This table includes BC Secondary School courses that may be listed in this Calendar as prerequisites to VIU courses or programs. BC Secondary School courses which are not listed as prerequisites, or which do not have an equivalent through one of these alternatives, are not included. For more information please refer to the British Columbia secondary school and VIU course equivalency chart

British Columbia Secondary School

VIU Adult Basic Education1

Thompson Rivers University–Open Learning Division

Life Sciences 11

BIOL 047

BIOL 0500

Anatomy and Physiology 12

BIOL 067

BIOL 0600

Chemistry 11

CHEM 047

CHEM 0501

Chemistry 12

CHEM 067

Computer Studies 11

COST 047

English 11

ENGL 047

ENGL 0501

English 12 (see English Requirement below)

ENGL 067

ENGL 0601 or ENGL 0641

Pre-Calculus 11

MATH 045/046 or MATH 047

MATH 0523 or MATH 0510 (A)

Pre-Calculus 12

MATH 065/066 or MATH 067

MATH 0633

Physics 11

PHYS 047

PHYS 0501

Physics 12

PHYS 067

PHYS 0601

Notes

1 VIU recognizes Adult Basic Education courses completed at other BC post-secondary institutions to meet BC high school equivalencies.

Many programs and courses at VIU, including all first-year English courses, have an admission requirement or prerequisite of English 12, with a minimum grade of "C".

Acceptable alternatives to English 12 include BC Secondary School First Peoples' English 12, VIU's ENGL 067ENGL 068, ESLA 050, or ESLU 051 and ESLU 052 (University Preparation 5, also known as AP5).

Students who do not formally meet this English 12 requirement, but who believe they have obtained the necessary level of competency, may write an assessment test. There are currently four acceptable tests to show equivalency to English 12:

If selecting the ACCUPLACER Next Generation, test results of a minimum score of 260 on the Reading Comprehension section, a minimum score of 250 on the Sentence Skills section, and at least 5 on the Writeplacer section are considered by VIU to be equivalent to English 12 with a grade of "C”.

If selecting the Language Proficiency Index (LPI), the combination of an Essay Level of 4 or better, plus a minimum total of 20/40 on the Sentence Structure, English Usage, and Reading Comprehension sections is considered by VIU to be equivalent to English 12 with a grade of "C+”.

Please note: The LPI will no longer be available after May 2020. However, VIU will recognize results of tests taken previously. 

If selecting the Pearson Test of English (PTE), a score of 60 overall and no component score less than 60 is considered by VIU to be equivalent to English 12 with a grade of "C+”.

If selecting the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB), a score of 81 is considered by VIU to be equivalent to English 12 with a grade of "C+”.

High school mathematics courses are key courses that are often used to determine if a student meets program admission requirements or course prerequisites.

With respect to BC Secondary School (BCSS) mathematics courses, VIU states course and program requirements in the form of the recommended course. This is our opinion of the best course to take to prepare for a specific course or program.

In some cases Vancouver Island University also offers mathematics courses within our Faculty of Academic and Career Preparation (Adult Basic Education - ABE) or our Faculty of Science which are considered equivalent to BC Secondary School (BCSS) mathematics courses. For more information on equivalencies between BCSS, VIU ABE and VIU Faculty of Science mathematics courses please refer to the British Columbia Secondary School and VIU Course Equivalencies chart.

British Columbia secondary school and VIU Course Equivalencies chart

Students who do not meet the English 12 requirement for admission to a program or course at Vancouver Island University may write the ACCUPLACER. For further information please visit VIU Assessments or call 250.740.6276.

Vancouver Island University (VIU) recognizes the value of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.  The IB program is an internationally recognized enriched secondary school program.  VIU has established equivalencies between IB courses and the British Columbia provincial K-12 curriculum.  Additionally, courses at the Standard Level (SL) and the Higher Level (HL) may be awarded post-secondary credit.

Students with IB courses may receive undergraduate credit as follows:

  • A maximum of 30 credits will be awarded for IB courses.
  • Specific course equivalencies will be awarded where appropriate. Unassigned credits will be given where specific equivalencies within the course’s subject(s) are not suitable.
  • IB credits will be noted as such on the students’ respective transcripts (permanent records).
  • Most programs require ‘high school graduation’ as an admission requirement. VIU considers the IB Diploma as equivalent to ‘high school graduation’. If a student attends a school where the IB Diploma program is offered alongside a high school program and does not meet the IB Diploma requirements but does meet the local requirements this would satisfy the high school graduation requirements.

The following table displays the most common IB courses which transfer as high school and undergraduate courses. For a comprehensive list of IB to VIU undergraduate transfer equivalencies please refer to the BC Transfer Guide.

 

BC High school Equivalent

Post-Secondary Equivalent

IB Equivalent

Minimum Grade Required Post-Secondary

Biology 12

BIOL 1ST (3)

Biology SL

4

Biology 12

BIOL 121 & BIOL 123

Biology HL

4

Chemistry 12

CHEM 1ST (3)

Chemistry SL

4

Chemistry 12

CHEM 140 & CHEM 142

Chemistry HL

5

English 12

ENGL 115

ENGL 115

English Literature A SL

English Language & Lit SL

4

4

English 12

ENGL 115 & ENGL 125

ENGL 115 & ENGL 125

English Literature A HL

English Language & Lit HL

4

4

English 12

ENGL 1ST (3)

English Lit & Performance SL

4

PRE-CALC 12

PRE-CALC 11

MATH 1ST (3)

MATH 1ST (3)

Analysis & Approaches SL

Applications & Interpretation SL

5

5

PRE-CALC 12

 

MATH 121 & MATH 122

MATH 121 &

MATH 1ST (3)

Analysis & Approaches HL

Applications & Interpretation HL

5

5

N/A

PSYC 1ST (3)

Psychology SL

4

N/A

PSYC 111 & PSYC 112

Psychology HL

4

Advanced Placement Program courses are generally considered to be enriched versions of BC grade 12 courses. In some cases a supplemental exam must be written before any advance credit can be given, however the maximum amount of advance credit to be granted on the basis of AP courses is 30 credits. A grade of 4 or higher on the exam is required for credit consideration. Courses with exam grades of 3 or less will not be eligible for credit or advance standing.

Individual courses from the Advanced Placement Program will qualify for specific advanced credit, as follows:

AP Course

VIU Credit

Art History

Arts 111 and 112 (6 credits)

Art Studio – Drawing

Individual Assessment

Art Studio – General

Individual Assessment

Biology

Biology 121 and 123 (8 credits)

Calculus A/B

Math 121 (3 credits)

Calculus B/C

Math 121 and 122 (6 credits)

Chemistry

Chemistry 140 and 142 or 
Chemistry 111 and 112 (8 credits)

Comparative Government and Politics

Political Science 101 (3 credits)

Computer Science A

Computer Science 160 (4 credits)

Computer 
Science A/B

Computer Science 160 (4 credits)

Economics

Economics 211 and 212 (6 credits)

English Language

English 115 
(3 credits)

English Literature

English 125 
(3 credits)

Environmental Science

Geography 101 
(3 credits)

French Language

Individual Assessment 
(maximum 6 credits)

French Literature

Humanities, 1st year unassigned 
(6 credits)

German

Humanities, 1st year unassigned 
(6 credits)

History – American

History 131 and 132 (6 credits)

History – European

History 221 and 222 (6 credits)

Human Geography

Geography 100 (3 credits)

Latin

Humanities, 1st year unassigned 
(6 credits)

Music – Literature

Individual Assessment

Music – Theory

Individual Assessment

Physics B

Physics 111 and 112 (8 credits)

Physics C (Electricity)

Physics C (Electricity) and 
Physics C (Mechanics) together will receive Physics 121 and 122 
(8 credits)

Physics C 
(Mechanics)

Physics C (Electricity) and 
Physics C (Mechanics) together will receive Physics 121 and 122
(8 credits)

Psychology

Individual Assessment

Spanish – Language

Spanish 100 and 101 (6 credits)

Spanish

Humanities, 1st year unassigned 
(6 credits)

U.S. Government

Political Science 220 (3 credits)

World History

HIST 141 (3 credits)