.h. graduation requirement but may be used to fulfill a high school requirement.

*In special cases, students are granted exceptional admission to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences even though they have not satisfied all their high school course requirements.

If this applies to you,

  • your degree audit will remind you of any unresolved high school course requirements each semester  
  • you must satisfy these requirements by the third semester of your UI enrollment
  • you must take these required courses for a letter grade (as opposed to pass/nonpass)
  • you must satisfy all the high school course requirements before you can graduate from CLAS and the University of Iowa

Have questions or want more information?

For specific information or to ask questions about the high school course requirements, please contact clas-undergrad@uiowa.edu or Admissions.